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Neurocognitive Findings in Onychophagia (Pathological Nail Biting)

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Abstract

A notable number of people struggle to control the desire to bite their nails, resulting in impairment and distress. Understanding this behavior and the inability to control it has received little research attention. One possible mechanism to understand nail biting is through the use of neurocognitive assessments. Neurocognitive assessments of pathological nail biting, however, are lacking. This analysis assesses the clinical presentation and neurocognitive profile of adults with nail biting relative to participants without nail biting. A total of 87 participants (aged 18–29 years) were recruited for a study on nail biting in young adults. Participants completed diagnostic, self-report, and neurocognitive measures which assessed two cognitive domains – motor impulsivity and cognitive flexibility. In the sample, 34 participants reported current nail biting. The nail biting group showed no significant differences in impulsivity or cognitive flexibility compared to the healthy controls. The lack of association between nail biting and cognitive deficits suggests that perhaps identifying meaningful subtypes of nail biting that reflect distinct pathology from normal grooming behavior may be important.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, MC-3077, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA

    Austin W. Blum, Sarah A. Redden & Jon E. Grant

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  1. Austin W. Blum
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  2. Sarah A. Redden
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  3. Jon E. Grant
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Correspondence to Austin W. Blum.

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Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Written informed consent was obtained from all study participants. The Institutional Review Board for the University of Chicago approved the study and the consent.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Conflict of Interest

Dr. Grant has received research grants from NIMH, National Center for Responsible Gaming, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Trichotillomania Learning Center, Brainsway, Forest, Roche, Takeda, and Psyadon Pharmaceuticals. He receives yearly compensation from Springer Publishing for acting as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Gambling Studies and has received royalties from Oxford University Press, American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., Norton Press, and McGraw Hill. Mr. Blum and Ms. Redden report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

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Blum, A.W., Redden, S.A. & Grant, J.E. Neurocognitive Findings in Onychophagia (Pathological Nail Biting). Psychiatr Q 88, 747–753 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-017-9496-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-017-9496-9

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