Structure-function coupling abnormalities in adolescent obsessive-compulsive disorder and their molecular correlates.

BACKGROUND

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) frequently emerges during adolescence, a critical period of brain network maturation. Although altered functional and structural connectivity have been reported separately in adolescent OCD, structural-functional connectivity (SC-FC) coupling, which reflects how white matter architecture shapes functional organization, remains unexplored.

METHODS

Fifty adolescents with OCD and 53 healthy control participants underwent multimodal neuroimaging. SC-FC coupling was quantified across 246 brain regions and large-scale networks. Group differences were examined using general linear models, and associations with symptom severity were assessed using partial correlations. Machine learning evaluated prediction of diagnosis and symptom severity. Spatial correlation analyses linked coupling alterations to neurotransmitter systems and transcriptional signatures.

RESULTS

Adolescents with OCD exhibited elevated SC-FC coupling, most prominently within the default mode network (DMN, t = 3.563, p < 0.001). DMN coupling was positively associated with compulsive symptom severity (ρ = 0.436, p = 0.002). SC-FC coupling discriminated patients from controls with 66.0% accuracy (area under the curve = 0.691, p = 0.003) and predicted symptom severity (r = 0.426, p = 0.002). Spatial association analyses linked SC-FC coupling alterations to normative dopaminergic and cholinergic molecular architectures. Transcriptomic analyses identified genes enriched for synaptic, neurodevelopmental, and signaling-related processes, with preferential expression in excitatory and inhibitory neurons.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings demonstrate that adolescent OCD is characterized by SC-FC coupling alterations embedded within specific neurochemical and transcriptional architectures, suggesting that SC-FC coupling may serve as a systems-level marker linking brain organization, molecular substrates, and clinical manifestations.