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REVIEW article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Neuroimaging
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1432253
This article is part of the Research Topic Recent Advances on the Multimodal Search for Markers of Treatment Response in Affective Disorders: From Bench to Bedside? Volume II View all 4 articles

A Systematic Review of Structural Neuroimaging Markers of Psychotherapeutic and Pharmacological Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Provisionally accepted
Allison Moreau Allison Moreau *Isabella Hansen Isabella Hansen Ryan Bogdan Ryan Bogdan *
  • Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Identifying individual difference factors associated with treatment response and putative mechanisms of therapeutic change may improve treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Our systematic review of structural neuroimaging markers (i.e., morphometry, structural connectivity) of psychotherapy and medication treatment response for OCD identified 26 eligible publications from 20 studies (average study total n=54±41.6 [range: 11-175]; OCD group n=29±19) in child, adolescent, and adult samples evaluating baseline brain structure correlates of treatment response as well as treatment-related changes in brain structure. Findings were inconsistent across studies; significant associations within the anterior cingulate cortex (3/5 regional, 2/8 whole brain studies) and orbitofrontal cortex (5/10 regional, 2/7 whole brain studies) were most common, but laterality and directionality were not always consistent. Structural neuroimaging markers of treatment response do not currently hold clinical utility. Given increasing evidence that associations between complex behavior and brain structure are characterized by small, but potentially meaningful, effects, much larger samples are likely needed. Multivariate approaches (e.g., machine learning) may also improve the clinical predictive utility of neuroimaging data.

    Keywords: structural magnetic resonance imaging, Treatment, Psychotherapy, Pharmacotherapy, neuromarkers, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

    Received: 13 May 2024; Accepted: 19 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Moreau, Hansen and Bogdan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Allison Moreau, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, United States
    Ryan Bogdan, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.