Repetitive behaviors are not an uncommon part of human experience, but not all repetitive actions serve the same purpose or carry the same meaning. Two types of behaviors that are often confused are ...

At first glance, tics and body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) can look remarkably similar. Both involve repeated behaviors that may seem involuntary, often start in childhood or adolescence, and ...

Our behavior is controlled through neural circuits in the brain. Molecular disturbances can lead to stereotypical behavior, as seen in neuropsychiatric disorders like obsessive-compulsive and autism ...

Repetitive behaviours – such as tail-chasing – are more common among dogs belonging to first-time owners, those who live with larger families and those who exercise for less than one hour per day, ...

A tiger walks the same worn groove along the edge of its exhibit like a broken record. A parrot methodically plucks out its own feathers until bare skin shows through. To a casual visitor, these can ...

People with autism are typically diagnosed by clinical observation and assessment. To deconstruct the clinical decision process, which is often subjective and difficult to describe, researchers used a ...

Chasing light shimmers reflected onto a wall. Obsessive licking or chewing. Compulsive barking and whining. Pacing or tail chasing. Nearly one in three pet dogs suffer from these ADHD-like repetitive ...

Stereotypic pacing in zoo-housed carnivores has been intensively researched for decades, revealing that it is a subtly complex behavior with a highly variable etiology. While pacing can be an ...