Obsessive-Compulsive Tendencies Shift the Balance Between Competitive Neurocognitive Processes

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 cognitive flexibility, defined as the capacity to adapt behavior and cognitive strategies to changing environmental demands. By adopting a dimensional approach to obsessive-compulsive (OC) tendencies in a non-clinical sample, we aimed to clarify how continuous symptom variability relates to the interaction of these neurocognitive processes. A total of 404 participants completed an online 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 typical balance between automatic and goal-directed functions even at undiagnosed levels. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=174 HEIGHT=200 SRC="FIGDIR/small/669948v3_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (41K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@14be655org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1ff0a67org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1041e59org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@164a21a_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG HighlightsO_LIOCD theories propose an imbalance between automatic and goal-directed control systems. C_LIO_LIWe tested whether this imbalance emerges at a functional level, beyond reward-based learning. C_LIO_LIStatistical learning and cognitive flexibility showed an antagonistic relationship in a non-clinical sample. C_LIO_LIThis inverse association weakened as obsessive-compulsive tendencies increased. C_LIO_LIOC tendencies alter the interaction between automatic learning and executive control even at subclinical levels. C_LI