CEREBRAL PERFUSION, ELECTRICAL-ACTIVITY AND EFFECTS OF SEROTONERGIC TREATMENT IN OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER - A PRELIMINARY-STUDY

An abnormally increased glucose metabolism has been described with pos itron emission tomography (PET) in frontal and caudate regions of obse ssive compulsive patients. Perfusion and electroencephalographic studi es have been less conclusive. However, these techniques are, currently , more available than PET and, therefore, deserve further study becaus e of their possible clinical applications. In this article, 13 obsessi ve-compulsive patients were studied with quantitative EEG and auditory and visual evoked potentials. Six of them were studied also with perf usion single photon emission tomography. A group of 4 patients was stu died with both techniques before and after a serotonergic treatment. I ncreased global, beta, and theta electrical power together with an inc reased perfusion in frontal regions was observed. The patients also sh owed a delta power increase over right temporal and frontal regions, t ogether with increased perfusion in the right basal ganglia region as well as a decreased amplitude of the P50 and N100 waves of the auditor y evoked potentials over temporal electrodes; these alterations were r educed with treatment. These results are discussed in the context of c urrent data about serotonergic neurotransmission.