Total and subregional thalamic volumes before and after cognitive behavioral therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Background: Thalamic volumetric alterations are frequently reported in children and adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, whether successful cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is accompanied by thalamic macrostructural plasticity is unclear. Methods: Twenty-five pediatric (8–19 y...

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Main Authors: Vilde Brecke, Anders Lillevik Thorsen, Chaim Huyser, Niels de Joode, Bjarne Hansen, Kristen Hagen, Gerd Kvale, Chris Vriend, Odile A. van den Heuvel, Olga Therese Ousdal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-04-01
Series:Journal of Affective Disorders Reports
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666915325000022
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author Vilde Brecke
Anders Lillevik Thorsen
Chaim Huyser
Niels de Joode
Bjarne Hansen
Kristen Hagen
Gerd Kvale
Chris Vriend
Odile A. van den Heuvel
Olga Therese Ousdal
author_facet Vilde Brecke
Anders Lillevik Thorsen
Chaim Huyser
Niels de Joode
Bjarne Hansen
Kristen Hagen
Gerd Kvale
Chris Vriend
Odile A. van den Heuvel
Olga Therese Ousdal
author_sort Vilde Brecke
collection DOAJ
description Background: Thalamic volumetric alterations are frequently reported in children and adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, whether successful cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is accompanied by thalamic macrostructural plasticity is unclear. Methods: Twenty-five pediatric (8–19 years) and 53 adult (16–55 years) OCD patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging before and after CBT with exposure and response prevention (CBT with ERP). The data also included 27 pediatric and 37 adult healthy controls that were scanned at similar time intervals. Thalamic nuclei volumes were estimated from T1-weighted images using the longitudinal stream of FreeSurfer's ThalamicNuclei pipeline and aggregated into five subregions (anterior, lateral, medial, pulvinar and ventral). Repeated measures ANCOVAs and linear models were used to investigate pre-post changes in total or subregional thalamic volumes and their associations with clinical response. Results: There were no significant changes in total or subregional thalamic volumes following CBT with ERP in the pediatric or the adult OCD patients. Moreover, the individual clinical response was not associated with changes in thalamic volume, and baseline thalamic volumes did not predict clinical outcome. Limitations: Low variance in the clinical outcome and power to detect only moderate-to-large effect sizes. Conclusion: The results suggest that total and subregional thalamic volumes remain stable following successful CBT with ERP in OCD patients. Hence, thalamus or its subregions may not serve as feasible biomarkers of CBT outcome in OCD.
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spelling doaj-art-ab6079b2531847e79cbe94d806de29182025-08-20T03:15:12ZengElsevierJournal of Affective Disorders Reports2666-91532025-04-012010087210.1016/j.jadr.2025.100872Total and subregional thalamic volumes before and after cognitive behavioral therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorderVilde Brecke0Anders Lillevik Thorsen1Chaim Huyser2Niels de Joode3Bjarne Hansen4Kristen Hagen5Gerd Kvale6Chris Vriend7Odile A. van den Heuvel8Olga Therese Ousdal9Center for Crisis Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; Bergen Center for Brain Plasticity, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway; Corresponding author at: Center for Crisis Psychology, University of Bergen, Jekteviksbakken 31, 5006 Bergen, Norway.Bergen Center for Brain Plasticity, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway; Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsLevvel, Specialist Center Youth and Family Care, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsDepartment of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Compulsivity, Impulsivity and Attention, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsCenter for Crisis Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; Bergen Center for Brain Plasticity, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, NorwayBergen Center for Brain Plasticity, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, NorwayBergen Center for Brain Plasticity, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Compulsivity, Impulsivity and Attention, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsDepartment of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Compulsivity, Impulsivity and Attention, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam, the NetherlandsBergen Center for Brain Plasticity, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway; Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; Department of Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, NorwayBackground: Thalamic volumetric alterations are frequently reported in children and adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, whether successful cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is accompanied by thalamic macrostructural plasticity is unclear. Methods: Twenty-five pediatric (8–19 years) and 53 adult (16–55 years) OCD patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging before and after CBT with exposure and response prevention (CBT with ERP). The data also included 27 pediatric and 37 adult healthy controls that were scanned at similar time intervals. Thalamic nuclei volumes were estimated from T1-weighted images using the longitudinal stream of FreeSurfer's ThalamicNuclei pipeline and aggregated into five subregions (anterior, lateral, medial, pulvinar and ventral). Repeated measures ANCOVAs and linear models were used to investigate pre-post changes in total or subregional thalamic volumes and their associations with clinical response. Results: There were no significant changes in total or subregional thalamic volumes following CBT with ERP in the pediatric or the adult OCD patients. Moreover, the individual clinical response was not associated with changes in thalamic volume, and baseline thalamic volumes did not predict clinical outcome. Limitations: Low variance in the clinical outcome and power to detect only moderate-to-large effect sizes. Conclusion: The results suggest that total and subregional thalamic volumes remain stable following successful CBT with ERP in OCD patients. Hence, thalamus or its subregions may not serve as feasible biomarkers of CBT outcome in OCD.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666915325000022Obsessive-compulsive disorderThalamusExposure and response preventionTreatment outcomeMagnetic resonance imagingBiomarkers
spellingShingle Vilde Brecke
Anders Lillevik Thorsen
Chaim Huyser
Niels de Joode
Bjarne Hansen
Kristen Hagen
Gerd Kvale
Chris Vriend
Odile A. van den Heuvel
Olga Therese Ousdal
Total and subregional thalamic volumes before and after cognitive behavioral therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder
Journal of Affective Disorders Reports
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Thalamus
Exposure and response prevention
Treatment outcome
Magnetic resonance imaging
Biomarkers
title Total and subregional thalamic volumes before and after cognitive behavioral therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder
title_full Total and subregional thalamic volumes before and after cognitive behavioral therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder
title_fullStr Total and subregional thalamic volumes before and after cognitive behavioral therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder
title_full_unstemmed Total and subregional thalamic volumes before and after cognitive behavioral therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder
title_short Total and subregional thalamic volumes before and after cognitive behavioral therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder
title_sort total and subregional thalamic volumes before and after cognitive behavioral therapy in obsessive compulsive disorder
topic Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Thalamus
Exposure and response prevention
Treatment outcome
Magnetic resonance imaging
Biomarkers
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666915325000022
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