If you’ve ever looked into a dog’s big, watery eyes and suddenly felt connected, you may have experienced a moment of brain sync.
For the first time, researchers in China have discovered synchronized neural activity between two different species: humans and dogs. The findings suggest that we do indeed connect with our pets on a deeper neurological level.
Previous studies have shown that when people talk or work with each other, the activity of our brains in key regions can synchronize. But this is the first series of experiments to report a similar phenomenon between humans and another species, they show ScienceAlert.
The first discovery to confirm the connection with non-speakers
Researchers measured brain activity in humans and dogs by placing electrodes on the skull. For the study, 10 young beagles were paired with unfamiliar humans, and the pairs got to know each other over five days.
In the experiments, human-dog pairs engaged in nonverbal communication, such as eye contact. As a control measure, the human and the dog remained in the same room and did not interact.
“Intercerebral correlations in frontal and parietal regions increased dramatically during mutual gaze,” write the study authors, led by biologist Wei Ren of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
When people just petted the dogs, the team observed similar patterns of synchronization, but in this case the synchronization was stronger in the parietal region of the brain.
In humans, activity in the frontal and parietal regions of the brain is associated with joint attention. Previous studies have shown that when people pet their dogs, their frontal lobe activity suddenly increases, suggesting that they are paying close attention to their pet and are emotionally involved. But until now it was not clear whether this activity was reflected in the dog’s brain.
In the current study, when people were asked to pet the dogs and look into their eyes, the brain activity between the two was even more connected than when they just petted or just looked at the dogs.
Although the study is not that large and further research is needed, these dogs could be a useful model for studying the neural mechanisms underlying social deficits, the researchers say.
“Our findings suggest potential biomarkers of intercerebral activity for the diagnosis of ASD and the development of non-hallucinogenic analogs of LSD to correct social deficits,” the authors conclude.
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Source: www.descopera.ro
