Dogs can distinguish between different human emotions by looking at facial expressions, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Vienna.
Scientists used brain scans from 12 pet dogs while showing them images of unfamiliar people displaying emotions such as happiness, anger, fear and sadness.
Using machine-learning analysis, the researchers found that areas of the canine brain associated with higher cognitive functions and reward processing became active only when the dogs viewed happy faces.
Although negative emotions did not activate those reward-related regions, analysis of activity across the entire brain revealed distinct patterns for fear, anger and sadness.
The findings reflect the first neurological evidence that dogs can distinguish specific human emotions based solely on facial expressions.
The next phase of the research will examine how dogs combine facial expressions with body language, tone of voice and scent to interpret people around them.
Scientists also plan to compare how dogs and humans process the same emotional signals to better understand the evolution of social communication.
All dogs in the study were household pets raised in caring environments.
Get the latest news and stories wherever you prefer.
Add ProPakistani to Preferred Sources and see more of our stories in Google Search and Top Stories.
Shares
