Behavioural Signs and Neurological Disorders in Dogs and Cats

                                                   
                                                 
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Veterinary behavioural medicine is relatively new, and its evolution may suffer more than other specialties from an unclear identity, because so many disparate groups who are not rooted in veterinary medicine have participated in its evolution. In the past, behavioural problems of companion animals were not dealt by veterinarians, but mainly by dog trainers. When animal clinical psychology started to be developed as a new scientific discipline, the interest increased also in the veterinary field. In 1997 in Birmingham (UK) was held the first International Meeting on veterinary behavioural medicine. Later, the general approach and terminology was more in line with psychiatry than with psychology, and behavioural problems were seen as a trauma or an infection, with a physical cause to be treated in order to solve the problem. However, blind adherence to a medical model causes serious problems when it comes to the scientific investigation of problem behaviour. In fact, the use of medical paradigms for the study of problem behaviour which seek to categorise disorders rather than focus on their underlying mechanism and evolutionary function, may restrict the development of our knowledge of these processes. Behaviour is the ultimate integrator of all organ system responses, and as such, is a dynamic outcome resulting from the interactions of complex mechanisms. 

Understanding such systems is difficult, but progress can occur if an attempt is made to understand all the mechanistic levels that contribute to behavioural patterns and behavioural conditions. Historically veterinary medicine has focused on differentiating between behavioural and physical problems; priority was given to the diagnosis and treatment of physical diseases, and only after having dealt with them the behavioural component was taken into account. A more holistic approach is desirable, dealing contemporaneously with physical and behavioural components, in order to optimize the patient’s welfare. 

This should be particularly true for neurology, as the boundary between a neurological disease and a behavioural problem is often unclear. For instance, all disorders involving the central nervous system, especially the forebrain, have a consequence on behaviour. A strict collaboration between veterinary neurologists and behaviourists is desirable. Such collaboration would be beneficial for both veterinary neurologists and behaviourists to have a multidisciplinary approach. On one hand neurologists, together with the use of advanced diagnostic methods and the exclusion of metabolic and infectious diseases, may dwell also on the behavioural aspects and taking into account, when needed, the possibility of a behavioural consultation for the animal patient. On the other hand, behaviourists should take into account to perform a complete physical examination, including a neurological examination, on a subject displaying behavioural problems. However, it must be considered that a normal neurological examination does not allow to exclude the presence of neurological problems. For instance, an intracranic neoplasia can result in a normal neurological examination and the only sign, for a long time, can be a change in behaviour. 

The challenge is to determine the sensible limit to clinical investigation. Once basic medical data have been obtained (including general physical examination, neurological examination, and blood tests), the level of consistency between a particular pattern of behaviour and the environment within which it is expressed may help to decide whether there is likely to be an underlying medical condition, and whether it may be necessary to perform additional medical tests.In the scientific literature there are many physical diseases (such as infections, endocrinologic disorders, neoplasia, toxins, congenital lesions, degenerative diseases and allergies)that are recognized to be associated with behavioural signs. As a matter of fact, often owners realize that their animal is ill when the dog or the cat changes the behaviour, even if it is not a behavioural problem and owners refer this behavioural change to the veterinarian. In particular, many neurological disorders can lead to behavioural modifications; and for many abnormal behaviours there is not yet a clear distinction between neurological and behavioural disorder. This is the case of compulsive disorders, some of which can benefit from a treatment with anti-epileptic drugs while others are solved with psychoactive drugs normally used for behavioural problems. In addition, diseases related to perception such as blindness are responsible for clear modifications of the behaviour.