Emory University researchers have developed a new methodology to scan
the brains of alert dogs and explore the minds of the oldest
domesticated species. The technique uses harmless functional Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (fMRI), the same tool that is unlocking secrets of the
human brain.
The Public Library of Science (PLoS ONE) is publishing the
results of their first experiment, showing how the brains of dogs
reacted to hand signals given by their owners.
"It was amazing to see the first brain images of a fully awake,
unrestrained dog," says Gregory Berns, director of the Emory Center for
Neuropolicy and lead researcher of the dog project. "As far as we know,
no one has been able to do this previously. We hope this opens up a
whole new door for understanding canine cognition and inter-species
communication. We want to understand the dog-human relationship, from
the dog's perspective."
Key members of the research team include Andrew Brooks, a graduate
student at the Center for Neuropolicy, and Mark Spivak, a professional
dog trainer and owner of Comprehensive Pet Therapy in Atlanta.
Two dogs are involved in the first phase of the project. Callie is a
two-year-old Feist, or southern squirrel-hunting dog. Berns adopted her
at nine months from a shelter. McKenzie is a three-year-old Border
Collie, who was already well-trained in agility competition by her
owner, Melissa Cate. Both dogs were trained over several months to walk
into an fMRI scanner and hold completely still while researchers
measured their neural activity.
The researchers aim to decode the mental processes of dogs by
recording which areas of their brains are activated by various stimuli.
Ultimately, they hope to get at questions like: Do dogs have empathy? Do
they know when their owners are happy or sad? How much language do they
really understand?
In the first experiment, the dogs were trained to respond to hand
signals. One signal meant the dog would receive a hot dog treat, and
another signal meant it would not receive one. The caudate region of the
brain, as
sociated with rewards in humans, showed activation in both dogs when
they saw the signal for the treat, but not for the no-treat signal.
"These results indicate that dogs pay very close attention to human
signals," Berns says. "And these signals may have a direct line to the
dog's reward system."
Berns is a neuroeconomist, who normally uses fMRI technology to study
how the human mind works. His human brain-imaging studies have looked
at everything from why teens engage in risky behavior to how adults
decide to follow, or break, established rules of society.
Dog lovers may not need convincing on the merits of researching the
minds of our canine companions. "To the skeptics out there, and the cat
people, I would say that dogs are the first domesticated species, going
back at least 10,000 years, and by some estimates 30,000 years," Berns
says. "The dog's brain represents something special about how humans and
animals came together. It's possible that dogs have even affected human
evolution. People who took dogs into their homes and villages may have
had certain advantages. As much as we made dogs, I think dogs probably
made some part of us, too."
The idea for the dog project came to Berns about a year ago, when he
learned that a U.S. Navy dog had been a member of the SEAL team that
killed Osama bin Laden. "I was amazed when I saw the pictures of what
military dogs can do," Berns says. "I realized that if dogs can be
trained to jump out of helicopters and airplanes, we could certainly
train them to go into an fMRI to see what they're thinking."
All procedures for the dog project were approved by the Institutional
Animal Care and Use Committee of Emory. "From the outset, we wanted to
ensure the safety and comfort of the dogs," Berns says. "We wanted them
to be unrestrained and go into the scanner willingly."
The dogs were trained to wear earmuffs, to protect them from the
noise of the scanner. They were also taught to hold their heads
perfectly still on a chin rest during the scanning process, to prevent
blurring of the images.
"We know the dogs are happy by their body language," says Mark
Spivak, the professional trainer involved in the project. Callie, in
particular, seems to revel in the attention of breaking new ground in
science.
"She enters the scanner on her own, without a command, sometimes when
it's not her turn," Spivak says. "She's eager to participate."
