Publication Type Academic Article
Authors Simpson H, Kegeles L, Hunter L, Mao X, Van Meter P, Xu X, Kimeldorf M, Pearlstein S, Slifstein M, Shungu D
Journal Psychiatry Res
Volume 232
Issue 1
Pagination 65-70
Date Published 02/03/2015
ISSN 1872-7123
Keywords Corpus Striatum, Glutamic Acid, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Abstract Glutamatergic signaling abnormalities in cortico-striatal circuits are hypothesized to lead to the repetitive thoughts and behaviors of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To test this hypothesis, studies have used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) to measure glutamatergic compounds in the striatum of individuals with OCD. However, no studies have used methods that could measure glutamate minimally contaminated by glutamine and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in striatal subregions. Therefore, in this study, a proton MRS imaging (1H MRSI) technique with relatively high spatial resolution at 3.0 T was used to measure minimally contaminated glutamate levels in three striatal subregions (i.e., dorsal caudate, dorsal putamen, and ventral striatum) in 15 unmedicated adults with OCD and 16 matched healthy control subjects. No significant group differences in glutamate levels were found in any of the three striatal subregions. In contrast, a study in unmedicated pediatric OCD patients that measured glutamatergic compounds in the dorsal caudate by MRS at 1.5 T found significant elevations. Further studies are warranted to assess whether these discrepant MRS findings are due to differences in subject age or MRS methodology, or potentially are associated with glutamatergic gene variants implicated in OCD.
DOI 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2015.01.009
PubMed ID 25715904
PubMed Central ID PMC4404189
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