[QUOTE]We love our dogs.
In the 30,000 years humans and dogs have lived together, man's best friend has only become a more popular and beloved pet. Today, dogs are a fixture in almost 50% of American households.
From the way dogs thump their tails, invade our laps and steal our pillows, it certainly seems like they love us back. But since dogs can't tell us what's going on inside their furry heads, can we ever be sure?
Actually, yes. Thanks to recent developments in brain imaging technology, we're starting to get a better picture of the happenings inside the canine cranium.
That's right — scientists are actually studying the brains of dogs. And what the studies show is welcome news for all dog owners: Not only do dogs seem to love us back, they actually see us as their family. It turns out that dogs rely on humans more than they do their own kind for affection, protection and everything in between.
Dogs gathered around MRI scanner MR Research Center in Budapest.
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The most direct brain-based evidence that dogs are hopelessly devoted to humans comes from a recent neuroimaging study about odor processing in the dog brain. Animal cognition scientists at Emory University trained dogs to lie still in an MRI machine and used fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to measure their neural responses to the smell of people and dogs, both familiar and unknown. Because dogs navigate the world through their noses, the way they process smell offers a lot of potential insight into social behavior.
The scientists found that dog owners' aroma actually sparked activation in the "reward center" of their brains, called the caudate nucleus. Of all the wafting smells to take in, dogs actually prioritized the hint of humans over anything or anyone else.
These results jive with other canine neuroimaging research. In Budapest, researchers at Eotvos Lorand University studied canine brain activity in response to different human and dog sounds, including voices, barks and the meaningful grunts and sighs both species emit. Before this study, we had no idea what happens inside canine brains when humans make noise.
Among other surprising findings, the study revealed marked similarities in the way dog and human brains process emotionally laden vocal sounds. Researchers found that happy sounds in particular light up the auditory cortex in both species. This commonality speaks to the uniquely strong communication system underlying the dog-human bond.
In short: Dogs don't just seem to pick up on our subtle mood changes — they are actually physically wired to pick up on them.
"It's very interesting to understand the tool kit that helps such successful vocal communication between two species," Attila Andics, a neuroscientist and lead author of the study, told Mic. "We didn't need neuroimaging to see that communication works [between dogs and people], but without it, we didn't understand why it works. Now we're really starting to."
Dog waiting to be scanned at MR Research Center in Budapest.
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Behavior research supports the recent neuroscience too. According to Andics, dogs interact with their human caregivers in the same way babies do their parents. When dogs are scared or worried, they run to their owners, just as distressed toddlers make a beeline for their parents. This is in stark contrast to other domesticated animals: Petrified cats, as well as horses, will run away.
Dogs are also the only non-primate animal to look people in the eyes. This is something Andics, along with other researchers, discovered about a decade ago when he studied the domestication of wolves, which he thought would share that trait. They endeavored to raise wolves like dogs. This is a unique behavior between dogs and humans — dogs seek out eye contact from people, but not their biological dog parents.
"Bonding with owners is much more important for dogs than other pets," said Andics.
Scientists have also looked at the dog-human relationship from the other direction. As it turns out, people reciprocate dogs' strong feelings. In a study published in PLOS One in October, Massachusetts General Hospital researchers measured human brain activity in response to photos of dogs and children. Study participants were women who'd had dogs and babies for at least two years. Both types of photos sparked activity in brain regions associated with emotion, reward, affiliation, visual processing and social interaction. Basically, both furry and (typically) less-furry family members make us equally happy.
Dog-lovers have committed a few notable gaffes in interpreting dogs' facial expressions, e.g., assuming the often-documented hangdog look signifies guilt, an emotion that, most behavior experts agree, requires a multifaceted notion of self-awareness that dogs probably don't have.
But, as with family, our instinctive hunches about dog behavior are often correct.
"Sometimes our intuition about what's going on inside dogs' heads is dead-on," said Laurie Santos, the lead researcher at Yale's Canine Cognition Center. "Like, that dogs are seeking out help from us — and that's true based on studies — which is different from even their closest relatives, wolves."
The precise wish or worry lurking in a dog's doleful look may not always be clear. But we can relish the fact that we know our pets love us as much as we hoped, maybe even more. Even if they're not full-fledged children, they see us as family. And to us? Well, they'll always be our babies.[/QUOTE]
[url]http://mic.com/articles/104474/brain-scans-reveal-what-dogs-really-think-of-us[/url]
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("Don't paste the entire article - Read the sticky" - Craptasket))[/highlight]
That makes sense, sounds like selection ended up replacing dogs' natural packs with humans.
that second pic looks like a dog torture device ;_;
ok I'm gonna hug my dog now.
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Dogs are the best!
