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Cover ArticleResearch Articles, Behavioral/Cognitive

Significant Neuroanatomical Variation Among Domestic Dog Breeds

Erin E. Hecht, Jeroen B. Smaers, William D. Dunn, Marc Kent, Todd M. Preuss and David A. Gutman
Journal of Neuroscience 25 September 2019, 39 (39) 7748-7758; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0303-19.2019
Erin E. Hecht
1Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138,
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Jeroen B. Smaers
2Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794,
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William D. Dunn
3Departmentt of Neurology, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329,
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Marc Kent
4Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, The University of Georgia at Athens, Athens, Georgia 30602,
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Todd M. Preuss
5Division of Neuropharmacology and Neurologic Diseases and Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329,
6Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, and
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David A. Gutman
7Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329
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Abstract

Humans have bred different lineages of domestic dogs for different tasks such as hunting, herding, guarding, or companionship. These behavioral differences must be the result of underlying neural differences, but surprisingly, this topic has gone largely unexplored. The current study examined whether and how selective breeding by humans has altered the gross organization of the brain in dogs. We assessed regional volumetric variation in MRI studies of 62 male and female dogs of 33 breeds. Neuroanatomical variation is plainly visible across breeds. This variation is distributed nonrandomly across the brain. A whole-brain, data-driven independent components analysis established that specific regional subnetworks covary significantly with each other. Variation in these networks is not simply the result of variation in total brain size, total body size, or skull shape. Furthermore, the anatomy of these networks correlates significantly with different behavioral specialization(s) such as sight hunting, scent hunting, guarding, and companionship. Importantly, a phylogenetic analysis revealed that most change has occurred in the terminal branches of the dog phylogenetic tree, indicating strong, recent selection in individual breeds. Together, these results establish that brain anatomy varies significantly in dogs, likely due to human-applied selection for behavior.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Dog breeds are known to vary in cognition, temperament, and behavior, but the neural origins of this variation are unknown. In an MRI-based analysis, we found that brain anatomy covaries significantly with behavioral specializations such as sight hunting, scent hunting, guarding, and companionship. Neuroanatomical variation is not simply driven by brain size, body size, or skull shape, and is focused in specific networks of regions. Nearly all of the identified variation occurs in the terminal branches of the dog phylogenetic tree, indicating strong, recent selection in individual breeds. These results indicate that through selective breeding, humans have significantly altered the brains of different lineages of domestic dogs in different ways.

  • canines
  • dogs
  • evolution
  • morphology
  • MRI
  • selective breeding
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The Journal of Neuroscience: 39 (39)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 39, Issue 39
25 Sep 2019
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Significant Neuroanatomical Variation Among Domestic Dog Breeds
Erin E. Hecht, Jeroen B. Smaers, William D. Dunn, Marc Kent, Todd M. Preuss, David A. Gutman
Journal of Neuroscience 25 September 2019, 39 (39) 7748-7758; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0303-19.2019

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Significant Neuroanatomical Variation Among Domestic Dog Breeds
Erin E. Hecht, Jeroen B. Smaers, William D. Dunn, Marc Kent, Todd M. Preuss, David A. Gutman
Journal of Neuroscience 25 September 2019, 39 (39) 7748-7758; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0303-19.2019
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Keywords

  • canines
  • dogs
  • evolution
  • morphology
  • MRI
  • selective breeding

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