www.livescience.com A new study suggests that devoted dog owners are right to rave on about how their pets understand them. After careful training of eleven pet dogs, researchers from Hungary placed them in an MRI scanner.
The result of the work, published in the journal Current Biology, showed that canine brains react to voices in the same way that the human brain does. Crying and laughter did the same thing, perhaps explaining why dogs are attuned to human emotions.
For comparison, the team looked at the brains of 22 human volunteers in the same MRI scanners.
The scientists played 200 different sounds to their subjects, ranging from environmental noises, such as car sounds and whistles, to human noises and different sounds coming from dogs. When both the animals and the people heard human voices, crying or laughter, a similar region of the brain became active. Dog's whimpering or angry barking also caused a similar reaction in all volunteers. However, while the dogs responded to the human voice, their reactions were far stronger when it came to canine sounds.
The result of the work, published in the journal Current Biology, showed that canine brains react to voices in the same way that the human brain does. Crying and laughter did the same thing, perhaps explaining why dogs are attuned to human emotions.
For comparison, the team looked at the brains of 22 human volunteers in the same MRI scanners.
The scientists played 200 different sounds to their subjects, ranging from environmental noises, such as car sounds and whistles, to human noises and different sounds coming from dogs. When both the animals and the people heard human voices, crying or laughter, a similar region of the brain became active. Dog's whimpering or angry barking also caused a similar reaction in all volunteers. However, while the dogs responded to the human voice, their reactions were far stronger when it came to canine sounds.
www.dailymail.co.uk This helps us understand why dogs can tune into their owner's feelings, and the person can detect emotional changes in their dog. Of course, after living together for millennia, humans and dogs have developed a close tie. That animals understand death and grieve for their losses is no longer in doubt. Dogs can interpret a lot of words and they understand hand signals. Look at the clever sheep-dog.
I love dogs. I've lived with many of these intelligent animals over the years. Now, I wouldn't be capable of giving another dog a good quality of life, more's the pity. However, I remember with great fondness, the way each dog responded to me--ever ready to sympathize, forgive any fault, and offer love.
I love dogs. I've lived with many of these intelligent animals over the years. Now, I wouldn't be capable of giving another dog a good quality of life, more's the pity. However, I remember with great fondness, the way each dog responded to me--ever ready to sympathize, forgive any fault, and offer love.
RSS Feed
