Can animals suffer from schizophrenia, dementia?
Dr. Michael Fox
Question: I’ve got an odd question for you. As I was talking to my housemate, we got into the subject of schizophrenia and dementia. I wondered if all mammals can have such problems. And what about birds? — M.W.F., San Francisco
Dear M.W.F.: Behavioral changes in animals caused by various factors can produce symptoms that resemble conditions seen in humans. In 1968, I brought together experts from around the world to contribute to the fifirst textbook on the topic, entitled “Abnormal Behavior in Animals.” It served as a catalyst for more research and clinical studies of behavioral problems in animals captive and wild, including any and all mammalian and avian species. A more recent text on this topic was edited by veterinarian Franklyn D. McMillan in 2005 — “Mental Health & Well-Being in Animals” — again including chapters by experts from around the world.
In summary, many abnormal behaviors seen in humans are virtually identical to those seen in other animals, such as obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCDs, including self-mutilation and repetitive movements like cribbiting in horses), anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, catatonia or seizures — even with hallucinations. The latter may be interpreted as a form of dementia triggered by some intense, often fear-evoking stimulus, especially when there is no escape. Many dogs developed “air-snapping” behaviors (also called “flflflflflflysnapping”) after air raids in England during World War II, and dogs in Pavlov’s Leningrad laboratory, terror-stricken during a flflood, remained traumatized long after. These reactions can be interpreted as a form of dementia, mania or OCD, and are often triggered by fear and the inability to escape or hide.
Certainly, many captive species become demented as a consequence of extreme confifinement, separation anxiety and boredom, a problem in dogs caged or crated all day in so many homes, as well as in sows on factory farms. Degenerative changes in the brain related to aging, and possibly genetics and nutritional defificiencies, can lead to dementia in humans and other animals; one form of dementia in cats shows virtually identical changes in the brain to those seen in Alzheimer’s disease in humans. Changes in brain function and behavior in humans and other animals have an organic, rather than a psychological/emotional, origin. They can be attributed to various external environmental factors such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals, viral and parasitic infections, adverse vaccine reactions and poisoning from mercury and lead.
An organic, biochemical basis for abnormal behavior which may be interpreted as schizoid is seen in some dog breeds with sudden, unpredictable, impulsive aggression, which may be improved by medications and nutraceuticals that increase serotonin levels in the brain.