Brain scans show dogs distinguish human facial emotions

A new study from the University of Vienna, published in the journal iScience, provides the first neural evidence that dogs can distinguish between different human facial expressions, including specific negative emotions. Using fMRI scans, researchers found that happy faces activated the temporal cortex and caudate nucleus — brain regions linked to higher cognitive and reward processing — in eight dogs shown happy versus neutral faces Source: CNN. This suggests happy human faces carry positive emotional significance for dogs Source: CNN. In a second experiment with 12 dogs, machine learning analysis of whole-brain activity revealed distinct patterns that could differentiate fear from anger and sadness, though not anger from sadness Source: The Guardian. This is the first demonstration that dog brains can distinguish emotions of the same valence Source: The Guardian. The study's authors caution that the dogs were all pets from loving homes, and street dogs may respond differently Source: CNA. They also note that dogs integrate other cues like body language, voice, and scent when interpreting human emotions Source: CNN. The team plans to investigate how dogs combine these cues and to compare human and canine brain processing of emotional signals Source: CNA.