Brain activity is measured while the participant interacts with the dog. Credit: Marti et al.
In a new study, researchers from the University of Basel (Switzerland) have shown that viewing, feeling, and touching real dogs leads to increasingly higher levels of activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain.
In addition to controlling executive functions like planning and decision-making, the prefrontal cortex of the brain has been implicated in the regulation of social and emotional interactions. Previous studies have shown interacting with animals, particularly dogs, is known to help people cope with stress and depression. Thus, the Swedish research team wanted to explore the idea further, hoping to gain a better understanding of the associated brain activity—which could help clinicians design improved systems for animal-assisted therapy.
In their study, published in PLOS ONE, a team led by Rahel Marti used non-invasive neuroimaging technology to measure activity in the prefrontal cortex of 19 men and women when they 1) viewed a dog, 2) reclined with the same dog against their logs, or 3) petted the dog.
As a control, each of the conditions was repeated with a stuffed lion with fur that was filled with water to match the temperature and weight of the real-life dog.
The study results showed that prefrontal brain activity was greater when participants interacted with the real dogs, and that this difference was largest for petting. However, that increased brain activity was not seen with interactions with the stuffed lion, indicating that the response might be related to familiarity or social bonding.
“This indicates that interactions with a dog might activate more attentional processes and elicit stronger emotional arousal than comparable nonliving stimuli,” said the authors.
Future studies will be needed to examine the issue of familiarity in detail and whether petting animals can trigger a similar boost of prefrontal brain activity in patients with socioemotional deficits.
Laboratory Equipment is powered by Labcompare, the Buyer's Guide for Laboratory Professionals.