Executive Function and Clinical Parameters of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in Indian Patients

Abstract

This study attempts to examine variations in Working Memory, Cognitive Flexibility, and Response Inhibition in individuals with OCD with respect to the healthy control group. The study was conducted through multiple healthcare centers in Jaipur district of Rajasthan, recruiting 150 participants from both clinical and community settings. The clinical measures covered the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Beck-II Depression Inventory, the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, and the Obsessive Beliefs Spanish Inventory-Revised. The neuropsychological measures covered the Stroop Color–Word test, the Go-No-Go test, the Wisconsin Card Sorting test, the Digit Span test, and the Corsi Block Wechsler III Memory test. The performance of the control group was found significantly better than the OCD group on tasks involving CF, RI, and visuospatial WM. Deficiencies in these correlates of EF may be end-phenotypes of OCD. Performance was found to be affected by the severity of OCD symptoms, patterns of comorbidities, and levels of anxiety, depression, and obsessive beliefs.