University of Vienna fMRI Study Finds Dogs' Brains Respond to Happy Human Faces
At the University of Vienna, a study involved eight family dogs undergoing functional MRI scans while they looked at images of unfamiliar people showing either happy or neutral expressions. The findings revealed that the dogs' brains showed more activity in the temporal cortex and caudate nucleus when they saw happy faces, indicating that they respond emotionally to human happiness. This research, published in iScience, was led by Dr. Laura Cuaya and her team, including Raúl Hernández-Pérez. They highlighted that both dogs and humans are skilled at picking up on subtle facial expressions, offering clues about emotional and social development. Cuaya noted this ability likely evolved over thousands of years of domestication. The study also involved their own Border Collies. Future research will delve into how dogs and humans process emotional signals during interactions. "I want people to recognize dogs as emotional beings," Cuaya stated.
Key facts
- Researchers at the University of Vienna used fMRI to scan the brains of eight family dogs viewing happy and neutral human faces.
- Happy faces activated the temporal cortex and caudate nucleus more strongly than neutral faces.
- The study was published in iScience under the title 'Dog brain representations of human facial expressions: Encoding happiness and differentiating specific negative expressions.'
- Authors include Dr. Laura Cuaya, Raul Hernandez Perez, Luis Concha, Attila Andics, and Rodolfo Bernal Gamboa.
- Co-author Raúl Hernández-Pérez, PhD, is affiliated with the University of Vienna.
- The researchers propose the ability developed over thousands of years of domestication, unlike primate evolution.
- The dogs studied came from loving families; street dogs may process human emotion differently.
- Cuaya and Hernández-Pérez's own Border Collies, Odín and Kun-kun, participated in the study.
- The couple first met in secondary school in Mexico and have collaborated on prior research into dogs' understanding of human language and behaviour.
- Next steps include investigating how dogs' brain signals work together and whether humans and dogs process emotional cues similarly.
Entities
Artists
- Dr. Laura Cuaya
- Raul Hernandez Perez
- Luis Concha
- Attila Andics
- Rodolfo Bernal Gamboa
- Raúl Hernández-Pérez
- Laura Cuaya
Institutions
- University of Vienna
- iScience
- Cell Press
- My Modern Met
- Depositphotos
- Nottingham Trent University
- University of Melbourne
Locations
- Vienna
- Austria
- Mexico
- England
- Melbourne
- Australia