Table 2.
Task control function in pediatric obsessive compulsive disorder
| Study | Subject Characteristics | Task(s) | Behavior Findings | Main Imaging Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lazaro et al,2008[74] | Range: 7 – 18 OCD: 13.1 ± 2.7, n=12, 7M HC: 13.7 ± 2.8, n=12, 7M |
Simplified SRTT, pre- to post-treatment (lower difficulty) |
not reported |
Before treatment: ↑bilateral dlPFC activation for more v less complex response options. After treatment: ↑right IPL activation for more v less complex response options. Before v After: ↓left insula and left putamen activation for more v less complex response options within OCD group. Correlation of greater Nacc and RSPL activation with greater OCD severity on CYBOCs and greater rSPL and left posterior cingulate activation with greater obsession severity before treatment. |
| Fitzgerald et al,2010[50] | Range: 8 –19 OCD: 13.9 ± 2.6, n=18, 6M HC: 14.1 ± 2.7, n=18, 6M |
MSIT (lower difficulty) |
no group difference |
↑dACC activation for high v. low interference. ↑vmPFC activation for error v correct. ↑dACC–vmPFC connectivity for high vs. low interference (psychophysiological interaction analysis). No correlation with OCD severity on CYBOCs |
| Fitzgerald et al,2013[80] | Range: 8 –19 OCD: 12.9 ± 3.0, n=21 HC: 14.1 ± 3.1, n=25 (all F) |
MSIT (lower difficulty) |
no group difference | OCD = HC for high v low interference. ↓left dlPFC activation for error v correct. No correlation with OCD severity on CYBOCs. |
| Huyser et al,2011[79] | Range: 8 –19 OCD: 14.0 ± 2.5, n=25, 9M HC: 13.7 ± 2.9, n=25, 9M |
Flanker, pre- to post-treatment (lower difficulty) |
no group difference before or after treatment |
Before treatment:
↓dlPFC and posterior insula activation for high v low interference. ↑ bilateral insula activation with age for high v low interference (OCD relative to HC, group x age interaction). ↑rACC and bilateral insula activation with age for error v correct (OCD relative to HC, group x age interaction). After treatment: ↑bilateral dlPFC and right premotor activation for high v low interference. ↑rACC and right insula activation with age for error v correct (OCD relative to HC, group x age interaction). Correlation of greater left dlPFC activation to interference with OCD severity on CYBOCs before treatment. Correlation of greater right insula activation to errors with OCD severity on CYBOCs before treatment. Correlation of increase in bilateral dlPFC, right dmPFC and left premotor cortex to interference with decrease in OCD severity on CYBOCs before-to-after treatment. |
| Diwadkar et al,2015[75] | Range: 11 –21 OCD: 17.2 ± 3.3, n=18, 11M HC: 17.4 ±3.1, n=27, 18M |
n-back (lower difficulty) |
not reported |
↑ dlPFC, dACC and parietal activation to both 1- and 2-back tasks. ↑dACC connectivity with parietal, middle frontal and BG to 1-back. ↑dACC connectivity with parietal, dmPFC/dACC to 2-back. |
| Wooley et al,2008[77] | Range: 12 –16 OCD: 14 ± 1.7, n=10 HC: 14.5 ± 1.1, n=9 (all M) |
Stroop (lower difficulty) |
no group difference | ↓right middle temporal gyrus and bilateral cerebellar vermis activation to high v low interference. |
| Wooley et al, 2008[77] | Range: 12 –16 OCD: 14 ± 1.7, n=10 HC: 14.5 ± 1.1, n=9 (all M) |
Stop-signal (higher difficulty) |
no group difference |
↓right OFC/insula, thalamus, basal ganglia activation to response inhibition. ↓dmPFC/dACC and dlPFC activation to error v correct. |
| Wooley et al,2008[77] | Range: 12 –16 OCD: 14 ± 1.7, n=10 HC: 14.5 ± 1.1, n=9 (all M) |
Set-shifting/ Switch (higher difficulty) |
no group difference |
↓ precentral cortex, IFG, TPJ and cerebellar activation to task switch v no switch. |
| Britton et al,2010[76] | Range: 10 –17 OCD: 13.5 ± 2.4, n=15, 9M HC: 13.6 ± 2.4, n=20, 13M |
Set-shifting/ Switch (higher difficulty) |
no group difference |
↓IFG activation to task switch v no switch. ↓right caudate activation with shift costs. IFG–Caudate connectivity only in HC, but not in OCD. |
| Huyser et al,2010[78] | Range: 8 –19 OCD: 14.0 ± 2.5, n=25, 9M HC: 13.7 ± 2.9, n=25, 9M |
Tower of London, pre- to post-treatment (higher difficulty) |
OCD slower than HC before treatment, but no group difference after treatment |
Before treatment: ↓ left dlPFC/premotor and right parietal cortex activation to planning. ↑dlPFC, left dACC, right dmPFC, left insula with increased task load. After treatment: No group difference; no group x task load interaction. Correlation of before-to-after treatment decrease in the left dlPFC and parietal to planning with decrease in OCD severity on CYBOCs. |
↑
, greater in pediatric obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) than healthy controls (HC)
↓
, lower in OCD than HC
M, male; F, female; SRTT, Serial Reaction Time Task; MSIT, Multi-Source Interference Task; dlPFC, dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex; IPL, inferior parietal lobule; Nacc, nucleus accumbens ;rSPL, right superior parietal lobule; dACC, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex; vmPFC, ventral medial prefrontal cortex; rACC, rostral anterior cingulate cortex; dmPFC, dorsal medial prefrontal cortex; IFG, inferior frontal gyrus; TPJ, temporoparietal junction; CYBOCs, Child Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale [30] .