[Book Review] Does My Dog Love Me Too?...A Neuroscientist Uses MRI to Find Out

Gregory Berns' "The Neuroscience of Dogs"
Recording Canine Brain Activity with MRI
Communication Beyond Simple Reflexes
Caudate Nucleus Activation When Smelling Owner's Scent
"Owners and Dogs Grow to Resemble Each Other in Personality and Appearance"

Puppy, pet dog, companion dog... Just as the names have changed over time, so too has human perception. In the past, dogs were considered property, but now they have firmly established themselves as members of the family. Many people wish they could have a conversation with their companion dog, even if only for a single day. This wish has even been turned into a movie. This book provides useful information for those who share this desire. It introduces the journey to answer the question, "Does my beloved dog love me as much as I love them?"

[Book Review] Does My Dog Love Me Too?...A Neuroscientist Uses MRI to Find Out

Gregory Burns and his pet dog Kelly. Dongle Design

The book is based on the research papers of the author, a neuroscientist and psychology professor at Emory University in the United States, who is a pioneer in the field of animal cognition research. The author was the first in the world to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology to precisely record the brain activity of dogs. This scientific approach to understanding how companion dogs feel emotions and love attracted significant attention from both academia and the public.

The author, who scientifically proved the concept of 'self' in the human brain using fMRI, turned to dogs as research subjects after the death of Newton, the first companion dog he shared after getting married. He sought to answer the question, "Did the dog truly love us?" from a neuroscientific perspective. "All mammalian brains share many similarities. By comparing the areas activated in a dog's brain to those in a human brain, we can make inferences. For example, if the reward center (the brain function activated when experiencing rewards) is activated in a dog's brain, we can determine in what situations humans show similar responses."

A significant portion of the book focuses on the process of training dogs to remain still and endure noise inside the MRI machine. The lengthy procedure to obtain permission for dogs to use MRI equipment originally intended for humans, and the training process involving earplugs and stabilization devices, were all conducted in accordance with research ethics. "I could have directly lifted Callie (the dog’s name) onto the table, but it was important to uphold the ethical principle of autonomy in experiments. The key was for Callie to voluntarily get onto the table herself."

So, can dogs feel love as humans do? According to Professor Gregory Berns' fMRI experiments, the answer is yes. When humans experience joy and satisfaction, a brain region called the caudate nucleus is activated, and the same phenomenon was observed in dogs. The caudate nucleus is an area densely populated with dopamine receptors and is known to respond to external stimuli such as food, money, and love.

The primary sensory medium for dogs is scent. While humans process emotion and cognition mainly in the frontal lobe, dogs use the lower temporal lobe for this function. The response patterns in dogs were similar to those observed in humans when looking at photos of loved ones. Through this, the author revealed that dogs emotionally recognize specific subjects and possess cognitive abilities similar to human emotions.

It is also interesting that dogs do not merely react reflexively to stimuli, but respond delicately depending on the type of stimulus. The dog's brain reacted differently to various stimuli such as the owner's voice, scent, and gestures, and the patterns of brain response varied depending on the person. This demonstrates that dogs also possess unique emotional tendencies and cognitive characteristics.

A dog's brain clearly distinguishes between familiar and unfamiliar scents. In MRI experiments, when dogs smelled their owner's scent, the caudate nucleus deep in the brain was strongly activated, but there was little response to the scent of strangers or other dogs. While it is common to see dogs happily greeting their owners after recognizing their scent, the significance of this book lies in the fact that this response has been scientifically proven.

The book also introduces an impressive scene in which the author and his companion dog Callie participate in an MRI experiment together. At the moment when Callie makes eye contact with her owner, her caudate nucleus is activated, providing clear evidence that interactions such as eye contact are linked to 'pleasant emotions.'

There are differing opinions among scholars regarding the cognitive abilities of dogs. The renowned Austrian animal behaviorist Konrad Lorenz argued that "dogs are instinctively amoral beings, lacking a sense of right and wrong," but primatologist Frans de Waal refuted this with experimental results showing that dogs understand the concept of 'fairness.' However, Lorenz also agreed that "when humans and dogs resonate with each other, a strong bond is formed. (...) Many dogs and their owners are surprisingly similar in personality, and sometimes even come to resemble each other in appearance."

Since the book is based on research papers, it has an overall academic tone. Especially in the latter part, which deals with experimental results, a significant portion is dedicated to detailed explanations of the experimental design and training process. Readers who are curious about the conclusion may start from the latter part and work backward. While it is fascinating that the communication mechanism between humans and companion dogs has been scientifically demonstrated, as the author notes, it is somewhat disappointing that the experiments involved only two dogs.