The light response in chickens divergently selected for feather pecking behavior reveals mechanistic insights towards psychiatric disorders.

Based on our results, we conclude that feather pecking in chickens and schizophrenia in humans have numerous common features. For instance, a Dicer1 dependent disruption of miRNA biogenesis and the lack of GABRB2 expression have been linked to schizophrenia pathogenesis. Furthermore, disturbed circadian rhythms and dysregulation of genes involved in the immune system are common features of both conditions.