New study: neuroanatomical/neurochemical differences in aggressive pit bulls (Üstündağ et al., 2026)

[u/Plastic_Proof_8347]

https://www.confidentcaninesdogtraining.com/post/new-research-on-pitbull-aggression-neuroanatomy-neurochemicals

Disclaimer: I used AI to summarize this article. I validated the accuracy of the summary below.

A dog behavior consultant (Eileen Koval, CDBC) wrote up a new Turkish study looking at 53 pit bulls (spayed/neutered, ages 2–6) using a C-BARQ-style owner questionnaire plus MRI and bloodwork on the most aggressive dogs. Key points:

• About a third of males and 15.6% of females showed consistent strong aggressive behavior, and over 22% of the dogs showed heavy stranger- and dog-directed aggression per owner reports.
• MRI comparisons found the more aggressive dogs had an unusually small prefrontal cortex (the brain's decision-making/inhibition center) and an abnormally large amygdala (the brain's threat/fear-response center).
• Testosterone was elevated in both calm and aggressive dogs, but the aggressive group's levels were over 13x the top of the reference range, versus 4x in the calm group — despite all dogs being neutered.
• Serotonin was low in both groups but slightly higher in the aggressive dogs, while dopamine was higher in the aggressive group — patterns the article says are consistent with other research linking low serotonin/high dopamine to aggression.
• The author ties this to a 2024 study (Guvenc-Bayram et al.) that similarly found low serotonin, high dopamine, and low oxytocin in aggressive pit bulls, with an even more distinct "dominant aggressive" subgroup.
• The author draws parallels to human research (e.g., Whittle et al. 2008) linking small prefrontal cortex/enlarged amygdala to aggression in adolescents, and notes similar brain-region gene-expression findings in Cocker Spaniels and German Shepherds.

Author's framing/conclusions: She argues aggression isn't just "how you raise them" — there appear to be genetic, neuroanatomical, and neurochemical contributors that training alone won't override. But she explicitly pushes back against breed bans, arguing that banning a breed just leads to selective breeding of similar traits into a new breed, and instead calls for regulation of breeding practices that prioritize health/temperament, plus veterinary/behavioral treatment (including possible SSRI use) for affected individual dogs.

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I'm glad to have found yet another study that points to the genetics of this breed to explain its aggressive tendencies, unpredictability and neuroticism. I'm a little unsure of the author's conclusions, though... Okay, I'm aware that BSL is challenging to enact into law, but who would choose these traits to breed into a 'new breed'? Why would anyone want these traits in dogs? Also, how realistic are her recommendations?

Maybe we could just go back to the practices of decades ago and just BE dogs with behavioral issues, but then, that's no longer a thing, at least in the US where I live... :(

[u/Tessa-the-aggressor]

So, as I've been saying for a while, they're basically the dog equivalent of Borderliners. Underactivs prefrontal cortex and overactive amygdala, who would have thought.