| The aim of the present study was to investigate the neuropsychological similarities and differences between individuals diagnosed with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). A sample of 30 individuals participated: ten with a primary diagnosis of BDD, ten with a primary diagnosis of OCD, and ten normal controls with no diagnosis of any anxiety, mood or somatoform disorder. All participants were administered self-report measures to assess for levels of depression and anxiety, self-esteem, perfectionism and overvalued ideation. The neuropsychological battery administered to all three groups included measures that assessed participants' executive functioning and visual-spatial abilities. The following tests were used: the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test: Computer Version 4, the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Sorting Test, D-KEFS Trail-Making Test, D-KEFS Verbal Fluency Test, D-KEFS Design Fluency Test, D-KEFS Color-Word Interference Test, D-KEFS Tower Test, three subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III, namely Picture Completion, Block Design, and Object Assembly, the Comprehensive Test of Visual Functioning, Hooper Visual Organization Test, and Benton Facial Recognition Test.; Participants with BDD and OCD presented with equivalent levels of symptom severity and insight. Their levels of depression and anxiety were also equivalent, but significantly higher compared to the normal controls. The two clinical groups further endorsed significantly higher levels of perfectionism than the normal controls and participants with BDD also had significantly lower self-esteem compared to participants with OCD and the control group. Contrary to predictions, the clinical groups did not exhibit poorer executive functioning relative to controls as measured by the tests administered. In terms of the visual-spatial assessment, the three groups displayed equivalent visual-spatial abilities as measured by the majority of tests. Results suggest that the neuroanatomical sites associated with the functions measured by the tests administered may not be dysfunctional in patients with OCD and BDD. However, more research is required before any definite conclusions about the neuropathology of these disorders can be reached. |
