The evolutionary neuroscience of domestication

• Published in: Trends in cognitive sciences 2023-06, Vol.27 (6), p.553-567
• Main Authors: Hecht, Erin E., Barton, Sophie A., Rogers Flattery, Christina N., Meza Meza, Araceli
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Brain; brain evolution; Domestication; Humans; neuroscience; self-domestication
• ISSN: 1364-6613; 1879-307X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.03.008

Understanding how brain organization gives rise to behavior in domesticated animals has real-world practical value as well as fundamental relevance for our understanding of the place of humans in the animal kingdom.Despite this, neuroscience research on domestication remains largely unconnected across species and unintegrated with conceptual frameworks on brain evolution.Brain change in domestication is governed by the same principles as brain change in evolution generally, including interactions between drivers and constraints, as well as between mosaic and concerted modes of change.We review recent findings on patterns of brain change across domesticated species and provide a framework for identifying and addressing unanswered questions and alternative hypotheses. How does domestication affect the brain? This question has broad relevance. Domesticated animals play important roles in human society, and substantial recent work has addressed the hypotheses that a domestication syndrome links phenotypes across species, including Homo sapiens. Surprisingly, however, neuroscience research on domestication remains largely disconnected from current knowledge about how and why brains change in evolution. This article aims to bridge that gap. Examination of recent research reveals some commonalities across species, but ultimately suggests that brain changes associated with domestication are complex and variable. We conclude that interactions between behavioral, metabolic, and life-history selection pressures, as well as the role the role of experience and environment, are currently largely overlooked and represent important directions for future research.