A Comparative Study on Cerebral Lateralization of Global-Local Visual Processing in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Clinical and neuropsychological evidence indicate that patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder might have difficulty in early stages of processing visual global-local stimuli. This study was carried out to compare global-local visual processing and its cerebral lateralization among patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and normal controls.

The present study is a causal-comparative study. 18 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and 18 normal individuals, matched together in terms of age, sex, education and marital status took part in the study. Participants completed a com-puterized global-local task, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Beck Anxiety Inventory. Data were analyzed using a mixed analysis of variance with a repeated measures design.

Results indicated that patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder are generally faster in local processing than global processing and have a relative deficit in global processing in the right hemisphere.

relative deficit in global processing in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder indicate a deficit in early stages of information processing and suggests the possibility of a right hemisphere dysfunction.