Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Existing neuropsychological studies of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are cross-sectional and do not provide evidence of whether deficits are trait-related (antecedent and independent of symptomatology) or state-related (a consequence, dependent on symptomatology).

AIMS:

To investigate whether there are premorbid neuropsychological deficits associated with adult OCD.

METHOD:

Longitudinal data were collected from participants of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Developmental study. Neuropsychological data collected at age 13 were linked with age 32 diagnosis of OCD.

RESULTS:

The group who had OCD at age 32 differed significantly from the control group with no OCD on their performance at age 13 on neuropsychological tests of visuospatial, visuoconstructive and visuomotor skills, controlling for gender and socioeconomic status, but did not differ on tests of general IQ or verbal ability. Performance of the group with OCD on tests of executive functioning was mixed.

CONCLUSIONS:

Individuals with OCD have premorbid impairment in visuospatial abilities and some forms of executive functioning, consistent with biological models of OCD.