It’s fascinating to learn that dogs not only understand basic commands but also have the ability to associate certain words with specific objects. A recent study published in the journal Current Biology revealed that dogs can mentally connect words with corresponding objects, as indicated by their brain activity.
Typically, word comprehension tests for non-speaking individuals, such as infants and animals, involve active responses. However, dogs often struggle to perform well in such tests, making it challenging to gauge their understanding of language.
To delve deeper into dogs’ implicit understanding of object words, researchers used non-invasive EEG to measure their brain activity without requiring them to physically respond. The goal was to obtain a more accurate assessment of their language comprehension.
In the study, dog owners said words for toys their pets recognized and then presented the corresponding objects. The dogs’ brain activity was monitored using EEG as they were shown matching and mismatched objects. The results revealed distinct brain patterns when the dogs were presented with matching versus mismatched objects, indicating their comprehension of the words.
2024-03-23 08:00:04
Link from phys.org