The surprising resemblance between the human brain and the dog

According to a report in the journal Current Biology published on February 20, a new study for the first time compared the brain function between humans and animals without the Primate set. The results showed that dogs also have a separate language area in the human-like brain. The dog's brain, similar to that of humans, is very sensitive to the sound signals of emotions.

Scientists say that the voice area developed at least 100 million years ago, which is also the last time that the common ancestor between two species: dogs and humans exist. This gives a better insight into the special connection between people and the 'best friend' in the animal world, and further explains the neurological mechanisms as well as the behavior that makes This connection is sustainable for tens of thousands of years.

Attila Andics, a scientist from MTA-ELTE, Hungary, said: 'Dogs and humans share a similar social environment. The findings also show that the dog's brain has a mechanism for processing information similar to humans. This may be a first step in studying the communication between the two species in the future. "

Andics and his colleagues trained 11 dogs to lay motionless in a fMBI brain scanner. From there can be experiments comparing images in the brain between two dogs, and between dogs with humans. This is a new research method that has never been applied experimentally before. 200 objects including dogs and people participated in this experiment. Scientists directly record the activity of human and dog brains while subjects listening to the sound express feelings from crying, moaning, barking, or laughing.

The images show that the voice area in both the dog's brain and the person is in a similar region. The voice area of ​​dogs is more responsive to sounds from other dogs, while humans are more sensitive to human voices.

Scientists also note the surprising similarity in the way the human brain and the dog respond to emotions. In both species, a sound reception area near the cortex reacts strongly to cheerful sounds rather than sounds that carry the opposite emotions. Scientists were impressed by the same reactions with an emotional state between species.

There are some differences that one shows in reacting differently to sound patterns between two species. Nearly half of the brain region receives dog sounds that are more sensitive to sounds than voices, whereas in humans only 3% of the sound region shows a stronger response to sounds that aren't music.

This research is the first step towards understanding how a dog can modulate a host's feelings so amazingly well.

'This method opens up a whole new way of analyzing the neurodevelopment of dogs' . Astic said: 'In the end, we understand how the best friends in our home can see and adjust our environment like that.'