Neurocognitive performance in obsessive-compulsive disorder before and after treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy

Michael G. Wheaton*, Eyal Kalanthroff, Micha Mandel, Rachel Marsh, H. Blair Simpson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Cross-sectional studies have reported neurocognitive performance deficits in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), particularly on tasks assessing response inhibition and proactive control over stimulus-driven behaviors (task control). However, it is not clear whether these deficits represent trait-like markers of OCD or are state-dependent. Methods: This study examined performance on two neurocognitive tasks in OCD patients (N = 26) before and after cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and matched healthy controls (HCs, N = 19). Tasks included the stop-signal task (assessing response inhibition) and the Object Interference (OI) task (assessing a specific form of task control). OCD patients completed these tasks and clinical ratings before and after 17 sessions of CBT delivered by expert therapists over two months. HCs completed tasks before and after 2-months. This design used CBT as a tool to reduce OCD symptoms to determine whether neurocognitive performance similarly improves. Results: Results showed that OCD patients and HCs did not significantly differ in their stop-signal performance at either time point. In contrast, OCD patients exhibited impaired performance on the OI task at baseline and their OI performance improved after treatment, resolving the deficit relative to HC. Limitations: The sample size was small, particularly for the healthy control group. We also tested only two neurocognitive tasks. Future study with larger sample sizes and more tasks is warranted. Conclusions: These results suggest that task control deficits in OCD may be sensitive to symptom state. The possibility that improving task control represents a neurocognitive mechanism of successful CBT represents an important direction for future research.

Original languageEnglish
Article number102019
JournalJournal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry
Volume87
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

  • EX/RP
  • Exposure and ritual prevention
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder
  • OCD
  • Response inhibition

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Neurocognitive performance in obsessive-compulsive disorder before and after treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this