biomolecules Review Molecules, Mechanisms, and Disorders of Self-Domestication: Keys for Understanding Emotional and Social Communication from an Evolutionary Perspective Goran Šimi´c 1,* , Vana Vuki´c 1, Janja Kopi´c 1, Željka Krsnik 1 and Patrick R. Hof 2 1 Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia;
[email protected] (V.V.);
[email protected] (J.K.);
[email protected] (Ž.K.) 2 Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer’s disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: The neural crest hypothesis states that the phenotypic features of the domestication syndrome are due to a reduced number or disruption of neural crest cells (NCCs) migration, as these cells differentiate at their final destinations and proliferate into different tissues whose activity is reduced by domestication. Comparing the phenotypic characteristics of modern and prehistoric man, it is clear that during their recent evolutionary past, humans also went through a process of self-domestication with a simultaneous prolongation of the period of socialization. This has led to the development of social abilities and skills, especially language, as well as neoteny. Disorders of neural crest cell development and migration lead to many different conditions such as Waardenburg syndrome, Hirschsprung disease, fetal alcohol syndrome, DiGeorge and Treacher-Collins syndrome, for which the mechanisms are already relatively well-known. However, for others, such as Williams- Beuren syndrome and schizophrenia that have the characteristics of hyperdomestication, and autism spectrum disorders, and 7dupASD syndrome that have the characteristics of hypodomestication, much less is known.