Human orbitofrontal neural activity is linked to obsessive-compulsive behavioral dynamics

Biomarkers of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptom dynamics and related behavior could advance personalized interventions. Aberrant activity in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has been implicated in symptom exacerbation in OCD. We conducted an intracranial monitoring assay to identify high-resolution neurophysiologic correlates of OCD symptoms in the human OFC. We found that low-gamma power in the anteromedial OFC was consistently elevated during high symptom states in a symptom provocation task. Furthermore, electrical stimulation of the ventral basal ganglia that reduced OCD symptoms also reduced anteromedial OFC gamma power. These results link OFC gamma activity to moment-to-moment expression of OCD symptoms, providing mechanistic insights to guide therapeutic strategies such as deep brain stimulation.

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Publication Details

Journal
Cell
Published
2026-01-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.12.037
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
88.22

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article

Human orbitofrontal neural activity is linked to obsessive-compulsive behavioral dynamics

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2 citations
Cell
Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
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Human orbitofrontal neural activity is linked to obsessive-compulsive behavioral dynamics

Taneeta M. Ganguly, Mario A. Cristancho, Robert Seilheimer, Andrew Chang, John F. Magnotti, Liming Qiu, Kai Miller, Andreas Horn, Desmond J. Oathes, Nolan Williams, Gustavo Campos, Z Wang, Lily A. Brown, Katherine W. Scangos, Daniel A.N. Barbosa, Young-Hoon Nho, Bijan Pesaran, Casey H. Halpern
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Biomarkers of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptom dynamics and related behavior could advance personalized interventions. Aberrant activity in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has been implicated in symptom exacerbation in OCD. We conducted an intracranial monitoring assay to identify high-resolution neurophysiologic correlates of OCD symptoms in the human OFC. We found that low-gamma power in the anteromedial OFC was consistently elevated during high symptom states in a symptom provocation task. Furthermore, electrical stimulation of the ventral basal ganglia that reduced OCD symptoms also reduced anteromedial OFC gamma power. These results link OFC gamma activity to moment-to-moment expression of OCD symptoms, providing mechanistic insights to guide therapeutic strategies such as deep brain stimulation.

CellVol. 189(3)
Medical University of South Carolina (US), Mayo Clinic in Arizona (US), Philadelphia VA Medical Center (US), University Hospital Cologne (DE), University of Pennsylvania (US), Stanford University (US)
Wellcome Trust, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
88.22
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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