According to scientists, these mutations may have played a role in their domestication, reducing stress and making dogs more relaxed in contact with humans.
The researchers studied differences in genes associated with cognitive abilities in dogs.
These included the love hormone oxytocin (OT) genes and the melanocortin 2 receptor (MC2R) genes, which are involved in the production of the stress hormone cortisol. Their analysis showed that the two mutations in MC2R were related. experimenters in the second.
“The MC2R gene was most effective for dogs’ skills in the selection and problem-solving test, suggesting that the gene may have mutated in the early stages of domestication,” the researchers said.