ANATOMY AND FUNCTION OF THE ORBITAL FRONTAL-CORTEX .1. ANATOMY, NEUROCIRCUITRY, AND OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER

Many neuroimaging studies have implicated the orbital frontal cortex ( OFC) in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder. In recen t years there have been significant advances in elucidating the anatom ical characteristics of the OFC in nonhuman primates. The authors revi ew literature on the cytoarchitecture and afferent and efferent connec tions of the OFC, giving particular attention to the OFC's relationshi p to limbic and paralimbic regions, the mediodorsal thalamus, the basa l ganglia, and sensory association cortices. These cytoarchitectural d ivisions and connections are discussed in terms of how they may influe nce thinking about the OFC's contribution to obsessive-compulsive diso rder.