Fascinating: Foxes / Serotonin / Faces
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Fascinating: Foxes / Serotonin / Faces
Monday, April 05, 1999
[This article blew me away. It's about a 40-year experiment to breed tame
foxes, amazing enough in itself, but what really got to me (especially given
that all kinds of serotonin anomalies are found in autism) was the fact that
as the animals' personalities changed their serotonin levels
changed------AND
THEIR LOOKS CHANGED!
I'm fascinated by the idea that there is a biologically "tame" look, and a
biologically "wild" look. (Though no doubt Calvin Klein could tell us all
about this.)
But back to serotonin. Simply put, as the foxes became more tame, their
serotonin levels rose.
Autistic kids have low synaptic serotonin, that's pretty well established
now,
and I have always said---PLEASE don't be offended by this, anyone---that
autistic kids are the "cats" of special ed. For years autistic children
were
said to be "unteachable," and until we had ABA, which is a pretty heavy-duty
teaching "technology," they pretty much were.
I remember once talking to a behaviorist who was working with Jimmy about
this. He told me that at his clinic they added the word "noncompliant" to
the
list of symptoms in the DSM. (And I have *always* wondered why the DSM
omits
the incredible resistance and seemingly innate non-cooperativeness of
autistic
kids; it seems so basic to the disorder.)
Anyway, of course I know some little autistic kids can be cooperative
(Andrew,
our younger autistic boy, is cooperative) so I certainly don't intend to be
insulting anyone's child. But my own oldest boy, Jimmy, was always a
complete
wild child. He really was like a little wild animal in many ways . . .
terrified of everything, and ready to fight.
Today, taking 3 different serotonin-raising medications, he is nothing like
that. Today, in fact, he *likes* to go to the doctor and get shots! He
even
likes the dentist! And he's 12!
Now that is something I thought I'd never see. Excerpted from a NYT
article - Catherine]
aol://4344:104.nytcopy.6445375.574106743
New Breed of Fox as Tame as a Pussycat By MALCOLM W. BROWNE
Ordinarily the silver fox is a canny, elusive creature, quick to bite when
cornered, and well nigh impossible to tame.
This is hardly surprising, considering that foxes over the eons have been
hunted for sport, trapped for fur, and generally maligned by human beings,
especially those with hen houses.
But because of selective pressure imposed by experimenters over a 40-year
period, a new and once undreamed of breed of fox has evolved -- one that
whines for attention from human beings without any prior conditioning, licks
its masters' faces, and has even begun to look something like a domestic
dog.
In a long-term experiment at a Siberian fur farm, geneticists have created
this new version of Vulpes vulpes, the silver fox, by allowing only the
friendliest animals from each generation to breed. Having selected only the
most "tamable" of some 45,000 foxes over 35 generations, the scientists have
compressed into a mere 40 years an evolutionary process that took thousands
of
years to transform ancestral wolves into domestic dogs.
The original purpose of the breeding was to create a friendly breed less
likely than wild animals to fight when put to death. But in time,
geneticists
saw that far-reaching changes they observed in the foxes' physical and
neurological makeup merited scientific study.
The scientists apparently underwent some changes, too. Close bonds
developed
between the tame foxes and their human wardens, and the staff at the fur
farm
is trying to find ways of saving the animals from slaughter.
To keep environmental influences to a minimum, none of the foxes in the
Siberian experiment received any training, and their contacts with human
beings were limited to brief behavioral tests.
The director of the experiment is Dr. Lyudmila N. Trut of the Institute of
Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Department of the Russian Academy of
Sciences at Novosibirsk. She reported in a paper that selective breeding to
create genetically docile animals had resulted in a breed of ultra-tame
foxes
that make good house pets "as devoted as dogs but as independent as cats,
capable of forming deep-rooted pair bonds with human beings."
Selective breeding of farm animals to enhance commercially useful traits
is
as old as human history. But a striking consequence of the Russian program
was
that breeding foxes to strengthen a single behavioral trait, "tamability,"
brought about a wide variety of seemingly unrelated physical changes.
A paper by Dr. Trut discussing these changes, translated from Russian, was
published in the current issue of American Scientist, the magazine of Sigma
Xi, a scientific research society. Dr. Trut wrote that by breeding the
tamest
animals from each of about 35 successive generations, the final offspring
were
not only tame from early puppyhood but also looked different from their wild
forebears.
