Animal models of self-injurious behaviour: an overview.
Self-injurious behaviour is highly prevalent in neurodevelopmental disorders. Interestingly, it is not restricted to any individual diagnostic group. Rather, it is exhibited in various forms across patient groups with distinct genetic defects and classifications of disorders. This suggests that there may be shared neuropathology that confers vulnerability. Convergent evidence from clinical pharmacotherapy, brain imaging studies, postmortem neurochemical analyses, and animal models indicates that dopaminergic insufficiency is a key culprit. This chapter provides an overview of studies in which animal models have been used to investigate the biochemical basis of self-injury, and highlights the convergence in findings between these models and expression of self-injury in humans.
Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. dpdevine@ufl.edu
Darragh P
DP
Devine
D001498:3-Pyridinecarboxylic acid, 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-5-nitro-4-(2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-, Methyl ester / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D002110:Caffeine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004298:Dopamine / Q000172:deficiency*; D006801:Humans; D007926:Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome / Q000523:psychology; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D010389:Pemoline / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D011218:Prader-Willi Syndrome / Q000523:psychology; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology*
D002110:Caffeine; D001498:3-Pyridinecarboxylic acid, 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-5-nitro-4-(2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-, Methyl ester; D010389:Pemoline; D004298:Dopamine