Obsessive compulsive disorder, checking, and non-verbal memory: a neuropsychological investigation

There is considerable evidence in the literature for the presence of non-ve rbal and praxic memory deficits in OCD. Such deficits may represent the cog nitive substrate of doubt-related phenomenon such as checking. Neuropsychol ogical tests of non-verbal memory functioning and memory for actions were a dministered to patients with OCD (whose predominant symptom was checking) a nd a group of matched healthy controls. Significant differences were found between the experimental and control groups, suggesting some memory impairm ent in the OCD group; however, no significant relationship was found linkin g neuropsychological test indices with checking. Significant relationships were found linking recognition memory problems and immediate memory for act ions with general symptom severity. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All righ ts reserved.