Disruption of volitional control in obsessive-compulsive disorder: Evidence from the Bereitschaftspotential

Author(s)

Takashima, Shiro ^{[1, 2]} ; Najman, Fernando Araujo ^{[3, 4]} ; Ramos, Renato Teodoro ^{[5, 1, 6]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Hosp Clin HCFMUSP, Fac Med, Dept Psychiat, LIM 23, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Hosp Clin, Inst Psiquiatria, LIM23, Rua Doutor Ovidio Pires de Campos 785, BR-05403010 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Matemat & Estat, RIDC NeuroMat, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Matemat & Estat, Av Prof Luciano Gualberto, 117 Butanta, BR-05508010 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[5] Univ Toronto, Frederick W Thompson Anxiety Disorders Ctr, Sunnybrook Hlth Sci Ctr, Dept Psychiat, Toronto, ON - Canada

^[6] Sunnybrook Hlth Sci Ctr, 2075 Bayview Ave, K3W42, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5 - Canada

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH-NEUROIMAGING; v. 290, p. 30-37, AUG 30 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

In the context of controversies involving possible abnormalities in the volition and action control in obsessiv-ecompulsive disorder (OCD), the current study examined electroencephalographic correlates of automatic and volitional brain processes involved in the genesis of spontaneous movements in individuals diagnosed with OCD. For this, the amplitudes of early and late Bereitschaftspotential (early BP and late BP) from 12 patients and 12 controls were obtained while they performed spontaneous button presses under different levels of volitional experience. In the first condition, participants were distracted from their motor actions by a mental task (automatic condition) and in the second condition they were instructed to attending to their own intention to move (willed condition). The results corroborate previous report that the attention to (and, presumably, the awareness of) intention to act accounts for the expression of significant portion of the late BP in healthy individuals. More relevantly, the increased late BP in willed condition in relation to automatic condition was not present in the OCD group. Neither groups nor conditions affected the early BP. In sum, the current findings suggest the existence of abnormalities in the brain activities associated with the establishment of volitional control in OCD patients. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/21357-9 - Research on neural circuits and biological markers involved in obsessive-compulsive disorder using behavioral paradigms of fear and anxiety
• Grantee: Eurípedes Constantino Miguel Filho
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants