Dogs Understand Complexities of Language, Study Finds

Dogs may be capable of discerning much more meaning in human speech than many give them credit for, according to a new study to be published this week in the journal Science.

Led by Attila Andics, a researcher at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest, a team of scientists had 13 dogs sit quietly in an MRI machine that scanned their brains while they heard commands.

The experiments confirmed what many people with dogs already knew: Our canine comrades are deeply tuned in both to the words we use and how we use them.

Learning specific words "does not appear to be a uniquely human capacity that follows from the emergence of language, but rather a more ancient function that can be exploited to link arbitrary sound sequences to meanings," said Andics in a statement.

So how did the experiment work?

Once the dogs were in the machine, a trainer familiar to the dogs read out a series of words. The dogs knew some of the words, like "that's it" and "well done," and some were more generic, such as "if" and "yet," which would mean little to them. The trainer also varied tone of voice, from positive to neutral.

The researchers found that when the dogs heard familiar words, the MRI showed greater activity in the left side of their brains. Tone was processed in the right hemisphere. When a positive tone was paired with a word of praise, the dog's brains showed signs of pleasure, just as they would if the dogs were pet or given food.

Humans perceive language in similar ways, the authors point out.

“It shows that for dogs, a nice praise can very well work as a reward, but it works best if both words and intonation match,” said Andics. “So dogs not only tell apart what we say and how we say it, but they can also combine the two, for a correct interpretation of what those words really meant.”

This shows a fairly sophisticated ability to comprehend language and intention, differing from human capacities perhaps only in degree, not kind. The authors believe it's possible dogs developed genes for these skills as a result of domestication, but since dogs have only been selectively bred by humans for several thousand years, they think it is more plausible that the ability was innate in prior canine ancestors.

Any family that's had to spell out words like "food" or "walk" to avoid getting the dog overly excited or has found that they'll scurry away quickly no matter how enthusiastically they're told it's time for a "bath," already knows how sensitive dogs can be to nuance.

So though this study might come as surprise to some who downplay the abilities of animals, dog lovers will likely not be shocked to hear that dogs pay attention to words and the emotional tenor of the human voice. Why, they might ask, is this kind of research important?

"Many people want more substantive data than just observations of dogs doing this or that," said Marc Bekoff, a former professor and expert on animal emotions who wasn't involved in the study. "Neuroimaging using fMRI does just this and provides the neural underpinnings for various types of behavior, including cognitive and emotional capacities."

And just because because something seems obvious to people doesn't mean it's actually backed up by science.

"I think this is a very significant study," said Bekoff. "Although it supports what many people already 'know,' as I point out in my essay on Psychology Today, it's great to have the scientific data that support these intuitions. In fact, a significant amount of behavioral and neurobiological research is supporting what so many dog people already 'knew.'"

There are some limitations to the study, however. A sample size of 13 is pretty small for psychological study, and the researchers were limited by the fact that only very compliant dogs would be likely to stay inside an fMRI machine for the duration of the experiment. Since the dogs were free to leave the machine at any time and were not restrained, the sample is biased, and it's difficult to know if the finding would apply to all dogs.

Also, as Bekoff pointed out, the dogs were hearing a familiar trainer's voice for the experiment. Hearing an unfamiliar voice might produce a different result.

Still, as the authors note, if the study's findings prove to be robust, it could tell us a lot about the deep connections between humans and dogs, and perhaps many other animals.

Photo credit: Elizabeth Tersigni