Is there evidence of brain white-matter abnormalities in obsessive-compulsive disorder? A narrative review

Abstract

Objective: Although several studies have confirmed the occurrence of gray-matter abnormalities in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the literature on white matter in OCD is more limited. In this study, we reviewed the role of white-matter abnormalities in the pathophysiology of OCD. METHOD:: We reviewed the PubMed studies investigating white-matter integrity in patients with OCD between 1980 and 2010. Results: Case studies of patients who developed obsessive-compulsive symptoms secondary to multiple sclerosis, cerebrovascular diseases, and paraneoplastic leucoencephalopathy and controlled studies of patients with OCD examined with neuroimaging techniques (eg, structural, diffusion, and sp..