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150 years ago today, Charles Darwin published a puzzle - why do some dogs have droopy ears when the ears of wolves stand upright? Why is this pattern seen across many tame species? What exactly does tameness have to do with ear cartilage? Now we’re getting close to an answer that ties it all together. A fascinating hypothesis explains dogs’ floppy ears, and their spotted coats and shortened faces along the way.
Our new animated episode explains it all!:
Very interesting read from the opinion pages of the NY Times. Must check out the authors book.
Study suggests neurobiological basis of human-pet relationship
It has become common for people who have pets to refer to themselves as “pet parents,” but how closely does the relationship between people and their non-human companions mirror the parent-child relationship? A small study from a group of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers makes a contribution to answering this complex question by investigating differences in how important brain structures are activated when women view images of their children and of their own dogs. Their report is being published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.
“Pets hold a special place in many people’s hearts and lives, and there is compelling evidence from clinical and laboratory studies that interacting with pets can be beneficial to the physical, social and emotional wellbeing of humans,” says Lori Palley, DVM, of the MGH Center for Comparative Medicine, co-lead author of the report. “Several previous studies have found that levels of neurohormones like oxytocin – which is involved in pair-bonding and maternal attachment – rise after interaction with pets, and new brain imaging technologies are helping us begin to understand the neurobiological basis of the relationship, which is exciting.”
In order to compare patterns of brain activation involved with the human-pet bond with those elicited by the maternal-child bond, the study enrolled a group of women with at least one child aged 2 to 10 years old and one pet dog that had been in the household for two years or longer. Participation consisted of two sessions, the first being a home visit during which participants completed several questionnaires, including ones regarding their relationships with both their child and pet dog. The participants’ dog and child were also photographed in each participants’ home.
The second session took place at the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at MGH, where functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) – which indicates levels of activation in specific brain structures by detecting changes in blood flow and oxygen levels – was performed as participants lay in a scanner and viewed a series of photographs. The photos included images of each participant’s own child and own dog alternating with those of an unfamiliar child and dog belonging to another study participant. After the scanning session, each participant completed additional assessments, including an image recognition test to confirm she had paid close attention to photos presented during scanning, and rated several images from each category shown during the session on factors relating to pleasantness and excitement.
Of 16 women originally enrolled, complete information and MR data was available for 14 participants. The imaging studies revealed both similarities and differences in the way important brain regions reacted to images of a woman’s own child and own dog. Areas previously reported as important for functions such as emotion, reward, affiliation, visual processing and social interaction all showed increased activity when participants viewed either their own child or their own dog. A region known to be important to bond formation – the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area (SNi/VTA) – was activated only in response to images of a participant’s own child. The fusiform gyrus, which is involved in facial recognition and other visual processing functions, actually showed greater response to own-dog images than own-child images.
“Although this is a small study that may not apply to other individuals, the results suggest there is a common brain network important for pair-bond formation and maintenance that is activated when mothers viewed images of either their child or their dog,” says Luke Stoeckel, PhD, MGH Department of Psychiatry, co-lead author of the PLOS One report. “We also observed differences in activation of some regions that may reflect variance in the evolutionary course and function of these relationships. For example, like the SNi/VTA, the nucleus accumbens has been reported to have an important role in pair-bonding in both human and animal studies. But that region showed greater deactivation when mothers viewed their own-dog images instead of greater activation in response to own-child images, as one might expect. We think the greater response of the fusiform gyrus to images of participants’ dogs may reflect the increased reliance on visual than verbal cues in human-animal communications.”
Co-author Randy Gollub, MD, PhD, of MGH Psychiatry adds, “Since fMRI is an indirect measure of neural activity and can only correlate brain activity with an individual’s experience, it will be interesting to see if future studies can directly test whether these patterns of brain activity are explained by the specific cognitive and emotional functions involved in human-animal relationships. Further, the similarities and differences in brain activity revealed by functional neuroimaging may help to generate hypotheses that eventually provide an explanation for the complexities underlying human-animal relationships.”
The investigators note that further research is needed to replicate these findings in a larger sample and to see if they are seen in other populations – such as women without children, fathers and parents of adopted children – and in relationships with other animal species. Combining fMRI studies with additional behavioral and physiological measures could obtain evidence to support a direct relationship between the observed brain activity and the purported functions.
(Image: Fotolia)
The closest relative to the domestic cat is the Near Eastern Wildcat whose DNA are near identical.
Source: Grimm, David. Citizen canine: our evolving relationship with cats and dogs. New York: Public Affairs, 2014. Print.
The tabby cat is adoptable!
African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) by Daniele Colombo
The closest relative to the domestic dog is the gray wolf, sharing 99.9 percent of their DNA.
Source: Grimm, David. Citizen canine: our evolving relationship with cats and dogs. New York: Public Affairs, 2014. Print.
The adorable Rottweiler pup is adoptable!
Book Review: Citizen Canine
Citizen Canine presents a thorough image of the relationship between humankind and our favorite companions the cat and dog both across history and across current perspectives. Grimm weaves biological studies, historical facts, and individual narratives into an engaging tale, guiding you through the tumultuous journey cats and dogs have faced on their road into our homes and hearts. From ancient beginnings of domestication all the way to modern animal rights movements, Grimm uncovers each shift of our pets as we move them up and down our social ladder.
