Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers talks about his new book Zoobiquity: What Animals Can Teach Us About Health And The Science of Healing:
On self-mutilation, a seemingly counterevolutionary behavior that appears in both humans and animals:
Bowers: "When animals are under stress, they will often try to make themselves feel better, and one way that animals do this is by grooming. Sometimes veterinarians see that animals actually over-groom in situations where they're stressed out: Cats will lick their paws compulsively; dogs might chew the base of their tail or spin around in circles. Also, veterinarians have seen horses that bite their flanks."
Natterson-Horowitz: "Before I became a cardiologist, I did a residency in psychiatry, and I spent time with some human patients who are cutters. When you take care of a patient who cuts, it can be very hard to understand why they're doing it. And yet, they tell us that it provides them with relief, which seems counterintuitive to me. ...
"Looking at what animals do when they're self-injuring, you see that they're overgrooming in an attempt to tap into the neuro-circuitry that provides comfort and relief with grooming, and dialing it up. Veterinarians know that stress, isolation and boredom will fairly reliably lead to self-harm in certain animals that are susceptible. Knowing this, they can take steps to prevent stress, isolation and boredom in their animals, and when an animal does exhibit those behaviors, they have a very specific behavioral agenda to help them. This is information that I actually think would be really helpful on the human side, and cause me to even wonder whether it'd be interesting to have psychiatry residents spend time with animal behaviorists."
On why we should pay attention to animal sickness and health:
Natterson-Horowitz: "Animals and humans get the same diseases, but veterinarians and physicians rarely collaborate and communicate. And this is a loss, because there is a tremendous amount of opportunity to develop a broader perspective about disease. In my own practice as a cardiologist, going to the zoo and working with veterinarians has made me a much better doctor."
On self-mutilation, a seemingly counterevolutionary behavior that appears in both humans and animals:
Bowers: "When animals are under stress, they will often try to make themselves feel better, and one way that animals do this is by grooming. Sometimes veterinarians see that animals actually over-groom in situations where they're stressed out: Cats will lick their paws compulsively; dogs might chew the base of their tail or spin around in circles. Also, veterinarians have seen horses that bite their flanks."
Natterson-Horowitz: "Before I became a cardiologist, I did a residency in psychiatry, and I spent time with some human patients who are cutters. When you take care of a patient who cuts, it can be very hard to understand why they're doing it. And yet, they tell us that it provides them with relief, which seems counterintuitive to me. ...
"Looking at what animals do when they're self-injuring, you see that they're overgrooming in an attempt to tap into the neuro-circuitry that provides comfort and relief with grooming, and dialing it up. Veterinarians know that stress, isolation and boredom will fairly reliably lead to self-harm in certain animals that are susceptible. Knowing this, they can take steps to prevent stress, isolation and boredom in their animals, and when an animal does exhibit those behaviors, they have a very specific behavioral agenda to help them. This is information that I actually think would be really helpful on the human side, and cause me to even wonder whether it'd be interesting to have psychiatry residents spend time with animal behaviorists."
On why we should pay attention to animal sickness and health:
Natterson-Horowitz: "Animals and humans get the same diseases, but veterinarians and physicians rarely collaborate and communicate. And this is a loss, because there is a tremendous amount of opportunity to develop a broader perspective about disease. In my own practice as a cardiologist, going to the zoo and working with veterinarians has made me a much better doctor."
No comments:
Post a Comment