It turns out that dogs may be smarter than we think. A recent study published in Current Biology found that pet dogs’ brains showed signs of surprise when their owners presented them with an unexpected toy. This suggests that dogs are capable of creating mental concepts of objects, shedding light on their cognitive abilities.
Some dogs are exceptionally gifted when it comes to vocabulary. Take Chaser, a border collie who knew over 1,000 words for toys. But what about the average dog? Researchers at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest were curious about the cognitive abilities of dogs that fall in the middle of the pack. They recruited 27 pet dogs and their owners for the study, representing a diverse mix of breeds.
The dogs were brought to the lab and had electrodes attached to their heads. They were then asked to lie on a mat and stay awake while their owners were on the other side of a window, out of sight. The owners would play a recording of their voice, saying things like, “Kun-Kun, look, the ball!” The window would then reveal the owner holding either the ball or a different toy, testing the dogs’ reaction to the unexpected stimuli.
The study’s findings provide valuable insights into the cognitive abilities of dogs and how they process language and concepts. To learn more about the study, visit www.sciencenews.org.
2024-03-22 10:00:00
Source from www.sciencenews.org