Frontostriatal salience network expands as executive networks contract in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), marked by intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviours (compulsions), is linked to dysfunction in frontostriatal circuits. However, neural differences potentially contributing to these alterations are often small, and conflicting evidence obscures the directionality and underlying mechanisms of these alterations. Like many psychiatric conditions, OCD follows a fluctuating symptom trajectory, with symptoms shifting dramatically over months—either naturally or due to treatment. Yet, the absence of longitudinal neuroimaging studies limits our understanding of the neural mechanisms driving these changes.

Here, we used precision functional mapping in highly sampled individuals with OCD, uncovering a striking imbalance within frontostriatal networks. We identified a twofold expansion of the salience network in these individuals and a concomitant contraction of the frontoparietal network. Notably, salience network expansion was driven by border shifts, encroaching on adjacent executive networks and leading to their contraction. This imbalance within frontostriatal networks may relate to excessive attention to internal stimuli and lack of goal-directed control, which are classically observed in OCD. Longitudinal analyses of neuroimaging data collected over several months revealed frontostriatal connectivity changes tracking symptom severity. Overall, these findings pinpoint network-level features that may confer risk for individuals with OCD and highlight dynamic connectivity shifts tied to severity of OCD symptoms over time. By isolating frontostriatal abnormalities at the individual level in OCD and their relationship to symptom severity for the first time, this work paves the way for more targeted, personalized treatment strategies and identifies precision functional mapping as a model for precision psychiatry.