Various neurocognitive deficits have been identified across several domains in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), including memory, response inhibition attentional processing and cognitive flexibility.

The aim of this study was to evaluate Set Shifting in patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder compared with Healthy Controls (HC).

44 OCD patients, according to DSM-IV criteria (APA, 1994) and 32 healthy controls (HC) were recruited. Information Sampling Task (IST) selected from Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) was administered to all participants to assess cognitive flexibility. The two IST versions were counterbalanced in the samples. Delta index has been calculated as the difference between the number of the boxes opened in the fixed condition and the number of boxes opened in the decrease condition.

Group differences in Delta IST were assessed within an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) model including Groups (control vs. OCD) as between-subject factor and age as a covariate. Results show a no significant main effect for group on IST Delta index (p=0.26). A significant effect of the covariates (age) on Delta IST(p=0.027) was found.

Results suggests that cognitive flexibility, assessed by Information Sampling Task, was not impaired in OCD patients. Future research should evaluate this evidence, taking in account for OCD clinical subtypes.