Fig. 2.

Hypothesized changes to the central oxytocin system across domestication. A: In early domestication, oxytocin is predominantly released in the hypothalamus from somatodendritic compartments of OT neurons, locally suppressing activity of the HPA axis and reducing aggression. Medial surface of the dog brain is from Ref. [118]. B: Visual depiction of hypothesized changes in later domestication. There is an elaboration of neurons projecting beyond the hypothalamus (dashed lines) allowing targeted release of OT in diverse socially-relevant forebrain regions that orchestrate complex forms of affiliative behaviors with humans. C: Feral dogs in Ethiopia exploiting an anthropogenic niche, a process that was likely critical in early domestication D: Herding dogs as human assistants and companions, an example of novel forms of human-animal interaction associated with late domestication. The images in panels C and D are subject to copyright and were licensed for use by the authors.