Scientists studying the neurology of tame foxes have identified cellular changes in the ventromedial hypothalamus, a brain region known to drive aggression. 2 in *Current Biology*, researchers compared the brains of domesticated, aggressive, and wild silver foxes derived from a long-running Siberian breeding experiment. They discovered that foxes bred for tameness possessed fewer neurons expressing the estrogen receptor alpha protein, which is recognized as part of the brain's aggression circuit.
Key points
Targeted selective pressures can rapidly alter the cellular structure of brain regions th…: Targeted selective pressures can rapidly alter the cellular structure of brain regions that control social behaviors.
The reduction of specific receptor-bearing hypothalamic neurons directly correlates with…: The reduction of specific receptor-bearing hypothalamic neurons directly correlates with subdued aggression in domesticated foxes.
Future investigations will determine how genetic mutations influence the neurological dev…: Future investigations will determine how genetic mutations influence the neurological development of these aggression circuits.
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By Krishna Ramanujan, Cornell Chronicle
Scientists studying the neurology of tame foxes identified changes in a part of the brain that has previously been associated with aggression, according to a new paper that compared the brains of domesticated, aggressive and wild foxes.
The changes occurred in an area at the base of the brain called ventromedial hypothalamus, which is known to drive aggression, control decisions related to energy use and is important for maternal instincts and social behaviors in mice.
The study, published Nov. 2 in the journal Current Biology, takes advantage of a classic experiment that started in Siberia in the late 1950s where Russian geneticists noticed some foxes on silver fox farms were friendlier toward human caretakers while others were more aggressive.
They then selectively bred friendlier foxes with each other and after only six generations of this selection, they had litters of puppies that interacted with humans. The cuddlier foxes also had physical features characteristic of animal domestication, including floppy ears and shorter snouts.
“We wanted to understand, what are the neurological underpinnings of these changes in…
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