# Identifying Reproducible Brain Signatures of Obsessive-Compulsive Profiles

> **NIH NIH R01** · NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE DBA RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC · 2020 · $838,291

## Abstract

Anxiety and related disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), are leading
causes of global disability. Brain circuit abnormalities have been identified, but important
knowledge gaps remain. It is unclear which abnormalities underlie what symptom profiles, how
dysfunction develops and thus which brain abnormalities to target with new interventions.
Moreover, circuit abnormalities likely cut across traditional diagnostic categories and, within a
diagnostic category, there is individual variability. Our approach is to identify reproducible brain
signatures of measurable behaviors and clinical symptoms; these brain signatures can then be
used to reveal trans-diagnostic disease dimensions, to chart their development, and to develop
treatments that target these circuit abnormalities directly.
 The goal of this proposal is to identify reproducible brain signatures associated with
cognitive and clinical profiles that are common in individuals with OCD. To accomplish this,
we will study 250 unmedicated OCD and 250 healthy control subjects (HCs) at five expert
research sites spanning five countries (U.S., Brazil, India, Netherlands, and South Africa).
Using imaging methods that could ultimately be adapted for clinical use, we will examine
multiple brain circuits thought to underlie OCD behaviors, focusing on morphometry (using T1-
weighted MRI), structural connectivity (using Diffusion Tensor Imaging [DTI]), and functional
connectivity (using resting-state fMRI [rs-fMRI]). We will identify neuroimaging signatures that
distinguish individuals with OCD from HCs by analyzing each modality with standardized
protocols and by using multi-modal fusion with modern machine learning statistical methods.
We will then examine how these imaging signatures are linked to behavioral performance on
cognitive tasks that probe these same circuits and to a range of clinical profiles that are
common to OCD. Finally, we will explore how specific environmental features (childhood
trauma, socioeconomic status, religiosity) may moderate this brain-behavior relationship. Our
short-term goal is to identify brain signatures of OCD cognitive and clinical profiles, leveraging
our global collaboration both to recruit a very large unmedicated sample and to prove these
signatures' reproducibility. Our long-term goal is to identify brain signatures for measurable
behaviors and clinical symptoms that cut across traditional diagnostic categories and to use
these signatures to transform how we conceptualize, diagnose and ultimately treat mental
illnesses like OCD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9926317
- **Project number:** 5R01MH113250-04
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE DBA RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC
- **Principal Investigator:** HELEN BLAIR SIMPSON
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $838,291
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9926317

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9926317, Identifying Reproducible Brain Signatures of Obsessive-Compulsive Profiles (5R01MH113250-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9926317. Licensed CC0.

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