The relationship between semantic organization and memory in obsessive-compulsive disorder

BACKGROUND: A variety of evidence suggests that frontostriatal dysfunction is involved in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This evidence includes both neuroimaging findings and results from studies using neuropsychological assessments. Previous studies have documented nonverbal memory deficits in individuals with OCD, whereas verbal learning and memory were less affected. METHODS: The present study examined both verbal and nonverbal memory in a sample of 17 untreated outpatients with OCD. We also evaluated the effects of encoding strategies which are believed to be mediated by frontostriatal system functioning. RESULTS: OCD patients were significantly impaired in both verbal and nonverbal memory performance. This deficit was correlated with impairments in organizational and semantic clustering strategies at the time of encoding. CONCLUSIONS: Deficits in organizational strategies are consistent with frontostriatal dysfunction models in OCD.