Verbal, visuo-spatial memory and executive functions in OCD

Abstract

Objective:There is concrete evidence of problems in the circuits between the frontal lobe, basal ganglions,thalamus, and the frontal lobe again in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). These circuits have important role in executive functions. However, OCD patients have been also shown that they had verbal and visuo-spatial memory problems. In addition studies have pointed out an impairment in, both verbal and visuo-spatial skills. In the light of these findings, it was aimed, in this study, to test whether the memory functions of OCD patients were significantly more impaired regardless of the type of information (verbal or visual-spatial) compared to the functions of the control group, and whether this impairment was associated with an impairment in the executive functions. Method and Results: Results obtained from 20 OCD and 20 healthy volunteers as controls, showed that OCD patients were worse than control subject in all cognitive domains that verbal memory, verbal executive functions, visuo-spatial memory and visuo-spatial executive functions. Also neither scores of the tests included in the battery (except between Wechsler Memory Scale logical memory and the trait anxiety) nor symptom severity inventories and the neuropsychological tests were not significantly correlated with each other in OCD group. Conclussion: Considering the fact that verbal ability is focused in the left hemisphere and visual-spatial ability, in the right hemisphere, and our findings suggest impairments in executive functions addressing to both functional areas, it is possible to say that there is not only a problem in intrahemispheric the prefrontal area - basal ganglions thalamus - prefrontal area circuits but there can be a problem in widespread interhemispheric relationship.