Remission of an obsessive-compulsive disorder following a right temporal lobectomy

The etiopathogenic mechanisms involved in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have been the source of extensive reports, but remain poorly understood. Recent studies have postulated an organic origin for this disorder. In this paper, we present the case of a patient who suffered from OCD and intractable partial complex seizures originating from right mesiotemporal structures. Following a right anterior temporal lobectomy for the treatment of her seizures, the OCD remitted. We discuss the significance of such phenomena in the context of the available literature, and suggest possible theories that would explain it as well as support possible organic etiopathogenic mechanisms of OCD.