Neuropsychological functioning in a subclinical obsessive-compulsive sample

Background: Previous neuropsychological research has suggested that the study of psychometrically defined subclinical samples might be a valid approach to understand the underlying pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This approach has the potential benefit of overcoming some of the methodological problems linked to the use of clinical samples. Methods: A group of subclinical obsessive-compulsive (OC) subjects (n = 35), selected on the basis of their scores on the Padua Inventory, and a control group were assessed on executive functioning tasks and other neuropsychological tests which have been demonstrated to be impaired in clinical OCD patients and/or in those with several basal ganglia disorders. Results: Subclinical OC subjects needed significantly more moves than controls to reach the solution criteria on the Tower of Hanoi puzzle, and performance on this test was positively correlated with total score and the Checking factor of the Padua Inventory. There were no between-group differences on the other frontal lobe tests. Conclusions: The results suggest that deficits in manipulating spatial information might be basic in OCD, and are congruent with the involvement of the frontostriatal circuits in the disorder.