Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a highly prevalent and severe neuropsychiatric disorder, with an incidence of 1.5–3% worldwide. However, despite the clear public health burden of OCD and relatively well-defined symptom criteria, effective treatments are still limited, spotlighting the need for investigation of the neural substrates of the disorder. Human neuroimaging studies have consistently highlighted abnormal activity patterns in prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions and connected circuits in OCD during both symptom provocation and performance of neurocognitive tasks. Because of recent technical advances, these findings can now be leveraged to develop novel targeted interventions. Here we will highlight current theories regarding the role of the prefrontal cortex in the generation of OCD symptoms, discuss ways in which this knowledge can be used to improve treatments for this often disabling illness, and lay out challenges in the field for future study.

强迫症 (OCD) 是一种非常普遍且严重的神经精神疾病，全世界的发病率为 1.5-3%。然而，尽管 OCD 带来了明显的公共卫生负担并且症状标准相对明确，但有效的治疗方法仍然有限，这凸显了对这种疾病的神经基质进行调查的必要性。人类神经影像学研究一直强调在症状激发和神经认知任务执行期间，强迫症中前额叶皮层 (PFC) 区域和连接回路的异常活动模式。由于最近的技术进步，现在可以利用这些发现来开发新的有针对性的干预措施。在这里，我们将强调当前关于前额叶皮层在强迫症症状产生中的作用的理论，