Describe complex prolonged, purposeless, and stereotyped behavior chronic amphetamine users.
Has been described in Parkinson’s disease, methamphetamine and cocaine users, as well as in some patients with gambling addictions, and hypersexuality.
It is the repetition of complex motor behaviours such as collecting or arranging objects.
The process is characterized by compulsive fascination with and performance of repetitive, mechanical tasks, such as assembling and disassembling, collecting, or sorting household objects.
Examples:
collecting pebbles and lining them up as perfectly as possible
disassembling wristwatches and putting them back together again
building hundreds of small wooden boxes
trying to systematically remove the entire contents of all the drawers and shelves in the home and sort through all their contents.
Punding activities are comforting, even though it serves no purpose, and patients generally find it very frustrating to be diverted from them.
Interruption of activity can lead to various responses, including violent rage.
Dopamine overactivity may result in punding.
Commonly associated with side effects of drugs used against Parkinson’s disease and with the use of methamphetamine.
It has similar behaviors associated with autism.