The normal pattern of coat color that evolved in wild foxes as camouflage
changed markedly in the genetically tamed fox population, with irregular
piebald splotches of white fur appearing in some animals. The tame foxes
sometimes developed floppy ears in place of the straight ones of wild foxes.
The domesticated foxes generally had shorter legs and tails than ordinary
foxes, and often had curly tails instead of straight, horizontal tails.
Moreover, the faces of adult tame foxes came to look more juvenile than
the
faces of wild adults, and many of the experimental animals developed
dog-like
features, Dr. Trut reported. Although no selective pressures relating to siz
e
or shape were used in breeding the animals, the skulls of tamable foxes
tended
to be narrower with shorter snouts than those of wild foxes.
Even reproductive cycles changed in foxes bred to be docile; wild vixens
are
receptive to sex only once a year, but some of the docile females become
receptive more often.
Domestication also apparently affects genes controlling the timing of
physiological development. For example, the genetically tamable fox puppies
open their eyes sooner after birth than do ordinary silver foxes, and they
show a fear response to unfamiliar stimuli about three weeks later than
their
wild counterparts.
Over successive generations and increasing congenital tameness, Dr. Trut
wrote, the Russian team measured a steady decline in the hormone-producing
ability of the foxes' adrenal glands. Adrenal hormones prepare an animal for
fight or flight.
Even the brain chemistry of the tame animals differed from that of their
wild ancestors; after 12 generations of selective breeding, Dr. Trut
reported,
test animals' brains contained significantly higher levels of serotonin than
did their forbears. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter, is intimately involved in
an animal's psychological state.
Dr. Darcy F. Morey, an anthropologist at the University of Kansas who has
studied the physical changes that ancestral wolves underwent as they evolved
into domesticated dogs, said that Dr. Trut's report underscores the
complexity
of seemingly simple genetic traits.
"Clearly," he said in an interview, "the link between modifying the
neurology of an animal and its biochemical balance is all intertwined with
other aspects of physiology."
Domestication, with all the physiological changes it brings, has not been
limited to the the dog family, he said. "Human beings more or less
domesticated themselves," Dr. Morey said. "Of course, we're not as docile as
we'd like to think."
The Russian breeding experiment began in 1959 under the direction of a
geneticist, Dr. Dmitry K. Belyaev, who started with a population of 30 male
foxes and 100 vixens from a commercial fur farm in Estonia. From the
offspring
of these animals and from each successive generation, Dr. Belyaev's team
would
winnow out about 5 percent of the tamest animals for further breeding. Dr.
Belyaev died 14 years ago, but his experiment has continued.
In nature, the process of domestication is long and complex.
"Behavioral responses," Dr. Trut wrote, "are regulated by a fine balance
between neurotransmitters and hormones at the level of the whole organism.
Even slight alterations in those regulatory genes can give rise to a wide
network of changes in the developmental processes they govern." Changing a
complex system of genes (or a "polygene") by selectively breeding for some
trait like docility is not necessarily beneficial, she said. Even a slight
alteration of a polygene like that presumed to lead to docility "might upset
the genetic balance in some animals, causing them to show unusual new
traits,
most of them harmful to the fox," Dr. Trut wrote.
Through selective breeding to enhance the docility of 45,000 foxes over
the
last 40 years, Dr. Trut said, "we have compressed into a few decades an
ancient process that originally unfolded over thousands of years."
"Before our eyes, the 'Beast' has turned into 'Beauty,' as the aggressive
behavior of our herd's wild progenitors entirely disappeared," she said.
Dr. Trut concluded her paper with a prediction that the experiment in
tamability breeding would probably have to end soon; last year there was no
money in Russia's budget to pay the scientists or even feed the foxes, most
of
which were destroyed.
"Recently we have sold some of our foxes to Scandinavian fur breeders who
have been pressured by animal-rights groups to develop animals that do not
suffer stress in captivity," she wrote. "We also plan to market pups as
house
pets, a commercial venture that should lead to some interesting, if
informal,
experiments in its own right."
