Brain scans reveal dogs respond positively to happy human faces

A team from the University of Vienna performed functional MRI on eight dogs to examine how they process human facial expressions. Images of strangers with happy or neutral faces caused increased activation in the dogs' temporal cortex and caudate nucleus, areas associated with higher-order cognition and reward. Subsequent tests with angry, fearful and sad faces revealed separate brain activity patterns, indicating dogs can differentiate negative emotions, though the response differed from that to happiness.

Lead researchers Laura Cuaya and Raúl Hernández-Pérez noted the caudate's involvement aligns with reward processing seen across species. The dogs, all from caring homes and specially trained for the scans, were primarily border collies, a breed known for social cue sensitivity. The authors acknowledge the small sample and breed bias, calling for broader studies to explore breed-specific neural responses. Future research aims for a more dog-centric approach to understand how canines use human emotional signals in everyday interactions.