The scientific community has long known that when people interact, their brains synchronise. But does the same thing happen between humans and dogs? Apparently so, according to a study from China published in the journal Advanced Science.
The researchers discovered this after recruiting 10 adult volunteers to interact with beagles. For five days, each volunteer had to spend time with a dog, petting it or looking into its eyes, or both.
Throughout the experiment, both the dogs and the humans wore electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes on their heads, so that the researchers could record electrical activity in their brains.
Fascinatingly, the research team found that the brain waves of dogs and humans synchronised when they interacted. In other words, neurons in the frontal and parietal regions of their brains emitted electrical impulses at the same time, as if they were in phase.
The researchers noticed that
the interbrain correlation in the frontal and parietal regions of dogs and humans induced by mutual gaze or petting alone was significantly lower than that during full social interactions with both mutual gaze and petting
, the researchers outlined in their paper.
But how does this synchronisation occur? To find out, the researchers used a sophisticated mathematical algorithm. This enabled them to discover that the strength of brain synchronisation increased as the familiarity between the human-dog duo grew over the course of the experiment.
Moreover,
information-flow analysis suggests that the human is the leader, while the dog is the follower during human–dog interactions
, the researchers noted.
Indeed, it seems that these animals could really be
on the same wavelength
as their two-legged counterparts, further demonstrating the complexity and richness of the bond between humans and dogs.
