Brains of OCD Humans Similar to Dogs with Compulsive Disorder, Study Says

The same brain abnormality that affects humans with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is present in dogs with the canine equivalent of the disease, according to new research.

Canine compulsive disorder (CCD) is characterized by repetitive and destructive behaviors, as well as tail chasing and chewing. People with OCD often exhibit repetitive behaviors or persistent thoughts that are time consuming and interfere with daily routines.

The new research from veterinarians at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and researchers at the McLean Imaging Center at McLean Hospital, in Belmont, Mass. show that the structural brain abnormalities of eight Doberman pinschers afflicted with CCD are similar to those of humans with OCD. The eight CCD dogs were given MRIs and compared to a control set of eight Dobermans without CCD. The researchers found the CCD dogs' brain matter analyses were consistent with those reported in humans with OCD, having, among other things, the same abnormalities in gray matter volumes. 

The researchers suggest that further study of anxiety disorders in dogs may help find new therapies for OCD and similar conditions in humans.

"While the study sample was small and further research is needed, the results further validate that dogs with CCD can provide insight and understanding into anxiety disorders that affect people. Dogs exhibit the same behavioral characteristics, respond to the same medication, have a genetic basis to the disorder, and we now know have the same structural brain abnormalities as people with OCD," said Nicholas Dodman, professor of clinical sciences at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, according to a press statement.

Niwako Ogata, who was a behavior researcher at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and is now an assistant professor of animal behavior at Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, said, "Canines that misbehave are often labeled as 'bad dogs' but it is important to detect and show the biological basis for certain behaviors."

"Evidence-based science is a much better approach to understanding a dog's behavior," Ogata said.

The research was published in the journal Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry.