Cited by 174Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum DisordersPerfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety StudiesNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Neural Mechanisms of Decision Making in Hoarding Disorder

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Tolin, David F., Stevens, Michael C., Villavicencio, Anna L., Norberg, Melissa M., Calhoun, Vince D., Frost, Randy O., Steketee, Gail, Rauch, Scott L. +1 more·2012·Archives of General Psychiatry

Abstract

CONTEXT: Hoarding disorder (HD), previously considered a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), has been proposed as a unique diagnostic entity in DSM-5. Current models of HD emphasize problems of decision-making, attachment to possessions, and poor insight, whereas previous neuroimaging studies have suggested abnormalities in frontal brain regions. OBJECTIVE: To examine the neural mechanisms of impaired decision making in HD in patients with well-defined primary HD compared with patients with OCD and healthy control subjects (HCs). DESIGN: We compared neural activity among patients with HD, patients with OCD, and HCs during decisions to keep or discard personal possessions and control possessions from November 9, 2006, to August 13, 2010. SETTING: Private, not-for-profit hospital. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 107 adults (43 with HD, 31 with OCD, and 33 HCs). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Neural activity as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging in which actual real-time and binding decisions had to be made about whether to keep or discard possessions. RESULTS: Compared with participants with OCD and HC, participants with HD exhibited abnormal activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and insula that was stimulus dependent. Specifically, when deciding about items that did not belong to them, patients with HD showed relatively lower activity in these brain regions. However, when deciding about items that belonged to them, these regions showed excessive functional magnetic resonance imaging signals compared with the other 2 groups. These differences in neural function correlated significantly with hoarding severity and self-ratings of indecisiveness and "not just right" feelings among patients with HD and were unattributable to OCD or depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest a biphasic abnormality in anterior cingulate cortex and insula function in patients with HD related to problems in identifying the emotional significance of a stimulus, generating appropriate emotional response, or regulating affective state during decision making.

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  • Because many individuals with hoarding disorder experience intense distress and negative emotions during decision-making, refusal to discard or make decisions about items may represent avoidance of negative emotions that are difficult to manage.

    “Because many individuals with HD experience intense distress and negative emotions during decision-making (Frost et al., 2016;Tolin et al., 2012), refusal to discard or make decisions about items may represent avoidance of negative emotions that are difficult to manage.”

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. [33]Williams JB A structured interview guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale Arch Gen Psychiatry 1988 45 8 742 747 3395203
  2. [35]Frost RO Tolin DF Taylor S Abramowitz JS McKay D Compulsive hoarding Clinical Handbook of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Related Problems Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins University Press 2008 76 94
  3. [49]Knutson B Bossaerts P Neural antecedents of financial decisions J Neurosci 2007 27 31 8174 8177 17670962 PMC6673081

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Authors
Tolin, D. F., Stevens, M. C., Villavicencio, A. L., Norberg, M. M., Calhoun, V. D., Frost, R. O., Steketee, G., Rauch, S. L., & Pearlson, G. D.
Affiliations
Boston University (US)
Venue
Archives of General Psychiatry
Published
2012-08-01
Volume
69
Issue
8
Pages
832
ISSN
0003-990X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2099281977
Cited by
174
References
64
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 3
FWCI
12.37
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Archives of General Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Smith ScholarWorks (Smith College) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH074934)
  • National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (R01EB000840, R01EB020407, R01EB006841)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
hoarding disorder, decision-making, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, obsessive-compulsive disorder, indecision, emotion regulation, hoarding severity
MeSH terms
Hoarding Disorder, Adult, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Decision Making, Evoked Potentials, Female, Gyrus Cinguli, Hospitals, Voluntary, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Neural Pathways, Obsessive Behavior, Sickness Impact Profile, Expressed Emotion, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

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