Synaptic and circuitry mechanisms of OCD-like behavior in mice

Above: SAPAP3, a postsynaptic scaffolding protein, is highly expressed in cortico-striatal circuitry.

Below: SAPAP3 mutant mice display compulsive grooming behavior that leads to facial lesions (left) which can rescued by selective expression of SAPAP3 in striatum (right). See Welch et al., (2004), J. Comp. Neurol. 472:24-39.