Copyright 1999 The New York Times
______________________________________________________________________
editor: Lenny Schafer east coast editor: Catherine Johnson, Ph D.
sch...@netcom.com CIJ...@aol.com
______________________________________________________________________
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Larry Arnold
What a pity someone can't breed the wildness out of Fox hunters !!!!!!!!!
nigh...@netcom.com
>Autistic kids have low synaptic serotonin, that's pretty well established
>now,
>and I have always said---PLEASE don't be offended by this, anyone---that
>autistic kids are the "cats" of special ed. For years autistic children
>were
>said to be "unteachable," and until we had ABA, which is a pretty heavy-duty
>teaching "technology," they pretty much were.
I'm not offended by the "cat" comment -- just wanted to add that I think
I thought I was a cat when I was little :) Still sometimes do.
(The cats, I thought, had better manners than the humans -- they don't
look you in the eye unless they're mad, and they behave more respectfully
somehow.)
--
--
"As he breaks the night to cry, 'It's really me! Really you and really
me. It's so hard for us to really be really you and really me. You'll
lose me though I'm always really free.'" --David Bowie, "The Wild-Eyed
Boy From Freecloud" -*-*- (*)
Jared Blackburn
wolve could have become dogs. What really interested me was the note
that the foxes they selectively breed were, in a since, those that
remained kit-like -- ie, that didn't mature normally. This idea that
dogs were wolves pure-bread for a developmental disability was
fascinating -- I'm not sure that it was flattering, but it was
fascinating.
Jared.
Larry Arnold
<nigh...@netcom.com> wrote in message news:nightsngF...@netcom.com...
> >now,
> >and I have always said---PLEASE don't be offended by this, anyone---that
> >autistic kids are the "cats" of special ed. For years autistic children
> >were
> >said to be "unteachable," and until we had ABA, which is a pretty
heavy-duty
> >teaching "technology," they pretty much were.
>
> I thought I was a cat when I was little :) Still sometimes do.
>
> (The cats, I thought, had better manners than the humans -- they don't
> look you in the eye unless they're mad, and they behave more respectfully
> somehow.)
>
I have seen your web site and would like to make a link to it from my own. I
will not make links without asking first, and since no-one has ansered my
post on this subject I supose I had better ask people whose sites I like if
they mind or not.
Is there any sort short introduction to your site you would like to put with
the link. I will not be ofended if you say no.
Larry feeling hypersensitive like a cat on a hot tin roof
Larry Arnold
Jared Blackburn <en...@utk.edu> wrote in message
news:370E15CF...@utk.edu...
Are you a wolf or a cat then?
There is a therie I heard somewhere that cats, effectively domesticated
themsleves, in ancient egypt no doubt those with the more human freindly
gene being selected for survival. there is also a therie that dogs(wolves)
played more than a part in there own domestication, again those with the
more human freindly genes being able to symbiotose (yet another neologism)
with early man/woman and assist in the hunting.
Larry (the wolf in lambs clothing)
BTW do you have a web site I can link to?
Vicky
and Flies SSMMAASHH
nigh...@netcom.com
Larry Arnold <ab...@dial.pipex.com> wrote:
>Now I shall picture you as a cat, having gone through * and Galig
That works :)
>I have seen your web site and would like to make a link to it from my own. I
>will not make links without asking first, and since no-one has ansered my
>post on this subject I supose I had better ask people whose sites I like if
>they mind or not.
>Is there any sort short introduction to your site you would like to put with
>the link. I will not be ofended if you say no.
Before reading this message (right before reading this message) I posted
the URL to my web site and the title to that thread... sorry not to get
back to you... finally got a chance to look at your web site which I like
(especially the cats :))
the URL is:
and the title is "Aeleis in Wonderland"
I have no problem with you linking to it... I was already planning on
linking to your site...
I don't know what to introduce it with (I have a terrible time trying to
figure out to say in those "introduction" things for web rings) so if you
want to figure something out, go ahead, and if you don't, that's okay
too. It would be good to include the "atypical" part since I don't see
very many web sites about "atypical autism" (and wondered when I first
officially got the diagnosis whether there were any out there.. I finally
found a couple) and that it's first-hand not my kid (I don't have kids,
unless you count the dog).
>Larry feeling hypersensitive like a cat on a hot tin roof
:) Know the feeling :/ it's okay though...
nigh...@netcom.com
Larry Arnold <ab...@dial.pipex.com> wrote:
>There is a therie I heard somewhere that cats, effectively domesticated
>themsleves, in ancient egypt no doubt those with the more human freindly
>gene being selected for survival. there is also a therie that dogs(wolves)
>played more than a part in there own domestication, again those with the
>more human freindly genes being able to symbiotose (yet another neologism)
>with early man/woman and assist in the hunting.
