Your Brain’s Best Friend? It Might Be Your Dog

Feeling sluggish? Not feeling mentally alert? Struggling to make decisions? You may just need to pet a dog… At least, that’s what the initial findings from a group of researchers have to say! While all research can have limitations, the findings of the effects of contact with a dog on prefrontal brain activity study are quite eye-opening. Let’s dive right into it. ⬇️ Each participant took part in 6 sessions, 3 that included a dog and 3 that included the plush toy. Every session followed the same format. With the participant sitting on a couch, they did the following for 2 minutes while their brain activity was monitored with the fNIRS machine. Additionally, their heart rate and electrodermal activity (essentially sweat levels) were monitored. Staring at a blank wall (neutral) Only looking at the dog or toy from about 3 feet away (watching) Having the dog lay near them or the toy placed on their thigh (feeling) Actively petting the dog or toy (petting) Staring at a blank wall (neutral) This was repeated 6 total times (3 with a dog and 3 with a toy). The data found through these sessions was astounding!  REAL DOG VS PLUSH TOY While there was actually increased brain activity when interacting with the plush toy, the gains in activity were significantly higher when interacting with the dog. As the dog or toy entered the room, was next to, and then was interacted with by the participant, brain activity increased.  And while this is true, the gains in prefrontal brain activity were significantly higher when the participant interacted with a real dog compared to a toy! Simply put, a real dog was more effective at activating brain activity than a plush toy. Not much of a surprise there. WATCHING VS FEELING VS PETTING What I found most interesting was the significant jump in brain activity when participants were actively petting the dog! One of the largest jumps in brain activity occurred when the participant when from being near the dog (feeling) to actively petting the dog (petting). It seems as if there is some scientific evidence as to why we (or at least I) always want to go pet dogs that we see on the street. That petting of a good boy or girl can actually increase our brain activity. WHAT ABOUT WHEN THE DOG LEFT THE ROOM? Another piece of data that the researchers uncovered was that even after the dogs left and the participants went back to staring at a wall (neutral phase), brain activity stayed measurably higher than compared to the first neutral phase. So, not only can petting a dog get our brain moving at that specific moment, but it can even help once the dog is gone! No study is perfect and no study can give us complete answers, but this study did show statistically significant evidence that petting and closely interacting with a dog can have positive effects on our brains. This type of hard data and evidence can ideally provide therapy dog groups with a better ability to secure funding, expand operations, and overall better serve people worldwide. The bottom line is that dogs are amazing creatures that we are truly lucky to have in our lives and further research is certainly needed to better understand our relationship with them.  And we should treat, raise, and train dogs with that level of respect in mind. 🙂