TY - JOUR

T1 - Brain gyrification in wild and domestic canids

T2 - Has domestication changed the gyrification index in domestic dogs?

AU - Grewal, Jagmeet S.

AU - Gloe, Tyler

AU - Hegedus, Joseph

AU - Bitterman, Kathleen

AU - Billings, Brendon K.

AU - Chengetanai, Samson

AU - Bentil, Sarah

AU - Wang, Victoria X.

AU - Ng, Johnny C.

AU - Tang, Cheuk Y.

AU - Geletta, Simon

AU - Wicinski, Bridget

AU - Bertelson, Mads

AU - Tendler, Benjamin C.

AU - Mars, Rogier B.

AU - Aguirre, Geoffrey K.

AU - Rusbridge, Clare

AU - Hof, Patrick R.

AU - Sherwood, Chet C.

AU - Manger, Paul R.

AU - Spocter, Muhammad A.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Over the last 15 years, research on canid cognition has revealed that domestic dogs possess a surprising array of complex sociocognitive skills pointing to the possibility that the domestication process might have uniquely altered their brains; however, we know very little about how evolutionary processes (natural or artificial) might have modified underlying neural structure to support species-specific behaviors. Evaluating the degree of cortical folding (i.e., gyrification) within canids may prove useful, as this parameter is linked to functional variation of the cerebral cortex. Using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the impact of domestication on the canine cortical surface, we compared the gyrification index (GI) in 19 carnivore species, including six wild canid and 13 domestic dog individuals. We also explored correlations between global and local GI with brain mass, cortical thickness, white and gray matter volume and surface area. Our results indicated that GI values for domestic dogs are largely consistent with what would be expected for a canid of their given brain mass, although more variable than that observed in wild canids. We also found that GI in canids is positively correlated with cortical surface area, cortical thickness and total cortical gray matter volumes. While we found no evidence of global differences in GI between domestic and wild canids, certain regional differences in gyrification were observed.

AB - Over the last 15 years, research on canid cognition has revealed that domestic dogs possess a surprising array of complex sociocognitive skills pointing to the possibility that the domestication process might have uniquely altered their brains; however, we know very little about how evolutionary processes (natural or artificial) might have modified underlying neural structure to support species-specific behaviors. Evaluating the degree of cortical folding (i.e., gyrification) within canids may prove useful, as this parameter is linked to functional variation of the cerebral cortex. Using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the impact of domestication on the canine cortical surface, we compared the gyrification index (GI) in 19 carnivore species, including six wild canid and 13 domestic dog individuals. We also explored correlations between global and local GI with brain mass, cortical thickness, white and gray matter volume and surface area. Our results indicated that GI values for domestic dogs are largely consistent with what would be expected for a canid of their given brain mass, although more variable than that observed in wild canids. We also found that GI in canids is positively correlated with cortical surface area, cortical thickness and total cortical gray matter volumes. While we found no evidence of global differences in GI between domestic and wild canids, certain regional differences in gyrification were observed.

KW - canids

KW - dogs, white matter

KW - domestication

KW - evolution, gray matter

KW - gyrification

KW - RRID:SCR-005988

KW - RRID:SCR-007354

KW - scaling

U2 - 10.1002/cne.24972

DO - 10.1002/cne.24972

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 32592407

AN - SCOPUS:85088256499

VL - 528

SP - 3209

EP - 3228

JO - The Journal of Comparative Neurology

JF - The Journal of Comparative Neurology

SN - 0021-9967

IS - 18

ER -