Cortical thickness abnormalities in trichotillomania: international multi-site analysis
Open accessAbstract
Trichotillomania is a prevalent but often hidden psychiatric condition, characterized by repetitive hair pulling. The aim of this study was to confirm or refute structural brain abnormalities in trichotillomania by pooling all available global data. De-identified MRI scans were pooled by contacting authors of previous studies. Cortical thickness and sub-cortical volumes were compared between patients and controls. Patients (n = 76) and controls (n = 41) were well-matched in terms of demographic characteristics. Trichotillomania patients showed excess cortical thickness in a cluster maximal at right inferior frontal gyrus, unrelated to symptom severity. No significant sub-cortical volume differences were detected in the regions of interest. Morphometric changes in the right inferior frontal gyrus appear to play a central role in the pathophysiology of trichotillomania, and to be trait in nature. The findings are distinct from other impulsive-compulsive disorders (OCD, ADHD, gambling disorder), which have typically been associated with reduced, rather than increased, cortical thickness. Future work should examine sub-cortical and cerebellar morphology using analytic approaches designed for this purpose, and should also characterize grey matter densities/volumes.
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A recent multi-site international study found that trichotillomania patients showed excess cortical thickness in a cluster maximal at right inferior frontal gyrus.
“A recent multi-site international study of cortical thickness and sub-cortical volumes (76 people with trichotillomania compared to 41 controls) found that trichotillomania patients showed excess cortical thickness in a cluster maximal at right inferior frontal gyrus and appear to play a central role in the pathophysiology of trichotillomania and to be a trait in nature.[25]”
From Trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder) (2019) · cites this paper as [25]
These cortical thickness findings appear to play a central role in the pathophysiology of trichotillomania and to be a trait in nature.
“A recent multi-site international study of cortical thickness and sub-cortical volumes (76 people with trichotillomania compared to 41 controls) found that trichotillomania patients showed excess cortical thickness in a cluster maximal at right inferior frontal gyrus and appear to play a central role in the pathophysiology of trichotillomania and to be a trait in nature.[25]”
From Trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder) (2019) · cites this paper as [25]
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- Authors
- Chamberlain, S. R., Harries, M., Redden, S. A., Keuthen, N. J., Stein, D. J., Lochner, C., & Grant, J. E.
- Affiliations
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- University of Chicago (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- University of Cape Town (ZA)
- Corresponding author
- Chamberlain, Samuel R.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Brain Imaging and Behavior
- Published
- 2017-06-29
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 823-828
- ISSN
- 1931-7557 (ISSN-L)
- 1931-7565
- PMC
- PMC5640149
- OpenAlex
- W2730685504
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 3.05
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Brain Imaging and Behavior (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ePrints Soton (University of Southampton) (acceptedVersion)
- Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Apollo (University of Cambridge) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Apollo (cc-by)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (110049/Z/15/Z)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Neurological disorders and treatments
- Keywords
- trichotillomania, cortical thickness, structural brain abnormalities, inferior frontal gyrus, subcortical volume, hair pulling, brain structure, symptom severity
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Cerebral Cortex, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Organ Size, Trichotillomania, Internationality
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