Object alternation test--is it sensitive enough to detect cognitive dysfunction in obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Anne Katrin Kuelz; Dieter Riemann; Roland Zahn; Ulrich Voderholzer

doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2004.06.016

Object alternation test--is it sensitive enough to detect cognitive dysfunction in obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Eur Psychiatry. 2004 Nov;19(7):441-3. doi: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2004.06.016.

Authors

Anne Katrin Kuelz¹, Dieter Riemann, Roland Zahn, Ulrich Voderholzer

Affiliation

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.

PMID: 15504653
DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2004.06.016

Abstract

A computerized version of the object alternation test (OAT) was employed in unmedicated obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients and matched healthy controls. OCD patients performed normally on the OAT but scored below controls on a task assessing visuo-spatial working memory. The results challenge the concept of the OAT as a sensitive instrument for orbitofrontal dysfunction in OCD.

MeSH terms

Adult
Cognition Disorders / diagnosis*
Cognition Disorders / epidemiology*
Cognition Disorders / physiopathology
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Electronic Data Processing
Female
Humans
Male
Memory Disorders / diagnosis
Memory Disorders / epidemiology
Memory Disorders / physiopathology
Neuropsychological Tests
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / epidemiology*
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / physiopathology
Prefrontal Cortex / physiopathology
Sensitivity and Specificity
Severity of Illness Index