TITLE:
Intrusive Thoughts and Executive Functions in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
AUTHORS:
Martine Bouvard, Nathalie Fournet, Adelaide Sixdenier, Mircea Polosan
KEYWORDS:
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Intrusive Thought, Executive Function, Mental Flexibility, Inhibition Function
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science,
Vol.8 No.7,
July
5,
2018
ABSTRACT: Objectives: Our aim
was to compare the effects of an unwanted intrusive thought on executive
function in a group of people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and in a
healthy group. Method: The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive
Function Adult (BRIEF-A) was used to measure executive dysfunction in everyday
life in people with OCD. The study participants underwent either an intrusive
thought induction or neutral thought induction prior to the administration of
three computer-based tests of executive function. Results: The BRIEF-A
results confirmed the impairment of executive function in everyday life for
patients with OCD. In the number-letter task, patients with OCD displayed a
longer reaction time (relative to the controls). There were no intergroup
differences in the local-global task. In the go/no-go task, there was a
significant impairment (p = 0.03) in
the OCD group (with more commission errors than controls). There was a
non-significant trend towards an effect of thought induction in both groups in
the number-letter task. However, intrusive thought induction did not have a
greater effect than neutral thought induction on the OCD group in any of the
tasks. Conclusions: Intrusive thought induction has no effect on
executive function in the two groups. The two groups differed with regard to
two executive tasks.