A magnetic resonance imaging study of the white matter volume and fibrous structural integrity in children and adolescents with first-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder
10.3760/cma.j.cn113661-20220225-00039
- VernacularTitle:首次发病儿童少年强迫症患者脑白质体积及纤维结构完整性的磁共振成像研究
- Author:
Ruijie HAO
1
;
Sa XIAO
1
;
Yadi LI
1
;
Yanhong XIA
1
;
Yinghui LIANG
1
;
Yuling LI
1
;
Suqin GUO
1
Author Information
1. 新乡医学院第二附属医院 河南省精神病院儿童少年精神科，新乡 453002
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Child;
Obsessive-compulsive disorder;
Diffusion tensor imaging;
White matter;
Fractional anisotropy
- From:
Chinese Journal of Psychiatry
2022;55(4):263-271
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:This study aims to analyze the structural characteristics and fibrous structural integrity of the white matter of the brain and their relationship with obsessive-compulsive symptoms in children and adolescents with first-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).Methods:Thirty-eight patients with OCD (OCD group) and 35 age-, sex-, and education-matched controls (control group) were included. The brain white matter volume was measured using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) scans. The tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and axial diffusivity (AD), were applied to measure the structural integrity of white matter fibres. The independent samples t-test was used to compare FA, MD, and AD values in differential brain areas between the 2 groups. The clinical characteristics of the patients were assessed using the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Symptom Scale for Children. Pearson′s correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between the severity of the obsessive-compulsive symptoms and the white matter volume of the brain and the FA, MD, and AD values of the significantly different brain areas in the OCD group. Results:Compared to the control group, the OCD group had lower white matter volumes in the left inferior frontal gyrus, right inferior temporal gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus, left parietal gyrus, and left limbic lobe ( t=-3.67, -4.21, -3.58, -3.70, -4.34, all P<0.01); had higher FA, MD, and AD values in the left corticospinal tract, left superior longitudinal tract; had higher MD and AD values in the right corticospinal tract, right and left anterior thalamic radiations, right and left inferior fronto-occipital gyrus, and left inferior longitudinal gyrus; had higher FA, MD, and AD values in the occipital and frontal part of the corpus callosum radiation; had a lower FA value in the left and right anterior thalamic radiation, left and right inferior frontal gyrus, left cingulate gyrus, left and right inferior longitudinal gyrus, and right superior longitudinal gyrus (temporal); and had a lower AD value in the left hook gyrus and right superior longitudinal gyrus. In the OCD group, the Pearson′s correlation analysis showed that the white matter volume of the right inferior frontal gyrus was negatively correlated with the obsessive-compulsive thinking factor score ( r=-0.355, P<0.05), and the left parietal gyrus was negatively correlated with the total obsessive-compulsive score, the obsessive-compulsive thinking factor score, and the obsessive-compulsive behavior factor score ( r=-0.361, -0.350, -0.376, all P<0.05); that the FA value in the occipital part of the corpus callosum radiation was negatively correlated with the total obsessive-compulsive score and the obsessive-compulsive behavior factor score ( r=-0.410, -0.411, both P<0.05), the MD values in the left and right anterior thalamic radiation were both negatively correlated with total compulsive scores ( r=-0.389, P<0.05; -0.489, P<0.01), the AD values in the left and right anterior thalamic radiation were both negatively correlated with total compulsive scores ( r=-0.446, -0.405, both P<0.05),the MD and AD values in the left and right anterior thalamic radiation were both negatively correlated with compulsive behavior factor scores ( r=-0.558, -0.631, -0.530, -0.539, all P<0.01), and the AD value in the left subfrontal occipital tract was negatively correlated with compulsive total score and compulsive thinking factor score ( r=-0.359, P<0.05; r=-0.499, P<0.01). Conclusion:Children and adolescents with OCD have reduced white matter volume and impaired structural integrity of white matter fibres, involving the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit and several brain regions, such as the parietal lobe, limbic lobe, corpus callosum, corticospinal tract, and inferior longitudinal tract. The abnormalities in white matter structure and structural integrity of fibres are correlated with the severity of OCD symptoms.
