Awake fMRI reveals a specialized region in dog temporal cortex for face processing

Abstract

Recent behavioral evidence suggests that dogs, like humans and monkeys, are capable of visual face recognition. But do dogs also exhibit specialized cortical face regions similar to humans and monkeys? Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in six dogs trained to remain motionless during scanning without restraint or sedation, we found a region in the canine temporal lobe that responded significantly more to movies of human faces than to movies of everyday objects. Next, using a new stimulus set to investigate face selectivity in this predefined candidate dog face area, we found that this region responded similarly to images of human faces and dog faces, yet significantly more to both human and dog faces than to images of objects. Such face selectivity was not found in dog primary visual cortex. Taken together, these findings: (1) provide the first evidence for a face-selective region in the temporal cortex of dogs, which cannot be explained by simple low-level visual feature extraction; (2) reveal that neural machinery dedicated to face processing is not unique to primates; and (3) may help explain dogs’ exquisite sensitivity to human social cues.

Orienting asymmetries and physiological reactivity in dogs’ response to human emotional faces

“…pointing gestures; Soproni, Miklósi, Topál, & Csányi, 2002) and human faces as well. Dogs' peculiar sensitivity for human faces is demonstrated by a specialization of the brain temporal cortex regions for processing them (Cuaya, Hernández-Pérez, & Concha, 2016;Dilks et al, 2015) and by evidences coming from behavioural observations. In particular, looking at human face, dogs are able to detect the direction of humans' gaze, their attentional and emotional state (Call, Bräuer, Kaminski, & Tomasello, 2003;Müller, Schmitt, Barber, & Huber, 2015).…”

Functional MRI in Awake Dogs Predicts Suitability for Assistance Work

“…We focused on three brain regions as potential biomarkers of success or failure: 1) caudate for reward sensitivity417; 2) amygdala for arousal18; and 3) a region of temporal cortex previously shown to be responsive to faces5.…”

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Domestic Dog: Research, Methodology, and Conceptual Issues

“…Because the response profile did not map onto the dog visual cortex, low-level feature processing is unlikely to account for the activation patterns seen in the temporal lobe. Rather, Dilks et al (2015) conclude that the activations represent the first evidence of a face-processing region in dogs.…”

“…In the first published fMRI investigation of face processing in awake dogs, Dilks et al (2015) presented eight fMRI-experienced canine subjects (Cook et al, 2014) with movie clips and static images. The dogs viewed movie clips of human faces, scenes, objects, and scrambled objects, each for three seconds.…”