Neuropsychological Function in OCD

This chapter reviews the neuropsychological literature in adult and pediatric OCD, and then reviews the limitations, current controversies, and caveats in this area. Characterization of neuropsychological deficits associated with psychological problems has the potential to integrate neurobiological and psychopathological research. The cognitive neuropsychology of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) has been extensively studied over the past three decades. This impressive body of literature indicates that individuals diagnosed with OCD tend to exhibit moderate underperformance on neuropsychological tests in most, although not all, cognitive domains. However, neuropsychological research in OCD has been notoriously inconsistent. Moreover, the presence of broad though modest deficits, rather than large discrete ones, raises serious challenges for attempts to integrate neuropsychological constructs into neurobiological and psychological models of OCD.