Las alteraciones de morfologia de la sustancia blanca y gris en el trastorno obsesivo compulsivo

Background: While the ethio-pathogenesis of Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD) remains unknown, there is increased evidence of widespread structural alterations in both white and gray matter in OCD patients that include, but are not restricted, to abnormalities in cortic-ostriatal-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) regions. The objective of this study was to test the existence of structural alterations in both white and gray matter in a sample of OCD patients when compared with a group of non-clinical matched controls (NCC), using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Method: Fifteen patients with OCD and 15 NCC underwent MRI structural scanning. Results: Frontal (increased gray matter in the middle frontal gyrus) and subcortical regions (increased white matter in the pallidum) were found to be affected in patients. Additionally, temporal parietal regions were also found to be affected and highly correlated with OCD symptom severity (decrease of gray matter in the superior parietal lobe and white matter in the angular and superior temporal gyri). Conclusions: These alterations may be associated with prominent OCD symptoms, such as difficulties with inhibitory control (pallidum, angular gyrus), executive functioning (middle frontal gyris), compulsive checking (superior temporal gyrus) and visual-spatial deficits (superior parietal lobe).Antecedentes: mientras que la etiopatogenia del trastorno obsesivo-compulsivo (TOC) sigue siendo desconocida, hay una mayor evidencia en las personas que sufren este trastorno de alteraciones estructurales que incluyen, pero no se limitan, a anormalidades en regiones cortico-estriado-tálamo-corticales (CSTC). El objetivo de este estudio fue comprobar la existencia de alteraciones estructurales tanto en la materia blanca como en la materia gris en una muestra de pacientes con TOC en comparación con un grupo de controles no clínicos (NCC), utilizándose para ello análisis morfométricos basados en “voxel” (VBM). Método: quince pacientes con TOC y quince NCC fueron estudiados mediante resonancia magnética estrutural. Resultados: se encontraron alteraciones en los pacientes en regiones frontales (aumento de la materia gris en la circunvolución frontal media) y subcorticales (aumento de la materia blanca en el pallidum). Además, también se encontraron afectadas regiones témporo-parietales con una alta correlación con la gravedad de los síntomas del TOC (disminución de la materia gris en el lóbulo parietal superior y de la materia blanca en las circunvoluciones temporales angular y superior). Conclusiones: las alteraciones encontradas pueden estar asociados con síntomas predominantes en el TOC, como difi cultades en el control inhibitorio (pallidum, giro angular), función ejecutiva (circunvolución frontal media), verifi caciones compulsivas (circunvolución temporal superior) y défi cit visual-espacial (lóbulo parietal superior).Oscar F. Gonsalves was funded by the Brazilian National Counsel for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) as a Special Visiting Researcher of the Science Without Borders program (grant number: 401143/2014-7). This study was partially conducted at the Neuropsychophysiology Lab from the Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2013), University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653). This work was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and European Union (FSE-POPH) with two individual grants (SFRH/BPD/86041/2012 and SFRH/BPD/86027/2012).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Escala de personalidade criativa: estudo preliminar para a sua construção

