Brain circuit linking amygdala and dorsolateral striatum implicated in OCD

A previously unidentified brain circuit connecting the amygdala and dorsolateral striatum (DLS) plays a key role in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), according to research led by Joshua L. Plotkin at Stony Brook University and published in Neuron. Using a mouse model, the team found that a small projection from the amygdala, involved in emotional processing, to the DLS, which governs habitual behaviors, has an outsized influence on motor responses.

The connection, mapped at single-synapse resolution by first author Zachary Hobel, enhances synaptic plasticity and amplifies sensory-evoked behaviors. For instance, stimulating this circuit while delivering a water droplet to a mouse’s nose prolonged face-grooming long after the stimulus ended, modeling compulsive behavior. Inhibiting the amygdala in OCD-prone mice prevented such OCD-like actions.

Although human and mouse brains differ structurally, their regional organization is similar, and the mice respond to standard OCD medications. Plotkin noted the circuit may explain how emotionally salient experiences strengthen cue-action links, turning normal behaviors into compulsions. The findings point to this amygdala, DLS pathway as a promising target for more precise OCD treatments.

Source: Medical Xpress

Prepared with AI assistance from the cited sources.