New study: dogs can 'see' the world with their noses

Researchers, veterinarians at Cornell University, New York, USA examined the brains of several dogs and discovered surprising results.

Research shows that in dogs there is a link between sight and smell, something that has not been found in any other species.

In dogs, there is a connection between sight and smell

The researchers explain how some dogs are blind, can't see balls or obstacles, but can still play catch with precision.

They conducted MRI scans on different dogs and made connections from the sense of smell to the cortical regions. This suggests a connection between the part of the brain that processes smell and the part of the brain that processes vision.

"We have never found a connection between the nose and the occipital lobe in any other species. The results have huge implications for dogs," said Pip Johnson, an associate professor at Cornell University. Entering a room, animals mainly use their eyes to see everything, find out where the door is, what is in the room. Meanwhile, dogs use both eyes and nose, their sense of smell. really integrated with vision to give the end result of how they learn about their surroundings and orient themselves."

According to Pip Johnson, the new research results better explain many cases where blind dogs are still very good at chasing objects. The results are also a comfort to owners of dogs with incurable eye diseases.

Johnson said: 'Dogs that are blind but still do well at searching and navigating their surroundings are much better than humans with the same condition. The results of the study are of great consolation to owners whose dogs have incurable eye diseases."

Retired army veterinarian Eileen Jenkin, who was not involved in the study, said: 'This is amazing. A dog's nose itself is equipped with more than 220 million odor-detecting cells, compared to the 50 million human olfactory receptors. With this breathing organ alone, dogs form spatial awareness, read communications, sense their owner's moods, and monitor all the activities around them."

In the future, the researchers aim to map the olfactory systems of cats and horses.