Altered frontal interhemispheric and fronto-limbic structural connectivity in unmedicated adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Background Previous diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) have primarily used voxel- or tract-based methods to assess white matter microstructure in medicated patients. This is the first probabilistic tractography study to assess the structural connectivity of all major white matter tracts in unmedicated adults with OCD without comorbid psychopathology. We hypothesized that OCD compared to healthy participants would show reduced integrity in frontal interhemispheric and fronto-limbic tracts. Methods DTI data from 29 unmedicated adults with OCD were compared to that of 27 matched healthy control (HC) participants. TRACULA was used to assess probabilistic tractography and compare groups in the average fractional anisotropy (FA) of 8 bilateral tracts plus forceps minor and major, and explore group differences in axial (AD), radial (RD), and mean (MD) diffusivities in tracts where FA differed across groups. Results Significantly less FA was detected in OCD compared to HC participants in forceps minor, interhemispheric fibers of the frontal cortex, and right uncinate fasciculus (UNC), association fibers connecting frontal and limbic regions (p's < .05). FA in forceps minor was inversely associated with symptom severity in the OCD participants. Exploratory analyses revealed less AD in right UNC was inversely associated with OCD symptoms. Conclusions Structural connectivity of frontal interhemispheric and fronto-limbic circuits may be altered in unmedicated adults with OCD, especially those with the most severe symptoms. These findings suggest a microstructural basis for the abnormal function and reduced resting-state connectivity of frontal regions and fronto-limbic circuits in OCD.