TITLE:
Dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4) is associated with gazing toward humans in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris)
AUTHORS:
Yusuke Hori, Hisayo Kishi, Miho Inoue-Murayama, Kazuo Fujita
KEYWORDS:
Dogs; Dopamine Receptor D4 Gene; Human-Directed Gazing; Social Behavior
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
Vol.3 No.1,
January
29,
2013
ABSTRACT: Dogs show high social
communicative ability in interactions with humans. We investigated the association
between dogs’ social communicative behavior and the polymorphisms of a gene related
to a neurotransmitter. We used an “unsolvable task”, in which an experimenter
put a food reward into a container and closed it firmly so that dogs could not
remove the reward. Human-directed gazing, possibly to request help, is a
characteristic behavioral trait of dogs in such situations. The association between
owner-directed gazing behavior in the unsolvable task and polymorphisms of
three regions (exon1, exon3, intron2) in the dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4) was analyzed. We found that the genotype
of DRD4 intron2 was significantly associated with the dogs’ gazing behavior. Dogs carrying shorter allele (P) looked at their owner more frequently,
for longer, and earlier than dogs carrying longer allele (Q). This result suggests that polymorphism in DRD4 intron2 may affect social communication
and cognition in dogs.