1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy in obsessive-compulsive disorder: evidence for neuronal loss in the cingulate gyrus and the right striatum

Psychiatry Res. 1997 Jul 4;74(3):173-6. doi: 10.1016/s0925-4927(97)00016-4.

Abstract

We compared 12 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and six control subjects by 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Significantly lower relative N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) levels were found in the right striatum of OCD patients, as well as a decrease of anterior cingulate NAA that correlated with severity of illness. Age and sex were correlated to striatal NAA levels.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aspartic Acid / analogs & derivatives
  • Aspartic Acid / analysis
  • Cell Count
  • Corpus Striatum / anatomy & histology*
  • Corpus Striatum / chemistry
  • Corpus Striatum / cytology
  • Female
  • Functional Laterality
  • Gyrus Cinguli / anatomy & histology*
  • Gyrus Cinguli / chemistry
  • Gyrus Cinguli / cytology
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy*
  • Male
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / diagnosis*
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / metabolism
  • Parietal Lobe / anatomy & histology
  • Parietal Lobe / chemistry
  • Parietal Lobe / cytology
  • Severity of Illness Index

Substances

  • Aspartic Acid
  • Hydrogen
  • N-acetylaspartate