It is important to note that while sensory phenomena and habit formation are linked to similar circuitry, there is no direct evidence linking these features of OCD to each other (i.e. no studies have reported that the transition from goal-directed to habitual behavior is more common in patients with prominent sensory phenomena than those with fears or negative thoughts). Indeed, despite the overlap in somatosensory and motor cortex, there are some distinctions between the neurocircuitry, with sensory phenomena additionally associated with the insula and habit formation involving subcortical in addition to cortical sensorimotor areas. The link between sensory phenomena and habit formation has yet to be fully elucidated in the literature; neuroimaging studies examining each process individually suggest that they exhibit both overlapping and distinct circuitry and behavioral features. It should also be highlighted that regions involved in these sensorimotor circuit alterations also play important roles in the neurocognitive functions of other neurocircuits. The insula, for example, participates in emotional processing with the amygdala and other fronto-limbic structures and, like those regions, also shows hyperactivity during emotional processing in OCD
