Neuronal activity correlated with checking behaviour in the subthalamic nucleus of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. - Inria - Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies du numérique Access content directly
Journal Articles Brain - A Journal of Neurology Year : 2013

Neuronal activity correlated with checking behaviour in the subthalamic nucleus of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Anne-Hélène Clair
  • Function : Author
Michel Goillandeau
Thomas Michelet
  • Function : Author
Marie-Odile Krebs

Abstract

Doubt, and its behavioural correlate, checking, is a normal phenomenon of human cognition that is dramatically exacerbated in obsessive-compulsive disorder. We recently showed that deep brain stimulation in the associative-limbic area of the subthalamic nucleus, a central core of the basal ganglia, improved obsessive-compulsive disorder. To understand the physiological bases of symptoms in such patients, we recorded the activity of individual neurons in the therapeutic target during surgery while subjects performed a cognitive task that gave them the possibility of unrestricted repetitive checking after they had made a choice. We postulated that the activity of neurons in this region could be influenced by doubt and checking behaviour. Among the 63/87 task-related neurons recorded in 10 patients, 60% responded to various combinations of instructions, delay, movement or feedback, thus highlighting their role in the integration of different types of information. In addition, task-related activity directed towards decision-making increased during trials with checking in comparison with those without checking. These results suggest that the associative-limbic subthalamic nucleus plays a role in doubt-related repetitive thoughts. Overall, our results not only provide new insight into the role of the subthalamic nucleus in human cognition but also support the fact that subthalamic nucleus modulation by deep brain stimulation reduced compulsive behaviour in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Domains

Medical Imaging

Dates and versions

hal-00817570 , version 1 (24-04-2013)

Identifiers

Cite

Pierre Burbaud, Anne-Hélène Clair, Nicolas Langbour, Sara Fernandez-Vidal, Michel Goillandeau, et al.. Neuronal activity correlated with checking behaviour in the subthalamic nucleus of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.. Brain - A Journal of Neurology , 2013, 136 (Pt 1), pp.304-17. ⟨10.1093/brain/aws306⟩. ⟨hal-00817570⟩
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