O conceito de criatividade é complexo, havendo divergência entre os autores na sua conceptualização e avaliação. No entanto, há algum consenso de que um dos âmbitos da investigação diz respeito à análise de características da personalidade criativa. Enquanto outros aspectos da criatividade, nomeadamente enquanto processo e enquanto produto, têm sido avaliados, havendo instrumentos em português para esse efeito, não encontrámos nenhum instrumento para avaliação da criatividade enquanto pessoa. A nível internacional, uma das autoras que mais se distingue no estudo e avaliação da criatividade é Solange Wechsler, a qual formulou a “Escala dos Estilos de Pensar e Criar” (2006), constituída por 100 itens. Nesta investigação pretendemos formular a Escala da Personalidade Criativa, para o que utilizámos o seguinte procedimento: 1. Procurámos identificar investigadores que, em Portugal, têm estudado o conceito de criatividade, tendo já realizado uma tese de mestrado ou doutoramento em que este seja um dos tópicos principais, ou tendo orientado pelo menos uma tese neste âmbito, ou tendo pelo menos uma publicação sobre este tópico. 2. Foram identificados nove investigadores, que são os autores deste trabalho, devendo cada um deles seleccionar os 20 itens do instrumento de Solange Wechsler que melhor podem caracterizar a personalidade criativa. Além disso, cada um poderia indicar ainda até mais 5 características da personalidade criativa. São apresentados os resultados obtidos neste processo, o qual nos permitiu elaborar uma versão inicial, constituída por 30 itens, da Escala de Personalidade Criativa.The concept of creativity is complex and there is disagreement among the authors about their conceptualization and evaluation. However, there is some consensus that one of the areas of research concerns the analysis os the characteristics of the creative personality. While other aspects of creativity, such as process and as product, have been evaluated, with instruments in Portuguese for this purpose, we have not found any instrument for the assessment of creativity as a person. One of the most distinguished authors in the study and assessment of creativity is Solange Wechsler, which formulated the "Thinking and Creating Styles Scale" (2006), consisting on 100 items. In this investigation we intend to formulate the Creative Personality Scale, and for that we used the following procedure:1. First, identify researchers in Portugal that have studied the concept of creativity, having already finished a master's or a doctoral thesis in which creativity is one of the main topics, or had directed at least one thesis about creativity, or having at least one publication on this topic. 2. After, identified nine researchers, who are the authors of this paper, each of them should select the 20 items of the Wechsler scale that can best characterize the creative personality. Moreover, each could also indicate even more five features of the creative personality. This paper presents the results obtained in this process, which allowed us to develop an initial version, consisting of 30 items, the Creative Personality Scale

Obsessive compulsive disorder as a functional interhemispheric imbalance at the thalamic level

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) involves failures in two main inhibitory processes, namely cognitive (obsessions) and behavioral (compulsions). Recent research has supported two cortical–subcortical pathways on OCD pathogenesis: (a) the frontostriatal loop (dorsolateral-caudate–striatum–thalamus) responsible for impairments of behavioral inhibition; (b) the orbitofrontal loop (orbitofrontal, medial prefrontal and cingulate) responsible for impairments with cognitive inhibitory processes. These failures in both cognitive and motor inhibitory systems may mediate several neuropsychological deficits in these patients, namely memory, attention, planning and decision making. But are those deficits related to specific hemispheric effects, namely functional imbalance between hemispheres? In this article we hypothesize that: (1) OCD patients have an inter-hemispheric functional imbalance, probably due to inadequate filtering at the thalamic level; (2) the restoration of inter-hemispheric balance, will be correlative to symptomatic improvement

Brain activation of the defensive and appetitive survival systems in obsessive compulsive disorder

Several studies have shown that basic emotions are responsible for a significant enhancement of early visual processes and increased activation in visual processing brain regions. It may be possible that the cognitive uncertainty and repeated behavioral checking evident in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is due to the existence of abnormalities in basic survival circuits, particularly those associated with the visual processing of the physical characteristics of emotional-laden stimuli. The objective of the present study was to test if patients with OCD show evidence of altered basic survival circuits, particularly those associated with the visual processing of the physical characteristics of emotional stimuli. Fifteen patients with OCD and 12 healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging acquisition while being exposed to emotional pictures, with different levels of arousal, intended to trigger the defensive and appetitive basic survival circuits. Overall, the present results seem to indicate dissociation in the activity of the defense and appetitive survival systems in OCD. Results suggest that the clinical group reacts to basic threat with a strong activation of the defensive system mobilizing widespread brain networks (i.e., frontal, temporal, occipital-parietal, and subcortical nucleus) and blocking the activation of the appetitive system when facing positive emotional triggers from the initial stages of visual processing (i.e., superior occipital gyrus)

