Dogs would be unable to recognize the front and back of their master's head

This discovery may disappoint dog owners. According to a team of Hungarian researchers, our four-legged companions are unable to recognize their master's head.

Before reaching this conclusion, scientists from the University of Loránd Eötvös analyzed the brain reactions of around 20 dogs over several months, including labradors and border collies, while they watched videos of their fellows.

Then, they repeated the experiment with videos in which human people were portrayed. More precisely, they randomly showed them a dog face, the back of a dog's head, a human face and the back of a human head.

By studying MRI scans of dogs, researchers found their brains had different activity depending on the species presented. On the other hand, seeing a human face or the back of a human head, their brain activity did not vary, is it detailed in the study, published in the scientific journal The Journal of Neuroscience.

"It's amazing that dogs are so good at reading human emotions., while they don't seem to have brains designed to focus on their face ", said Dr Attila Andics, co-author of the study.

On his side, Sophie Scott, Director of the Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, clarified that "their brain simply analyzes whether it is a dog or a human, but he doesn't really care about faces ”.

"One of the main ways for them to find out who their master is, she added, is to smell their scent ".

Source: https://www.cnews.fr/monde/2020-10-06/les-chiens-seraient-incapables-de-reconnaitre-lavant-et-larriere-de-la-tete-de-leur

Dog, Face, Human head