The evolutionary neuroscience of domestication

Hecht, Erin E.; Barton, Sophie A.; Flattery, Christina N. Rogers; Meza, Araceli Meza

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2023.03.008

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 122 publications

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“…Further analyses of chicken, junglefowl, and other galliform species brains should also be conducted to determine more specifically what is different about chickens and junglefowl. This should include quantification of neuron numbers and neuron morphology across multiple telencephalic regions as well as expression of neurotransmitters, receptors, and other neurochemical markers associated with anxiety, stress, and neuroplasticity [4].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Domestication not only alters those traits under direct selection by humans, there are also indirect effects. Brain size is frequently cited as a trait that changes as a result of domestication [3,4]; when domesticated mammals are compared with their wild counterparts, the domesticates (domesticated strains of a species) typically have relatively smaller brains [5]. Similar patterns are observed in many domesticated bird species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

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A Comparison of Telencephalon Composition among Chickens, Junglefowl, and Wild Galliforms

Racicot,

Ham,

Augustine

et al. 2024

Brain Behav Evol

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Introduction: Domestication is the process of modifying animals for human benefit through selective breeding in captivity. One of the traits that often diverges is the size of the brain and its constituent regions; almost all domesticated species have relatively smaller brains and brain regions than their wild ancestors. Although the effects of domestication on the brain have been investigated across a range of both mammal and bird species, almost nothing is known about the neuroanatomical effects of domestication on the world’s most common bird: the chicken (Gallus gallus). Methods: We compared the quantitative neuroanatomy of the telencephalon of white leghorn chickens with red junglefowl, their wild counterpart, and several wild galliform species. We focused specifically on the telencephalon because telencephalic regions typically exhibit the biggest differences in size in domesticate-wild comparisons. Results: Relative telencephalon size was larger in chickens than in junglefowl and ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus). The relative size of telencephalic regions did not differ between chickens and junglefowl, but did differ in comparison with ruffed grouse. Ruffed grouse had larger hyperpallia and smaller entopallial, nidopallial, and striatal volumes than chickens and junglefowl. Multivariate analyses that included an additional three wild grouse species corroborated these findings: chicken and junglefowl have relatively larger nidopallial and striatal volumes than grouse. Conversely, the mesopallial and hyperpallial volumes tended to be relatively smaller in chickens and junglefowl. Conclusion: From this suite of comparisons, we conclude that chickens do not follow a pattern of widespread decreases in telencephalic region sizes that is often viewed as typical of domestication. Instead, chickens have undergone a mosaic of changes with some regions increasing and others decreasing in size, and there are few differences between chickens and junglefowl.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

A Comparison of Telencephalon Composition among Chickens, Junglefowl, and Wild Galliforms

Racicot,

Ham,

Augustine

et al. 2024

Brain Behav Evol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Further analyses of chicken, junglefowl and other galliform species brains should also be conducted to determine more specifically what is different about chickens and junglefowl. This should include quantification of neuron numbers and neuron morphology across multiple telencephalic regions as well as expression of neurotransmitters, receptors, and other neurochemical markers associated with anxiety, stress, and neuroplasticity (Hecht et al 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Domestication not only alters those traits under direct selection by humans, but there are also indirect effects. Brain size is frequently cited as a trait that changes as a result of domestication (Sanchez-Villagra 2022; Hecht et al 2023); when domesticated mammals are compared with their wild counterparts, the domesticates (domesticated strains of a species) typically have relatively smaller brains (Kruska 2005). Similar patterns are observed in many domesticated bird species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison of telencephalon composition among chickens, junglefowl, and wild galliforms

Racicot,

Ham,

Augustine

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Domestication is the process of modifying animals for human benefit through selective breeding in captivity. One of the traits that often diverges is the size of the brain and its constituent regions; almost all domesticated species have relatively smaller brains and brain regions than their wild ancestors. Although the effects of domestication on the brain have been investigated across a range of both mammal and bird species, almost nothing is known about the neuroanatomical effects of domestication on the world’s most common bird: the chicken (Gallus gallus). We compared the quantitative neuroanatomy of the telencephalon of white leghorn chickens with red junglefowl, their wild counterpart, and several wild galliform species. We focused specifically on the telencephalon because telencephalic regions typically exhibit the biggest differences in size in domesticate-wild comparisons. Relative telencephalon size was larger in chickens than in junglefowl and ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus). The relative size of telencephalic regions did not differ between chickens and junglefowl but did differ in comparison with ruffed grouse. Ruffed grouse had larger hyperpallia and smaller entopallial, nidopallial and striatal volumes than chickens and junglefowl. Multivariate analyses that included an additional three wild grouse species corroborated these findings: chicken and junglefowl have relatively larger nidopallial and striatal volumes than grouse. Conversely, the mesopallial and hyperpallial volumes tended to be relatively smaller in chickens and junglefowl. From this suite of comparisons, we conclude that chickens do not follow a pattern of widespread decreases in telencephalic region sizes that is often viewed as typical of domestication. Instead, chickens have undergone a mosaic of changes with some regions increasing and others decreasing in size and there are few differences between chickens and junglefowl.

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“…Indeed, whole or partial brain connectomes increasingly underpin revolutionary advancements in Drosophila neuroscience where their combination with genetic tools is particularly powerful [40][41][42][43]. However, in an increasing array of insects [44,45], and at a coarser level of vertebrates [46][47][48][49][50], we have the foundations for a global and accessible anatomical description of neural circuits. To incorporate such labour and computationally intensive data into phylogenetically rich taxon sampling is a major endeavour, but one that must be undertaken to understand behavioural diversity, as neural circuitry remains the closest structural and functional guide to cognitive evolution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of neural circuitry and cognition

Farnworth,

Montgomery

2024

Biol. Lett.

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Neural circuits govern the interface between the external environment, internal cues and outwardly directed behaviours. To process multiple environmental stimuli and integrate these with internal state requires considerable neural computation. Expansion in neural network size, most readily represented by whole brain size, has historically been linked to behavioural complexity, or the predominance of cognitive behaviours. Yet, it is largely unclear which aspects of circuit variation impact variation in performance. A key question in the field of evolutionary neurobiology is therefore how neural circuits evolve to allow improved behavioural performance or innovation. We discuss this question by first exploring how volumetric changes in brain areas reflect actual neural circuit change. We explore three major axes of neural circuit evolution—replication, restructuring and reconditioning of cells and circuits—and discuss how these could relate to broader phenotypes and behavioural variation. This discussion touches on the relevant uses and limitations of volumetrics, while advocating a more circuit-based view of cognition. We then use this framework to showcase an example from the insect brain, the multi-sensory integration and internal processing that is shared between the mushroom bodies and central complex. We end by identifying future trends in this research area, which promise to advance the field of evolutionary neurobiology.

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The evolutionary neuroscience of domestication

Cited by 10 publications

References 122 publications

A Comparison of Telencephalon Composition among Chickens, Junglefowl, and Wild Galliforms

A Comparison of Telencephalon Composition among Chickens, Junglefowl, and Wild Galliforms

A comparison of telencephalon composition among chickens, junglefowl, and wild galliforms

Evolution of neural circuitry and cognition

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