Because of humans, rabbit brains shrink and change shapes. How to come?



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POS-KUPANG.COM – Although it has long been a human food, the new rabbit became a pet in the 19th century. But in this relatively short period of time, human intervention has changed the rabbit's brain.

Charles Darwin even wrote one day that no animal is more difficult to tame than a young wild rabbit. On the contrary, no more benign animals than pet rabbits.

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To find out what caused this discrepancy, the researchers studied Dr. Miguel Carneiro of the University from Porto, Portugal, who led the study, said, in a previous study, a genetic difference between wild and domestic rabbits, especially the expressed gene region. when the brain develops.

"Now we have decided to use high-resolution MRS to see if this genetic change is also causing changes in the morphology of the brain," he said, quoted by The Independent on Wednesday. / 06/2018)

Published in the journal PNAS, the researchers found something of interest. Domestic rabbits do not only have smaller brains than wild rabbits, but there is a narrowed and enlarged part.

The amygdala or part of the brain that works by fear, for example, shrinks to the brain of a domestic rabbit. Meanwhile, the medial prefrontal cortex that controls the response to fear enlarges.

Domestic rabbits were also found with less white matter useful for the treatment of information than wild rabbits. This suggests that the diminished fear of pet rabbits against humans comes from the brain.

The researchers themselves were not surprised by this result. They say that throughout human history, we have encouraged the evolution of animals by choosing non-aggressive and benign individuals.

This study also became the first comprehensive study linking domestication to genetic changes affecting brain shape. (*)

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