Understanding cingulotomy’s therapeutic effect in OCD through computer models

Cingulotomy is therapeutic in OCD, but what are the possible mechanisms? Computer models that formalize cortical OCD abnormalities and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) function can help answer this. At the neural dynamics level, cortical dynamics in OCD have been modeled using attractor networks, where activity patterns resistant to change denote the inability to switch to new patterns, which can reflect inflexible thinking patterns or behaviors. From that perspective, cingulotomy might reduce the influence of difficult-to-escape ACC attractor dynamics on other cortical areas. At the functional level, computer formulations based on model-free reinforcement learning (RL) have been used to describe the multitude of phenomena ACC is involved in, such as tracking the timing of expected outcomes and estimating the cost of exerting cognitive control and effort. Different elements of model-free RL models of ACC could be affected by the inflexible cortical dynamics, making it challenging to update their values. An agent can also use a world model, a representation of how the states of the world change, to plan its actions, through model-based RL. OCD has been hypothesized to be driven by reduced certainty of how the brain’s world model describes changes. Cingulotomy might improve such uncertainties about the world and one’s actions, making it possible to trust the outcomes of these actions more and thus reduce the urge to collect more sensory information in the form of compulsions. Connecting the neural dynamics models with the functional formulations can provide new ways of understanding the role of ACC in OCD, with potential therapeutic insights.