Imbalance in habitual versus goal directed neural systems during symptom provocation in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Intrusive thoughts and compulsive urges to perform stereotyped behaviours are typical symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Emerging evidence suggests a cognitive bias towards habit formation at the expense of goal-directed performance in obsessive-compulsive disorder. In this study, we test this hypothesis using a novel individualized ecologically valid symptom provocation design: a live provocation functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm with synchronous video-recording of behavioural avoidance responses. By pairing symptom provocation with online avoidance responses on a trial-by-trial basis, we sought to investigate the neural mechanisms leading to the compulsive avoidance response. In keeping with the model of habit formation in obsessive-compulsive disorder, we hypothesized that this disorder would be associated with lower activity in regions implicated in goal-directed behaviours and higher activity in regions implicated in habitual behaviours. Fifteen patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and 15 healthy control volunteers participated in this functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Online stimuli were individually tailored to achieve effective symptom provocation at neutral, intermediate and strong intensity levels. During the symptom provocation block, the participant could choose to reject or terminate the provoking stimuli resulting in cessation of the symptom provocation. We thus separately analysed the neural correlates of symptom provocation, the urge to avoid, rejection and relief. Strongly symptom-provoking conditions evoked a dichotomous pattern of deactivation/activation in patients, which was not observed either in control conditions or in healthy subjects: a deactivation of caudate-prefrontal circuits accompanied by hyperactivation of subthalamic nucleus/putaminal regions. This finding suggests a dissociation between regions engaged in goal-directed and habitual behaviours. The putaminal hyperactivity during patients' symptom provocation preceded subsequent deactivation during avoidance and relief events, indicating a pivotal role of putamen in regulation of behaviour and habit formation in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Effective connectivity analysis identified the ventromedial prefrontal cortex/orbitofrontal cortex as the main structure in this circuitry involved in the modulation of compulsivity in obsessive-compulsive disorder. These findings suggest an imbalance in circuitry underlying habitual and goal-directed action control, which may represent a fundamental mechanism underlying compulsivity in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Our results complement current models of symptom generation in obsessive-compulsive disorder and may enable the development of future therapeutic approaches that aim to alleviate this imbalance

Livro de atas do X seminário do projeto de educação pelos pares : saúde no ensino

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Inferior frontal gyrus white matter abnormalities in obsessive-compulsive disorder

The aim of the present study is to explore obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)-related abnormalities in white matter connectivity in OCD for a core region associated with inhibitory control [i.e. inferior frontal gyrus (IFG)]. Fifteen patients with OCD (11 men) and 15 healthy controls (nine men) underwent diffusion tensor imaging scanning to study four diffusivity indexes of white matter integrity [fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity (RD)]. The results showed that persons with OCD manifested significantly lower fractional anisotropy levels in the bilateral IFG as well as its parcellations in the pars opercularis, pars triangularis, and pars orbitalis. Significantly higher levels of MD, RD were evident for the OCD group in the IFG as a whole as well as in the bilateral subregions of the pars triangularis and pars opercularis (for MD and RD), the right side of the pars orbitalis (for RD), and the left side of the pars triangularis and right side pars opercularis (for axial diffusivity). Overall, the results suggest significant alterations in structural connectivity, probably associated with myelination and axonal abnormalities in the IFG of OCD patients.This work was partially supported by a research award to the first author (O.F.G.) from the Brain Imaging Network Grid/FCT (Portugal). Jorge Leite (SFRH/BPD/86027/2012) and Sandra Carvalho (SFRH/BPD/86041/2012) are supported by grants from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and European Union (FSE-POPH)