One reason I like cats so much is they don't seem to (most of them
anyway) have allowed themselves to fully be domesticated...
I like ferrets for the same reason (there's a theory that they were
domesticated in Egypt, before cats) but I prefer cats... ferrets are fun
but they bounce around too much and go for your feet :/
I have a dog right now, and I really love her, but dogs as a whole are
not my favourite animal. They seem very... human? Maybe it's the "pack"
thing. This particular dog helped give me motivation to learn to
communicate better with humans, though... and I care about her a lot.
She seems to not be a normal dog (not just because I like her, either :))
Larry Arnold
<nigh...@netcom.com> wrote in message news:nightsngF...@netcom.com...
> One reason I like cats so much is they don't seem to (most of them
> anyway) have allowed themselves to fully be domesticated...
>
Yes they are in control, I don't think that doublethink exists for cats,
they do what they want and chose who they like. They seem to have a plan to
it.
> I like ferrets for the same reason (there's a theory that they were
> domesticated in Egypt, before cats) but I prefer cats... ferrets are fun
> but they bounce around too much and go for your feet :/
I don't know any ferrets, I thought that they bite and scratch (as if cats
don't) I had a hamster once.
>
> I have a dog right now, and I really love her, but dogs as a whole are
> not my favourite animal. They seem very... human? Maybe it's the "pack"
> thing. This particular dog helped give me motivation to learn to
> communicate better with humans, though... and I care about her a lot.
> She seems to not be a normal dog (not just because I like her, either :))
>
>
I was not born in a hospital but at home. One of the first things I ever saw
must have been a dog, because the midwife decided, never mind the hygeine
that it was not a bad idea for the family dog, to get introduced to the new
baby (pack member) right away, as we would have to get used to each other. I
am not sure who had highest rank in the pecking order.
nigh...@netcom.com
Larry Arnold <ab...@dial.pipex.com> wrote:
>
><nigh...@netcom.com> wrote in message news:nightsngF...@netcom.com...
>
>> One reason I like cats so much is they don't seem to (most of them
>> anyway) have allowed themselves to fully be domesticated...
>>
>
>Yes they are in control, I don't think that doublethink exists for cats,
>they do what they want and chose who they like. They seem to have a plan to
>it.
Yeah, they don't need doublethink... another thing I admire about them
(and now am striving for).
>> I like ferrets for the same reason (there's a theory that they were
>> domesticated in Egypt, before cats) but I prefer cats... ferrets are fun
>> but they bounce around too much and go for your feet :/
>
>I don't know any ferrets, I thought that they bite and scratch (as if cats
>don't) I had a hamster once.
They're not rodents, like hamsters... they're in the mustelid family
(weasels). They do bite feet, but mine doesn't bite anywhere else unless
you're my brother -- she doesn't like him. She doesn't scratch
aggressively, but she doesn't have retractable claws which means it hurts
for her to walk on you if you don't clip them often enough. She's very
bright, very hyper, and very playful. And bouncy.
>> I have a dog right now, and I really love her, but dogs as a whole are
>> not my favourite animal. They seem very... human? Maybe it's the "pack"
>> thing. This particular dog helped give me motivation to learn to
>> communicate better with humans, though... and I care about her a lot.
>> She seems to not be a normal dog (not just because I like her, either :))
>I was not born in a hospital but at home. One of the first things I ever saw
>must have been a dog, because the midwife decided, never mind the hygeine
>that it was not a bad idea for the family dog, to get introduced to the new
>baby (pack member) right away, as we would have to get used to each other. I
>am not sure who had highest rank in the pecking order.
I was born in a hospital, but when I came home I first slept between my
parents (they heard it prevents crib deaths) and then, when in a crib,
with the family cat. I joke a lot that I learned my manners from the
cat, because I knew only to look someone in the eye if it was
aggressive/territorial, etc. Which may be partially true :)
Jared Blackburn
Jared.
nigh...@netcom.com
So is my brother :)
(he likes to steal things, he's long and skinny, sneaky, and he bounces up
and down and makes funny noises :))
Larry Arnold
Vicky <cim...@home.com> wrote in message news:370EDD9E...@home.com...
> I cant wait till they start experimenting on Cockroachs
> and Flies SSMMAASHH
Whats this about Rock coaches?