TY - JOUR
T1 - The brain of the silver fox (Vulpes vulpes)
T2 - a neuroanatomical reference of cell-stained histological and MRI images
AU - Rogers Flattery, Christina N.
AU - Abdulla, Munawwar
AU - Barton, Sophie A.
AU - Michlich, Jenny M.
AU - Trut, Lyudmila N.
AU - Kukekova, Anna V.
AU - Hecht, Erin E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2023/6
Y1 - 2023/6
N2 - Although the silver fox (Vulpes vulpes) has been largely overlooked by neuroscientists, it has the potential to serve as a powerful model for the investigation of brain-behavior relationships. The silver fox is a melanistic variant of the red fox. Within this species, the long-running Russian farm-fox experiment has resulted in different strains bred to show divergent behavior. Strains bred for tameness, aggression, or without selection on behavior present an excellent opportunity to investigate neuroanatomical changes underlying behavioral characteristics. Here, we present a histological and MRI neuroanatomical reference of a fox from the conventional strain, which is bred without behavioral selection. This can provide an anatomical basis for future studies of the brains of foxes from this particular experiment, as well as contribute to an understanding of fox brains in general. In addition, this can serve as a resource for comparative neuroscience and investigations into neuroanatomical variation among the family Canidae, the order Carnivora, and mammals more broadly.
AB - Although the silver fox (Vulpes vulpes) has been largely overlooked by neuroscientists, it has the potential to serve as a powerful model for the investigation of brain-behavior relationships. The silver fox is a melanistic variant of the red fox. Within this species, the long-running Russian farm-fox experiment has resulted in different strains bred to show divergent behavior. Strains bred for tameness, aggression, or without selection on behavior present an excellent opportunity to investigate neuroanatomical changes underlying behavioral characteristics. Here, we present a histological and MRI neuroanatomical reference of a fox from the conventional strain, which is bred without behavioral selection. This can provide an anatomical basis for future studies of the brains of foxes from this particular experiment, as well as contribute to an understanding of fox brains in general. In addition, this can serve as a resource for comparative neuroscience and investigations into neuroanatomical variation among the family Canidae, the order Carnivora, and mammals more broadly.
KW - Brain evolution
KW - Canidae
KW - Comparative neuroscience
KW - Neuroanatomy
KW - Vulpines
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U2 - 10.1007/s00429-023-02648-5
DO - 10.1007/s00429-023-02648-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 37160458
AN - SCOPUS:85158938618
SN - 1863-2653
VL - 228
SP - 1177
EP - 1189
JO - Brain Structure and Function
JF - Brain Structure and Function
IS - 5
ER -