Although it is known that dogs perceive the difference between positive and negative human emotions (e.g. happy and angry faces), a new study published in Cell Press’s scientific journal iScience shows that their brains understand the differences between similar emotions.
“As far as we know, this is the first time there is evidence that dogs can distinguish faces expressing two [similar] emotions,” said Laura V. Cuaya, co-author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Vienna’s SCAN unit.
In the first experiment, eight pet dogs saw images of unfamiliar happy and neutral human faces. The happy faces triggered a stronger response in a region of the brain known as the right temporal cluster, which extends to the caudate nucleus. The finding is particularly significant because this region is associated with reward, according to Cuaya.
“Other studies show, for example, that this activation is associated with situations in which the dog expects a treat or some food reward, but also when it hears praise,” Laura V. Cuaya said.
They then designed the second experiment, involving 12 pet dogs, comparing the brain regions where they processed happy faces with those where they processed faces expressing sadness, anger and fear.
Source: Washington Post
What is fyi.news?
