Stereotypy and perseverative responding in caged bears: further data and analyses
Stereotypies are common in captive animals; yet, their underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. One hypothesis [Garner, J.P., 1999. The aetiology of stereotypy in caged animals. Ph.D. Thesis. University of Oxford, UK] proposes them to be symptoms of altered behavioural organisation (behavioural disinhibition) mediated by striatal dysfunction, and thus, fundamentally analogous to the repetitive behaviours associated […]
Evidence for a relationship between cage stereotypies and behavioural disinhibition in laboratory rodents
Cage stereotypies—abnormal, repetitive, unvarying and apparently functionless behaviours—are common in many captive animals, sometimes resulting in self-injury or decreased reproductive success. However, a general mechanistic or neurophysiological understanding of cage stereotypies has proved elusive. In contrast, stereotypies in human mental disorder, or those induced by drugs or brain lesions, are well understood, and are thought […]