近日，上海交通大学Zhen Wang等研究人员合作发现，恒河猴可表现出类似强迫症的自发仪式行为。相关论文于2023年12月8日在线发表在《国家科学评论》杂志上。

在大型恒河猴群中，研究人员发现10只恒河猴自发表现出持续的顺序运动行为（SMB），这些行为具有个体特异性，重复、耗时且长期稳定。基因分析表明，与人类强迫症风险相关的基因发生了严重的破坏性突变。脑成像显示，患SMB的猴子左侧尾状核的灰质体积较大，胼胝体的分数各向异性较低。左侧尾状核的灰质体积与SMB的日持续时间呈正相关。

值得注意的是，暴露于压力源（人类的存在）会显著增加SMB。此外，常用于治疗强迫症的血清素能药物氟西汀也会降低这些猴子的SMB。这些发现为更好地理解和治疗强迫症奠定了新的基础。

研究人员表示，强迫症（OCD）是一种使人衰弱的慢性精神疾病，全球约有 2%-3% 的人患有这种疾病。研究非人类灵长类动物的自发性强迫症样行为可以增进人们对这种疾病的了解。

附：英文原文

Title: Rhesus monkeys exhibiting spontaneous ritualistic behaviors resembling obsessive-compulsive disorder

Author: Zhai, Rongwei, Tong, Geya, Li, Zheqin, Song, Weichen, Hu, Yang, Xu, Sha, Wei, Qiqi, Zhang, Xiaocheng, Li, Yi, Liao, Bingbing, Yuan, Chenyu, Fan, Yinqing, Song, Ge, Ouyang, Yinyin, Zhang, Wenxuan, Tang, Yaqiu, Jin, Minghui, Zhang, Yuxian, Li, He, Yang, Zhi, Lin, Guan Ning, Stein, Dan J, Xiong, Zhi-Qi, Wang, Zhen

Issue&Volume: 2023-12-08

Abstract: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic and debilitating psychiatric disorder that affects approximately 2–3% of the population globally. Studying spontaneous OCD-like behaviors in non-human primates may improve our understanding of the disorder. In large rhesus monkey colonies, we found 10 monkeys spontaneously exhibiting persistent sequential motor behaviors (SMBs) in individual-specific sequences that were repetitive, time-consuming, and stable over prolonged periods. Genetic analysis revealed severely damaging mutations in genes associated with OCD risk in humans. Brain imaging showed that monkeys with SMBs had larger gray matter (GM) volumes in the left caudate nucleus and lower fractional anisotropy of the corpus callosum. The GM volume of the left caudate nucleus correlated positively with the daily duration of SMBs. Notably, exposure to a stressor (human presence) significantly increased SMBs. In addition, fluoxetine, a serotonergic medication commonly used for OCD, decreased SMBs in these monkeys. These findings provide a novel foundation for developing a better understanding and treatment of OCD.

DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwad312

Source: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwad312