Obsessive Mice

Families with autism often have a history of other psychiatric illnesses. Topping this list is obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, which is characterized by repeating behaviors such as handwashing.No one has pinpointed genes or pathways that cause the condition and, partly because it can be triggered by ordinary stressors, it's difficult to diagnose. Its biology becomes even more baffling with the release of two new mouse models of compulsive behaviors, each implicating a different type of brain cell.Read more at...SFARI, July 2010.