Science Article Summary 1

Derr, M. Study Finds a Shared Gene in Dogs With Compulsive Behavior. New York Times Science. 2010 Jan18

Doberman pincshers curl up in a ball and suck their flanks for hours at a time. Researchers studied these dogs and seemed to find a gene that is shared with humans. In people, there is an estimate of 2.5 to 8 percent to have the obsessive- compulsive disorder. Characteristics show things like excessive hand washing, repetitive checking of stoves, locks and lights, and damaging actions like pulling their hair out and self confliction. Dr. Dodman and his colleagues searched for a source of this behavior in dogs, and compared the genomes of 94 Doberman pinschers that sucked their flanks or blankets. Dodman also studied pedigrees of all dogs for patterns of inheritance. A spot was found on chromosome 7 that showed variation in the genetic code when the sucking and non sucking dogs were compared. A protein called cadherins were involved in the cell alignment, adhesion and signaling which contained the instructions for sucking. Cadherins were also recently associated with autism which includes the repetitive and compulsive behaviors. Scientists are now working on finding and sequencing the gene in humans to see whether it is linked to obsessive compulsive behavior. As scientists learn more about the causes of this condition, they will increase using the term obsessive compulsive disorder to apply to not only humans, but animals too. Dr. Karen Overall, a veterinarian specializing in animal behavior, suggested that up to 8 percent of dogs in the United States show compulsive behaviors like fence running, pacing, spinning, tail chasing, licking, chewing, and barking. Males outnumber females three to one in dogs, and could be treated, if early enough. Geneticists say that because of the detailed pedigree and their similarity to those of humans, dogs make a good model for studying human behaviors and pathologies.