Neuropsychological functioning in a subclinical obsessive-compulsive sample

Background: Previous neuropsychological research has suggested that the stu dy of psychometrically defined subclinical samples might be a valid approac h to understand the underlying pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive diso rder (OCD). This approach has the potential benefit of overcoming some of t he 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 contr ol group were assessed on executive functioning tasks and other neuropsycho logical tests which have been demonstrated to be impaired in clinical OCD p atients and/or in those with several basal ganglia disorders. Results: Subclinical OC subjects needed significantly more moves than contr ols to reach the solution criteria on the Tower of Hanoi puzzle, and perfor mance on this test was positively correlated with total score and the Check ing 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 info rmation might be basic in OCD, and are congruent with the involvement of th e frontostriatal circuits in the disorder. Biol Psychiatry 1999;45:898-904 (C) 1999 Society of Biological Psychiatry.