[QUOTE=Dermock;46551989]that second pic looks like a dog torture device ;_;[/QUOTE]
I think its just because the pads push up on the dogs skin and makes its eyes look droopy.
Dogs rule
[QUOTE=Dermock;46551989]that second pic looks like a dog torture device ;_;[/QUOTE]
Least the dog got earmuffs to muffle the sound, MR machines are bloody loud.
dogs are cool
[QUOTE=Shadow45;46552088][t]http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1870767/thumbs/o-UGLY-DOG-PEANUT-WINNER-facebook.jpg[/t][/QUOTE]
[i]I love the smell of fresh humans in the morning[/i]
Now put a stranger on the other side of the machine the dog can see whilst being scanned.
I bet they'd get high readouts in brain activity related to agression.
[QUOTE=Fatfatfatty;46552168]Now put a stranger on the other side of the machine the dog can see whilst being scanned.
I bet they'd get high readouts in brain activity related to agression.[/QUOTE]
Entirely dependent on the dog.
Some dogs just want everyone to pet them, others are cautious, some are aggressive.
[QUOTE=Fatfatfatty;46552168]Now put a stranger on the other side of the machine the dog can see whilst being scanned.
I bet they'd get high readouts in brain activity related to agression.[/QUOTE]
we get it. you hate dogs.
also, bloodhounds are the cutest dogs.
I miss my dogs :c
We've got bunnies and a cat, and yeah I love em too, but my dogs were my best buds...
A lot of this makes sense when you consider that dogs evolved as hunting partners for us.
For instance, we've domesticated dogs, cats, and horses for different purposes, so it makes sense for them to act differently when scared. For a dog, their human partner is very likely to have some sort of weapon to keep them both safe, or can reassure the dog that the thing they're scared of is harmless. The dog likely could survive on its own, but it would survive much better alongside a human. We keep cats just for them to lounge around, wander around and kill small pests. If a cat is afraid, it doesn't really need its master beyond changing its litter box or kitty treats. It already can hunt for its own food, much to the dismay of its owner sometimes. And horses? All we do is weigh them down and use them for transport. Horse is in trouble? Fuck you, human, if you're not already on my back, you're own your own, I'm gonna transport my ass right out of here.
As for listening for emotions: that's very helpful when hunting. Dogs can't really understand too many words, but as long as they can understand a few and the general emotion of what someone means, they can know what to do in a situation better. Compare whispering about a deer in the clearing up ahead to yelling about a wild boar charging towards you. Furthermore, compare yelling about a wild boar to yelling about "Hey, Steve, how ya doin buddy! Nice to see you!"
[quote][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I19lVVK44GA]Study participants were women who'd had dogs and babies for at least two years.[/url][/quote]
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Dogs are the best![/QUOTE]
those are hideous rat creatures though
[QUOTE=Kingbob387;46552119]dogs are cool[/QUOTE]
Cats, however...
The eye contact thing is interesting. I had never thought about it, but dogs are the only animals I know of that looks me in the eyes.
meanwhile cats are like "Hoi, food giver, scratch me here. Good, now fuck off"
[QUOTE=Zakkin;46552440]meanwhile cats are like "Hoi, food giver, scratch me here. Good, now fuck off"[/QUOTE]
you have either never owned a cat or didnt treat it very well
One of my buddies absolutely refuses to acknowledge my dog, claiming cats are so much better and that they love him unconditionally. He just despises dogs.
Fuck him, I love my Lucky-buddy.
[QUOTE=Eva-1337;46552491]One of my buddies absolutely refuses to acknowledge my dog, claiming cats are so much better and that they love him unconditionally. He just despises dogs.
Fuck him, I love my Lucky-buddy.[/QUOTE]
t/hats fucked up.... my dog is dead....
[QUOTE=Scot;46552479]you have either never owned a cat or didnt treat it very well[/QUOTE]
Depends on the cat.
My cats are that way, I'll be sitting in my chair and she'll paw at me and either jump into my lap or I'll pick her up, and she'll sit and let me pet her for maybe 2 minutes and then she'll be like OK NOW FUCK OFF and bite my hand and run off.
my cats are the biggest cuddlebugs ever and they will meow at me until i let them come in my room. my dogs (both bloodhounds) are the biggest, droopiest, and goofiest dogs ever and i wouldn't have them any other way. total goobers.
[QUOTE=DemonElite;46552526]my cats are the biggest cuddlebugs ever and they will meow at me until i let them come in my room. my dogs (both bloodhounds) are the biggest, droopiest, and goofiest dogs ever and i wouldn't have them any other way. total goobers.[/QUOTE]
I have 2 basset hounds, goofy is definitely a good word to describe hounds.