A phenotypic structure and neural correlates of compulsive behaviors in adolescents.
PLoS ONE. 2013-11-14; 8(11): e80151
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0080151
Read on PubMed
Montigny C(1), Castellanos-Ryan N, Whelan R, Banaschewski T, Barker GJ, Büchel C,
Gallinat J, Flor H, Mann K, Paillère-Martinot ML, Nees F, Lathrop M, Loth E, Paus
T, Pausova Z, Rietschel M, Schumann G, Smolka MN, Struve M, Robbins TW, Garavan
H, Conrod PJ; IMAGEN Consortium.
Collaborators: Reed L, Williams S, Lourdusamy A, Costafreda S, Cattrell A,
Nymberg C, Topper L, Smith L, Havatzias S, Stueber K, Mallik C, Clarke TK, Stacey
D, Peng Wong C, Werts H, Williams S, Andrew C, Desrivieres S, Zewdie S, Heinz A,
Häke I, Ivanov N, Klär A, Reuter J, Palafox C, Hohmann C, Schilling C, Lüdemann
K, Romanowski A, Ströhle A, Wolff E, Rapp M, Ittermann B, Brühl R, Ihlenfeld A,
Walaszek B, Schubert F, Connolly C, Jones J, Lalor E, McCabe E, Ní A, Spanagel R,
Leonardi-Essmann F, Sommer W, Vollstaedt-Klein S, Poustka L, Steiner S, Buehler
M, Vollstedt-Klein S, Stolzenburg E, Schmal C, Schirmbeck F, Gowland P, Heym N,
Lawrence C, Newman C, Huebner T, Ripke S, Mennigen E, Muller KU, Ziesch V,
Bromberg U, Fadai T, Lueken L, Yacubian J, Finsterbusch J, Martinot JL, Artiges
E, Bordas N, de Bournonville S, Bricaud Z, Gollier Briand F, Lemaitre H,
Massicotte J, Miranda R, Penttilä J, Barbot A, Schwartz Y, Lalanne C, Frouin V,
Thyreau B, Dalley J, Mar A, Subramaniam N, Theobald D, Richmond N, de Rover M,
Molander A, Jordan E, Robinson E, Hipolata L, Moreno M, Stephens D, Ripley T,
Crombag H, Pena Y, Zelenika D, Heath S, Lanzerath D, Heinrichs B, Spranger T,
Fuchs B, Speiser C, Resch F, Haffner J, Parzer P, Brunner R, Klaassen A, Klaassen
I, Constant P, Mignon X, Thomsen T, Zysset S, Vestboe A, Ireland J, Rogers J.
Author information:
(1)Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, CHU Ste Justine Hospital,
Montreal, Canada.
BACKGROUND: A compulsivity spectrum has been hypothesized to exist across
Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD), Eating Disorders (ED), substance abuse (SA)
and binge-drinking (BD). The objective was to examine the validity of this
compulsivity spectrum, and differentiate it from an externalizing behaviors
dimension, but also to look at hypothesized personality and neural correlates.
METHOD: A community-sample of adolescents (N=1938; mean age 14.5 years), and
their parents were recruited via high-schools in 8 European study sites. Data on
adolescents’ psychiatric symptoms, DSM diagnoses (DAWBA) and substance use
behaviors (AUDIT and ESPAD) were collected through adolescent- and
parent-reported questionnaires and interviews. The phenotypic structure of
compulsive behaviors was then tested using structural equation modeling. The
model was validated using personality variables (NEO-FFI and TCI), and
Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM) analysis.
RESULTS: Compulsivity symptoms best fit a higher-order two factor model, with ED
and OCD loading onto a compulsivity factor, and BD and SA loading onto an
externalizing factor, composed also of ADHD and conduct disorder symptoms. The
compulsivity construct correlated with neuroticism (r=0.638; p ≤ 0.001),
conscientiousness (r=0.171; p ≤ 0.001), and brain gray matter volume in left and
right orbitofrontal cortex, right ventral striatum and right dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex. The externalizing factor correlated with extraversion
(r=0.201; p ≤ 0.001), novelty-seeking (r=0.451; p ≤ 0.001), and negatively with
gray matter volume in the left inferior and middle frontal gyri.
CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that a compulsivity spectrum exists in an
adolescent, preclinical sample and accounts for variance in both OCD and ED, but
not substance-related behaviors, and can be differentiated from an externalizing
spectrum.