Absolute brain size predicts dog breed differences in executive function
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Large-scale phylogenetic studies of animal cognition have revealed robust links between absolute brain volume and species differences in executive function. However, past comparative samples have been composed largely of primates, which are characterized by evolutionarily derived neural scaling rules. Therefore, it is currently unknown whether positive associations between brain volume and executive function reflect a broad-scale evolutionary phenomenon, or alternatively, a unique consequence of primate brain evolution. Domestic dogs provide a powerful opportunity for investigating this question due to their close genetic relatedness, but vast intraspecific variation. Using citizen science data on more than 7000 purebred dogs from 74 breeds, and controlling for genetic relatedness between breeds, we identify strong relationships between estimated absolute brain weight and breed differences in cognition. Specifically, larger-brained breeds performed significantly better on measures of short-term memory and self-control. However, the relationships between estimated brain weight and other cognitive measures varied widely, supporting domain-specific accounts of cognitive evolution. Our results suggest that evolutionary increases in brain size are positively associated with taxonomic differences in executive function, even in the absence of primate-like neuroanatomy. These findings also suggest that variation between dog breeds may present a powerful model for investigating correlated changes in neuroanatomy and cognition among closely related taxa.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 0 |
Pages (from-to) | 187-198 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Animal Cognition |
Volume | 22 |
Early online date | 3 Jan 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 8 Mar 2019 |
Documents
- Absolute brain size
Rights statement: This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Animal Cognition. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10071-018-01234-1.
Accepted author manuscript (Post-print), 1.59 MB, PDF document
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