A neuropsychological study of dissociation in cortical and subcortical functioning in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Tower of Hanoi Task

Several biological models of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) have focus ed on the roles frontal cortex and basal ganglia dysfunctions play in the e xpression of the disorder. From a neuropsychological point of view, previou s reports have underlined the possible involvement of the prefrontal cortex in declarative functions and the basal ganglia in procedural ones. A possi ble dissociation of cortical and subcortical functioning has been studied u sing the Hanoi Tower Task to explore different neuropsychological aspects o f problem-solving procedures. Our results indicate that differential cortic al and subcortical dysfunctions could contribute to OCD pathophysiology and that procedural and declarative forms might be independent of each other. (C) 2001 Academic Press.