Abstract
Grooming is a complex innate animal behavior that can serve as a marker of physiological state of rodents under stress. Here, we analyze the impact of various experimental factors, including genetic, pharmacological and physiological, on self-grooming behavior of laboratory mice and rats. Analyses of grooming behavior assess not only the number and duration of its bouts but also its microstructure, i.e. frequency, sequence, localization, and consistency. Rodent grooming and its microstructure can serve as a sensitive marker for changes in the brain, its response to stress, and predisposition to pathological conditions simulating such human mental disorders as obsessive-compulsive disorder, autism and depression. Studying rodent self-grooming microstructure can provide valuable information about the mechanisms of brain pathogenesis, having multiple translational implications for neuroscience research.