Perfectionism in obsessive-compulsive and eating disorders

Objective: The main aims of this article are twofold. First, to assess perfectionism dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder and eating disorders in comparison with psychiatric control (depression/anxiety) and non-clinical control groups. Second, to examine if perfectionism is specifically related to these different clinical conditions. Method: Thirty-nine outpatients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, 24 outpatients with eating disorders, 65 outpatients with a diagnosis of depression and/or anxiety, and 70 non-clinical participants completed the Portuguese version of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. Results: Compared to non-clinical subjects, individuals of all clinical samples had significantly higher scores on Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale total score, Self-Oriented and Socially-Prescribed Perfectionism. There were no significantly differences in Self-Oriented Perfectionism and Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale total score in all the three clinical samples. Subjects from the eating disorders sample had significantly higher scores of Socially-Prescribed Perfectionism in comparison to obsessive-compulsive disorder and psychiatric control samples. Conclusion: Perfectionism showed to be related with this broad range of psychopathologies. However, the differences between eating disorders versus obsessive-compulsive disorder and psychiatric control on Socially-Prescribed Perfectionism warrant further investigation in order to clarify the specificity of this perfectionism dimension in eating disorders.Objetivo: Este estudo tem dois objetivos principais. Primeiro, avaliar as dimensões do perfeccionismo no transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo e nos transtornos alimentares em comparação com duas amostras controle: psiquiátrica (depressão/ansiedade) e não clínica. Segundo, avaliar se o perfeccionismo é um traço de personalidade especificamente relacionado com estas diferentes condições clínicas. Método: 39 pacientes com transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo, 24 com transtornos alimentares, 65 com um diagnóstico de depressão e/ ou ansiedade (todos estes pacientes encontravam-se em regime de ambulatório) e 70 controles não clínicos completaram a versão portuguesa da Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. Resultados: Comparativamente à amostra não clínica, todas as amostras clínicas apresentaram níveis significativamente mais elevados na Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale total, no Perfeccionismo Auto-Orientado e no Perfeccionismo-Socialmente-Prescrito. Não houve diferenças estatisticamente significativas no Perfeccionismo-Auto-Orientado e na Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale total nas três amostras clínicas. No entanto, a amostra com transtornos alimentares apresentou níveis significativamente mais elevados de Perfeccionismo-Socialmente-Prescrito, comparativamente à transtornos alimentares e à amostra psiquiátrica (depressão/ansiedade). Conclusão: O perfeccionismo revelou estar associado a uma grande variedade de condições psicopatológicas. Contudo, as diferenças encontradas entre a amostra de transtornos alimentares, de transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo e a psiquiátrica no Perfeccionismo-Socialmente-Prescrito necessitam de investigação subsequente no sentido de clarificar a especificidade desta dimensão com os transtornos alimentares

Psicothema

Resumen tomado de la publicaciónLas alteraciones de morfología de la sustancia blanca y gris en el trastorno obsesivo compulsivo. Antecedentes: mientras que la etiopatogenia del trastorno obsesivo-compulsivo (TOC) sigue siendo desconocida, hay una mayor evidencia en las personas que sufren este trastorno de alteraciones estructurales que incluyen, pero no se limitan, a anormalidades en regiones cortico-estriado-tálamo-corticales (CSTC). El objetivo de este estudio fue comprobar la existencia de alteraciones estructurales tanto en la materia blanca como en la materia gris en una muestra de pacientes con TOC en comparación con un grupo de controles no clínicos (NCC), utilizándose para ello análisis morfométricos basados en “voxel” (VBM). Método: quince pacientes con TOC y quince NCC fueron estudiados mediante resonancia magnética estructural. Resultados: se encontraron alteraciones en los pacientes en regiones frontales (aumento de la materia gris en la circunvolución frontal media) y subcorticales (aumento de la materia blanca en el pallidum). Además, también se encontraron afectadas regiones témporo-parietales con una alta correlación con la gravedad de los síntomas del TOC (disminución de la materia gris en el lóbulo parietal superior y de la materia blanca en las circunvoluciones temporales angular y superior). Conclusiones: las alteraciones encontradas pueden estar asociados con síntomas predominantes en el TOC, como dificultades en el control inhibitorio (pallidum, giro angular), función ejecutiva (circunvolución frontal media), verificaciones compulsivas (circunvolución temporal superior) y déficit visual-espacial (lóbulo parietal superior).Universidad de Oviedo. Biblioteca de Psicología; Plaza Feijoo, s/n.; 33003 Oviedo; Tel. +34985104146; Fax +34985104126; [email protected]