(Photo by Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images)
BEIJING — In an eye-opening pet discovery, researchers have found that when humans and dogs interact, it literally changes the way a pet’s brain works. It turns out that when you stare into your dog’s adorable puppy eyes, it’s doing a lot more than just tugging at your heartstrings, it’s syncing up the dog’s brain with yours!
This “interbrain coupling,” as scientists call it, sheds new light on the deep bond between humans and their canine companions. It may even hold clues for understanding and treating autism in humans.
The study, published in the journal Advanced Science, used a cutting-edge technique called dual-EEG to simultaneously measure brain activity in both humans and dogs as they engaged in typical bonding behaviors like petting and gazing into each other’s eyes. They found that certain regions of the human and dog brains actually fell into sync during these interactions, showing coordinated patterns of activity.
Even more intriguingly, this brain synchronization seemed to follow a leader-follower dynamic, with the human brain activity leading and the dog brain following. This mirrors the social dynamic between humans and dogs, where humans typically take on a leadership role.
However, the implications of this discovery go far beyond just understanding the human-dog bond. The researchers also looked at dogs with mutations in a gene called SHANK3 – a gene strongly linked to autism in humans. These dogs showed disrupted brain synchronization when interacting with humans, mirroring social difficulties seen in human autism.
In a surprising twist, the researchers found that a single dose of the psychedelic drug LSD appeared to rescue this impaired brain synchronization in the SHANK3 mutant dogs. While it’s far too early to draw clinical conclusions, this finding hints at potential new avenues for autism research and treatment.
This study opens up a wealth of new questions. Could measuring brain synchrony between humans and dogs provide a new way to assess the strength of the human-animal bond? Might it offer insights into how therapy dogs help people with conditions like PTSD or anxiety? Also, could studying these cross-species brain interactions teach us something fundamental about social connection and empathy?
While much more research is necessary, this study offers a fascinating glimpse into the neurological underpinnings of one of humanity’s oldest friendships. It seems that when we call dogs “man’s best friend,” we may be speaking a more literal truth than we ever realized.
Paper Summary
Methodology
The researchers used a special EEG setup to record brain activity in both humans and dogs at the same time. They had humans and dogs interact in different ways – sitting in separate rooms, sitting together without interacting, and engaging in petting and eye contact. They then used mathematical techniques to look for synchronized patterns in the brain activity data. They also tested dogs with a genetic mutation linked to autism, and tried giving some dogs a dose of LSD to see how it affected brain synchronization.
Key Results
The study found that when humans and dogs interacted through petting and eye contact, certain regions of their brains (especially in the frontal and parietal lobes) showed synchronized activity. This synchronization was stronger in the human-to-dog direction. Dogs with the autism-linked genetic mutation showed disrupted brain synchronization, but a dose of LSD appeared to temporarily restore it.
Study Limitations
The study had a relatively small sample size of dogs. The EEG technique, while allowing for simultaneous measurement, doesn’t give as detailed a picture of brain activity as some other methods. The study on LSD was very preliminary and much more research would be needed to draw any clinical conclusions.
Discussion & Takeaways
This study provides the first evidence of interbrain coupling between humans and another species. It suggests that the frontal and parietal brain networks, which are involved in attention and social interaction, play a key role in this synchronization. The disrupted synchronization in dogs with autism-linked mutations mirrors social difficulties seen in human autism, potentially offering a new way to study the condition. The preliminary finding on LSD’s effects opens up new avenues for research, though much more study is needed.
Funding & Disclosures
The study was approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology. The LSD used in the study was provided by the drug reference materials laboratory of the Third Research Institute of the Ministry of Public Security of China. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Have you considered the spiritual aspect? God created the nephish creatures to interact and bond with humans. Sadly sin has harmed that relationship in many instances. Still that special bond is by design.
Sorry, but coming from beijing, I don’t believe a word of it to begin with and secondly, all they stare at dogs for is wondering how they are going to cook them.
I’ve known that for years, how do you think dogs know what we’re thinking?
Mine looked into my eyes with a sad look and his mind spoke to mine saying “please, don’t ever move to Springfield, Ohio”.
Not even mildly surprising to a G. Shepherd owner . Mine was Smarter tha Most people I have Known !
Does the same thing happen when humans stare into each others’ eyes? I would expect it’s not just an interspecies thing.
Does the same thing ha