A dog in the fMRI scannerENIKO KUBINYIBecause humans and dogs have been co-evolving for thousands of years, comparing the neurological function of the two could improve scientists’ understanding of cognition in both species. Now, researchers from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences have used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on both humans and dogs to compare areas of the brain that respond to sounds. Their work was published in Current Biology today (February 20).
“This whole idea of comparative cognitive neuroscience has always been interesting,” said canine cognitive neuroscientist Gregory Berns of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, who has also used fMRI to study dogs, but did not participate in this work. “With humans, it’s always been focused on chimpanzees and other primates, so this [research] is really interesting because it’s looking at comparative anatomy and auditory processing between dogs and humans.”
The researchers used a combination of positive reinforcement techniques and social learning to train pet dogs—border collies and golden retrievers—to climb into and lie down in an fMRI scanner. They taught the dogs to stay still for five to eight minutes, which was necessary for the researchers to gather fMRI data “You might think that it’s uncomfortable ...
