Dogs see human
faces differently
Ever wondered why your dog lights up
when they see you?
Maybe it's because they’re dedicating an entire part of their brain to the job.
According to The British Psychological Society Research Digest, a small study out of the US suggests dogs may use a completely different part of their brain to process human faces.
To find this out, Researchers taught 12 dogs to lie on an MRI (no small feat in itself, we’re sure), then showed them pictures of human and dog faces. What they discovered was a big surprise.
Regardless of how familiar the faces were (both human and canine) or what emotions were displayed, when seeing another dog, the area of the brain that lit up was the area we associate in humans with recognising emotions and facial movement.
However, an entirely different part of the brain started to dance when they saw a human - an area in our minds we associate with processing facial identity.
It’s a bit early for drawing too many conclusions from this research, but it's nice to know your dog may really have you on their mind. We will definitely be watching this space.
