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.
This article originally appeared on StudyFinds.org.
