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Abstract
Studying cognition of domestic dogs has gone through a renaissance within the last decades. However, although the behavioral studies of dogs are beginning to be common in the field of animal cognition, the neural events underlying cognition remain unknown. Here, we employed a non-invasive electroencephalography, with adhesive electrodes attached to the top of the skin, to measure brain activity of from 8 domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) while they stayed still to observe photos of dog and human faces. Spontaneous oscillatory activity of the dogs, peaking in the sensors over the parieto-occipital cortex, was suppressed statistically significantly during visual task compared with resting activity at the frequency of 15–30 Hz. Moreover, a stimulus-induced low-frequency (∼2–6 Hz) suppression locked to the stimulus onset was evident at the frontal sensors, possibly reflecting a motor rhythm guiding the exploratory eye movements. The results suggest task-related reactivity of the macroscopic oscillatory activity in the dog brain. To our knowledge, the study is the first to reveal non-invasively measured reactivity of brain electrophysiological oscillations in healthy dogs, and it has been based purely on positive operant conditional training, without the need for movement restriction or medication.
Highlights
The interest in studying cognition of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) has increased tremendously
The analysis of power spectra revealed a modulation of the spontaneous oscillatory activity related to the ongoing visual task
The oscillatory activity at the frequency band of 15 to 30 Hz peaked at the most posterior sensors of P3 and P4 in all eight dogs, and it was suppressed during taskrelated activity (TASK) compared to the eyes open but resting activity (EOREST) in 7 out of 8 dogs
Summary
The interest in studying cognition of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) has increased tremendously. The species is phylogenetically further away from humans than non-human primates, its evolution has been affected by a long domestication period and, more lately, a selection of behavioral traits by humans via breeding of the dog species. Behavioral studies of dog cognition have revealed similarities of dog behavioral traits to humans [1,2,3]. Some features of dog behavior suggest similarities in cognitive processing of humans and dogs. Not much is yet known about the underlying neural processes of dogs during perception and cognition, or the possible similarities to neural processes of humans. Brain function of dogs has been studied in the past mainly by recording activity with electroencephalography (EEG) directly from the brain, by sedating the animals and restraining their movements, and by putting them down after the experiment. Much of the underlying neural functionality of dog cognition remains unresolved
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