The Mouse Who Couldn't Stop Washing: Pathologic Grooming in Animals and Humans

Abstract

The basic science literature is replete with descriptions of naturally occurring or experimentally induced pathological grooming behaviors in animals, which are widely considered animal models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). These animal models rely largely on observed similarities between animal behaviors and human OCD behaviors, and on studies of animal pathological grooming disorders that respond to serotonin enhancing drugs. However, current limitations in assessment of complex cognition and affect in animals precludes the field’s ability to match the driving primary processes behind observable phenomenology in animal “OCD” with human behavioral disorders. We propose that excessive grooming behaviors in animals may eventually prove to be equally, or possibly more relevant to, other conditions in humans that involve pathological grooming or grooming-like behaviors, such as trichotillomania, body dysmorphic disorder, olfactory reference syndrome, compulsive skin-picking, and onychophagia. Research is needed to better understand pathological grooming behaviors in both humans and animals, as animal models have the potential to elucidate pathogenic mechanisms and inform the treatment of these psychiatric conditions in humans.

White Matter Abnormalities in Skin Picking Disorder: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

“…Individuals with SPD report high rates of co-occurring trichotillomania, and first-degree relatives of patients with SPD report high rates of grooming behaviors, including trichotillomania and SPD (Odlaug and Grant, 2008a,b;Wilhelm et al, 1999;Neziroglu et al, 2008). Given this overlapping familiality between SPD and trichotillomania, and that these conditions are associated with pathological habits that are difficult to suppress, it has been suggested that SPD can be viewed as a pathological grooming disorder alongside trichotillomania (Stein et al, 1994;Feusner et al, 2009;Beinvenu et al, 2012).…”

Anxietyandphobias Roxanne Magdalena

“…64 Other common repetitive behaviors are excessive grooming (eg, combing their hair or washing their skin repeatedly), tanning (to improve their skin color or skin imperfections), reas-C l i n i c a l r e s e a r c h surance seeking (asking whether one's appearance is acceptable), excessive shopping for beauty products, changing their clothes repeatedly to find a more flattering outfit, and excessive exercise (eg, weightlifting in the case of muscle dysmorphia). 1,52,55,[64][65][66] Many BDD patients (27% to 45%) pick at their skin in an attempt to improve perceived blemishes or imperfections; however, this behavior sometimes causes observable appearance defects and can even cause severe damage such as skin infections and rupture of blood vessels. [67][68][69] Many other examples of compulsive behaviors exist, which are often idiosyncratic, such as drinking more than 3 gallons of water a day to make one's face look fuller.…”

Book Review: "Neurobiology of Grooming Behavior" Allan V. Kalueff, Justin L. LaPorte and Carisa L. Bergner, eds. (2010)

“…The continual development of rodent models of diseases/disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Tourette syndrome and Huntington's disease [7,12,14,23,24,31,33] will ensure an increasing need to appropriately evaluate grooming. However, it is important for readers interested in measuring grooming to consider adopting a detailed behavioral analysis.…”