Neurobiology of rodent self-grooming and its value for translational neuroscience.

Self-grooming is a complex innate behaviour with an evolutionarily conserved sequencing pattern and is one of the most frequently performed behavioural activities in rodents. In this Review, we discuss the neurobiology of rodent self-grooming, and we highlight studies of rodent models of neuropsychiatric disorders--including models of autism spectrum disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder--that have assessed self-grooming phenotypes. We suggest that rodent self-grooming may be a useful measure of repetitive behaviour in such models, and therefore of value to translational psychiatry. Assessment of rodent self-grooming may also be useful for understanding the neural circuits that are involved in complex sequential patterns of action.

Streams and patterns in behavior as challenges for future technologies.

How we divide and recombine processes that underlie integrated patterns of behavior represents one of the most fundamental problems in all behavioral science. Avenues of insight range from naturalistic observations to the most advanced technological advances in the recording and analysis of behavioral sequences. Members of the symposium on "Streams and Patterns in Behavior," Maastricht Conference on Measuring Behavior, offered important complementary approaches to issues that are common in all analyses of behavioral patterns, across time scales and levels of organization. Rodent grooming was emphasized as one model system, but contributors also offered insights on a range of issues relevant to our deeper understanding of exploration, emotions, consciousness, and human neurological disorders.