How do dogs understand human speech actually

Anyone who has a dog, will tell you that these animals - great listeners. But how well do they really understand what they are told the owners? The answer may surprise you greatly.

According to a new study published in Science this week, dogs understand far more than you think. Using MRI, researchers from Budapest, studied the brain activity of dogs while they heard the voice of her coach, and made a very interesting conclusion. In a study of 12 dogs took part (6 Border Collie, 4 Golden Retriever, German Shepherd and 1 1 Chinese Crested), whose owners volunteered to carry out the necessary procedures. The dogs were specially trained to lie still inside the scanner and MRI were free to leave when they wanted it. However, they have shown the wonders of tranquility and honorably withstood examination.

Coaches said the dogs in different ways: they used the positive phrases in a positive tone, positive phrases in a neutral tone, and neutral phrases in a neutral tone. They were all expressions of the Hungarian language, which generally praise their pets. When the dog listened to record the words of his coach, it became clear that when the dog waits for praise, the corresponding brain centers are activated only at the sound of the positive phrases spoken in a positive tone. In other words, very important for them to play not only the words themselves, but the tone in which they were uttered. On neutral expression, said even positive, the animals did not react. Lead researcher Attila Andiks explains that while the human brain process speech exists a kind of "division of labor". The brain is not only separately analyze how and what we say, but also brings together different types of information, displaying the general sense. Research has proven that the dog is no different in this respect from the people, because they use a very similar analysis algorithms.