Distinct frontal brain signal tied to compulsive behaviors in people with OCD
A new Penn Medicine study shows targeted brain stimulation can significantly reduce symptoms of compulsive behaviors.
2 min. read
A specific pattern of brain activity in a frontal brain region is linked to compulsive behaviors like excessive hand washing, chronic hair-pulling, and skin-picking in people with obsessive compulsive disorder, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine. But briefly disrupting that signal can rapidly ease symptoms for people with severe, treatment resistant OCD, according to a study published in Cell.
“Compulsive thoughts and behaviors can vary widely across people with OCD,” says senior author, Casey Halpern,a professor of neurosurgery and division head of Functional and Stereotactic Neurosurgery. “Identifying brain activity that is consistent despite individuals having different symptoms is a huge step forward in developing new therapies to manage OCD symptoms.”
In three OCD patients who had not found relief with medication or psychotherapy, researchers implanted electrodes to stimulate a small brain region deep in the right side of the brain—called the nucleus accumbens–ventral pallidum. After placing the probes, a team of neuroscientists and psychiatrists gave the patients verbal and visual prompts that were designed to elicit OCD symptoms. For example, one participant who is often triggered by contamination was encouraged to touch various dirty objects, like the bottom of a shoe. During that exercise, the team monitored her brain activity as she became distressed. They found a signal correlating strongly with OCD symptoms in all three patients in the right amOFC. They also found that when the amOFC was stimulated, the activity lessened and symptoms disappeared.
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