Animal psychopathology
[1] But animal psychopathologies can, from an evolutionary point of view, be more properly regarded as non-adaptive behaviors due to some sort of a cognitive disability, emotional impairment or distress.
Animals in the wild appear to be relatively free from eating disorders although their body composition fluctuates depending on seasonal and reproductive cycles.
However, if food intake is restricted and wheel access is unrestricted, rats begin to exercise more and eat less, resulting in excessive weight loss and, ultimately, death.
The sows that experience the most restraining conditions are those lactating or pregnant as they have very little room to move around because they are kept in barred gestation crates or tethered for the 16 weeks of pregnancy which prevents natural and social behaviors.
[1] Studies on the effects of overcrowding were conducted in the 1940s by placing pregnant Norway rats in a room with plenty of water and food and observing the population growth.
[10] Theories explaining why this behavior becomes active during this time suggest that early weaning and stress as a consequence of separation from the mother and litter-mates and exposure to a new environment are to blame.
[10] Other theories contemplated include pica as a redirection of prey-catching/ingestion behavior as a result of indoor confinement, especially common among oriental breeds due to risk of theft.
[11] Munn has found that clay helps counter the tannin and alkaloid in the seeds the macaws ingest, a strategy that is also used by native cultures in the Andes Mountains in Peru.
He had already had surgery to relieve intestinal obstructions resulting from his habit and, each day, his owners reentered their house with trepidation after work, fearing that Bumbley might have eaten something else.
Brüne (2006) suggests that change of various origin in striatal and frontal brain circuits, which play a role in predicting needs and threats that may arise in the future, may result in a hyperactive cognitive harm avoidance system, in which a person becomes consciously and unreasonably fearful of an unlikely or impossible event.
This data can help scientists to discover more effective and efficient ways to treat OCD in humans through the information they find by studying CCD in dogs.
One study done by Simon Vermeier used neuroimaging to investigate serotonergic and dopaminergic neurotransmission in 9 dogs with Canine Compulsive Disorder (CCD) to measure the serotonin 2A receptor availability.
Alicia Graef's article [24] makes several bold claims that dogs are the future in understanding how to better diagnose, recognize, and treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in humans.
By observing and studying how CCD manifests in the brain activity, behaviors, and genes of diagnosed canines, scientists have been able to use their newfound information to develop better diagnostic tests and more readily recognize symptoms and susceptible humans.
After treating rats with quinpirole, a chemical that specifically blocks dopamine D2/D3 receptors, compulsive checking of certain locations in an open field increased.
This study also found that COMT protein levels decreased in mice that did not produce estrogen and increased in the hypothalamus after estrogen-replacement treatment.
Lick granuloma, or licking repeatedly until ulcers form on the skin, affects more large dogs, like Labradors, golden retrievers, Great Danes, and Dobermans, while bull terriers, German shepherds, Old English sheepdogs, Rottweilers, and wire-haired fox terriers, and springer spaniels are more likely to snap at imaginary flies or chase light and shadows.
Circling, hair biting, staring, and sometimes even barking are other examples of behaviors that are considered compulsions in dogs when taken to extreme, repetitive actions.
[30] Dodman advocates the use of exercise, an enriched environment (like providing noises for dogs to listen to while owners are at work), and often Prozac (an SSRI used to treat OCD in humans) as treatments.
Hogan had a history of neglect and abuse before he was adopted by Connie and Jim, who attempted to improve his behavior by teaching him to respond to American Sign Language.
The following are some excerpts from Hogan's file:[31] All was well for a year and a half when suddenly, one March morning, he woke up and started pawing everything in sight, and just wouldn't stop.
Completing the rehabilitation checklist, I exhorted Connie to work even harder with the sign-language and instructed her on a new sign to use when Hogan started digging.
Call me a coward, but I didn't think that alone would cut it because of previous experiences with canine compulsive disorders so, employing a belt-and-suspenders strategy, I also advised medicating Hogan with the tricyclic antidepressant Elavil.
Tasty food can activate opioid receptors in the ventral tegmental area and thereby stimulate cells that release dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NAc).
Morphine tolerance does not depend merely on the frequency of pharmacological stimulation, but rather on both the number of pairings of a drug-predictive cue with the systemic effects of the drug.
Rene Hen and his colleagues at Columbia University ran a study on rats in which they blocked neurogenesis by applying radiation to the hippocampal area to test the efficacy of antidepressants.
Baboons had lower levels of cortisol if they 1. played with infants and cultivated friendships, 2. could tell if a situation was a real threat and could tell if they were going to win or lose, and 3. were top ranking.
Stress can have negative effects on gastrointestinal function causing ulcers, and it can also decrease sex drive, affect sleeping patterns and elevate blood pressure but it can also stimulate and motivate.
[38] Yerkes and Dodson developed a law that explains the empirical relationship between arousal and performance illustrated by an inverted U-shape graph.
[43] Rhesus macaques have been observed to display self-aggression (SA) including self-biting, self-clasping, self-slapping, self-rubbing and threatening of body parts.
