Dogs' brains are not hardwired to respond to human faces, study reveals

Researchers found that our furry friends' brains are not hardwired to focus on human faces, but respond with more excitement when an animal of the same species is in view. Using an MRI machine, the team monitor brain activity in both humans and dogs as they watched two-second videos that displayed dog and human faces and the backs of heads. The results from the animals showed that no part of their brains responded more to faces, but researchers note that the reason dogs pay attention to human faces is because they evolved to depend on their owners. Researchers found that our furry friends' brains are not hardwired to focus on human faces, but respond with more excitement when an animal of the same species is in view. The study was conducted by a team of Hungary- and Mexico-based researchers, who worked together to compare how dog and human brains process visual information.