Obsessive-Compulsive Tendencies Shift the Balance Between Competitive Neurocognitive Functions

Abstract

Theoretical models of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) emphasize that symptoms may arise from an imbalance between habitual and goal-directed processes, characterized by increased reliance on habitual behavior and reduced efficiency of goal-directed control. However, it remains unclear whether similar alterations appear at a more general functional level, beyond reward-driven mechanisms. The present study, therefore, investigated the relationship between statistical learning (SL), an implicit, reward-independent mechanism that supports the detection of environmental regularities and the formation of habitual behaviour, and cognitive flexibility, defined as the capacity to adapt behaviour and cognitive strategies to changing environmental demands. By adopting a dimensional approach to obsessive-compulsive (OC) tendencies in a university student sample, we aimed to clarify how continuous symptom variability relates to the interaction of these neurocognitive functions. A total of 404 participants completed an online experiment, including a probabilistic sequence learning task assessing SL and a card-sorting task measuring cognitive flexibility. Results revealed an antagonistic relationship between SL and cognitive flexibility. Importantly, this inverse association weakened as OC tendencies increased, suggesting that OC tendencies may alter the balance between automatic and goal-directed functions. HighlightsO_LICD theories propose an imbalance between automatic and goal-directed control systems. C_LIO_LItested whether this imbalance emerges at a functional level, beyond reward-based learning. C_LIO_LIlearning and cognitive flexibility showed an antagonistic relationship in a university student sample. C_LIO_LIinverse association weakened as obsessive-compulsive tendencies increased. C_LIO_LIC tendencies alter the interaction between automatic learning and executive control. C_LI Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=174 HEIGHT=200 SRC="FIGDIR/small/669948v4_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (41K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@9f700corg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1752b54org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@16f9a98org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@e99e6_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG