Brain scans revealed what dogs really think of their owners - Walla! news

2022-07-17T07:21:35.583Z

A study that neurologically examined the reaction of dogs to a familiar person versus dogs and strangers found a real connection that will make you fall in love

Brain scans revealed what dogs really think of their owners

Ever wanted to know how your dog reacts to you compared to other humans?

A study that neurologically examined the reaction of dogs to a familiar person versus dogs and strangers found a real connection that will make you fall in love

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16/07/2022

Saturday, 16 July 2022, 23:32

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Most dog owners would give anything to know what their pet thinks of them, and new research gives them exactly the answer to that question.

Scientists studying animal intelligence at Emory University in Georgia have trained a group of dogs that will lie down long enough for them to be put into an MRI machine to try and see how they perceive their owners.

Using FMRI (Functional Imaging Test of the Brain), the research team measured the neural responses of dogs to the smell of people and dogs, those familiar to them and those unfamiliar to them.

Because dogs navigate their way through the world through smell, the research hypothesis was that by analyzing the response they would be able to know more about their behavior and their attitude toward humans.

The study, written by Gregory Burns, Andrew Brooks and Mark Spivak, said: "Understanding dogs' perceptions of themselves and humans is important to understanding how dogs develop and the nature of their relationships with other people and dogs. The dog's sense of smell is strongest and clear. We have to do the research through it. "

The team presented five different scents to 12 dogs of different breeds, ages and breeds - which included their own scent, the smell of a familiar person, the smell of a stranger, the smell of a familiar dog and the smell of a foreign dog.

They tried to find out how the dog responds to the smell and whether he connects enthusiasm to the smell of a familiar person.

"The main result is that the dogs react to all the odors, but in the maximum way they react to the smell of a familiar person," the study said. "Others, they had a much more positive response to it. It shows the importance of the sense of smell in dogs, and provides a clue to the importance of humans in dog life."

While research shows how dogs' brains ignite when they smell a familiar person, humans can now know that their dogs have a positive reaction when they smell them when they are in the area.

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Despite this, the findings make the research team wonder whether the type of dog and the form in which it is raised has meaning.

"It is possible that selective breeding has created a stronger natural intersex connection than the innate connection of dogs within the species," the study said.

"Nine of the 12 dogs were purebred, of which four were service dog programs, and the other five were specially bred to perform or participate in dog shows."

Three of the dogs were mixed breeds adopted from rescue agencies or shelters.

"The dogs' reaction to familiar humans may be a result of the grooming environment in which they were raised. All dogs have been family pets and have been raised by humans since they were puppies. However, because service dogs were raised for both work and intensive human contact from an early age. "This may explain their friends' greater response to human odors," the researchers estimated.