Scientists Gave Dogs MRIs and Learned That They're Surprisingly Good at Distinguishing Between Human Emotions, Even Some Negative Ones
A recent study found that man’s best friend processes positive and negative human emotions differently and can distinguish between fearful faces and those showing sadness or anger
Scientists have discovered that dogs can distinguish between human emotions, even some negative ones, through MRI scans. The study, published in the journal iScience, showed that dogs process happy, scared, and angry emotions differently. Laura Cuaya, a neuroscientist at the University of Vienna, explained that the temporal cortex and caudate nucleus in a dog's brain are activated when they see happy faces, while different brain areas are activated when interpreting negative emotions like sadness and fear or anger and fear.
The research also suggested that dogs may rely on additional cues, such as body language, to differentiate between emotions that are similar in valence.
Written by urgent.news from Smithsonian's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
