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Obsessive-compulsive disorder has been associated with increased metabolism in the caudate nucleus, among other regions, but it is not known whether this increase reflects increased neuronal activity. French investigators studied three patients with severe refractory OCD in whom electrodes were being implanted for deep brain stimulation (DBS). Illness in these patients was of 27 to 40 years’ duration and had not responded to multiple medication trials and cognitive-behavioral therapy.
After placing electrodes under local anesthesia, the investigators recorded activity of 477 discrete neurons in the caudate while asking patients to rate their obsessions on a visual analog scale. Electrodes for DBS were implanted in the location with the highe…