As a cat owner myself I was drawn to the book to learn just how my tabby earned her place on my lap. I was delighted to find the intriguing history in each chapter and even more excited by the attention given to differing perspectives, particularly when it comes to the much debated topic of animal rights. I closed the book satisfied with a better understanding of how pets came to their place at our feet and where I personally stand on animal rights.
Buy it here
Disney Dogs Ranked from Cute to Cutest | Oh My Disney
how do cats even work
Cats:
A cat can jump up to five times its own height in a single bound.
The little tufts of hair in a cat’s ear that help keep out dirt direct sounds into the ear, and insulate the ears are called “ear furnishings.”
The ability of a cat to find its way home is called “psi-traveling.” Experts think cats either use the angle of the sunlight to find their way or that cats have magnetized cells in their brains that act as compasses.
One reason that kittens sleep so much is because a growth hormone is released only during sleep.
A cat has 230 bones in its body. A human has 206. A cat has no collarbone, so it can fit through any opening the size of its head.
A cat’s nose pad is ridged with a unique pattern, just like the fingerprint of a human.
If they have ample water, cats can tolerate temperatures up to 133 °F.
A cat’s heart beats nearly twice as fast as a human heart, at 110 to 140 beats a minute.
Cats don’t have sweat glands over their bodies like humans do. Instead, they sweat only through their paws.
The claws on the cat’s back paws aren’t as sharp as the claws on the front paws because the claws in the back don’t retract and, consequently, become worn.
Cats make about 100 different sounds. Dogs make only about 10.
Researchers are unsure exactly how a cat purrs. Most veterinarians believe that a cat purrs by vibrating vocal folds deep in the throat. To do this, a muscle in the larynx opens and closes the air passage about 25 times per second.
A cat almost never meows at another cat, mostly just humans. Cats typically will spit, purr, and hiss at other cats.
A cat’s back is extremely flexible because it has up to 53 loosely fitting vertebrae. Humans only have 34.
Some cats have survived falls of over 65 feet (20 meters), due largely to their “righting reflex.” The eyes and balance organs in the inner ear tell it where it is in space so the cat can land on its feet. Even cats without a tail have this ability.
A cat can travel at a top speed of approximately 31 mph (49 km) over a short distance.
A cat’s hearing is better than a dog’s. And a cat can hear high-frequency sounds up to two octaves higher than a human.
A cat’s brain is biologically more similar to a human brain than it is to a dog’s. Both humans and cats have identical regions in their brains that are responsible for emotions.
And that’s how cats work.
Awww yeaaaa
For all my fellow cat lovers out there! [x]
Open image in a new tab or window to get a closer look at it. =)
Keep these food v. poison facts in mind while your cat mews for table scraps during the holidays!
Hey, so, um…bad news.
5 Adorable Behaviors That Mean Your Dog Hates You
Science and humor! Could you ask for more?!
Changes in genes supposedly responsible for "cognition and behavior, including fear responses and the ability to learn new behaviors when given food rewards" transformed wildcats into our friendly lap cats.
Besides being ridiculously adorable, you can see the kitten's pupils dilate right before the pounce! Fight or flight response activated!
Kitty Crazy Eyes
So my guess is that those big eyes cats get during play come from the sympathetic nervous system, the system that controls the "fight or flight" response. One of the effects of an active sympathetic response is dilated pupils. When cats are ready to play they're ready to "fight"! What do you think?
GALLERY SPECIALIZES IN DOG PAINTINGS - “The William Secord Gallery specializes in fine nineteenth century dog and animal paintings. Located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side it is the only gallery of its kind in North America.”
If you love dogs and art, this is the place for you. The William Secord Gallery in New York specializes in collecting dog and animal paintings, mostly from the nineteenth century. William Secord is one of the world’s foremost experts on nineteenth century dog paintings. The gallery also features contemporary paintings, bronze works, and other interesting items. Here’s more about the Gallery:
The founding director of The Dog Museum of America, William Secord is the world authority on nineteenth century dog painting and is the first author to explore the representation of the dog from its origins to the remarkable paintings of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries up to modern times. He is the author of the best-selling Dog Painting, 1840-1940, a Social History of The Dog in Art, as well as three other books on nineteenth century dog paintings “Dog Painting, The European Breeds”; “A Breed Apart, The Art Collections of The American Kennel Club and The American Kennel Club Museum of The Dog”; and “Dog Painting, A History of The Dog in Art”.
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While initially known for its antique dog paintings, the gallery has branched out to the contemporary market. “Up until recently,” William Secord states, “it was almost impossible to find an artist who was capable of capturing on canvas the true nature of our pets.” This is no longer the case, for the gallery now represents the work of three living artists who are modern masters of the genre: Pamela Hall, Christine Merrill, Sheela Marie Padgett and Liza Tivey. Examples of these artists’ work are always available at the gallery and commissions may be arranged. Whether it is an antique dog painting, an antique walking stick, 19th century French bronze, or a portrait of your favorite pet, there is always something of interest at our gallery. For a dog lover it’s a must!
Dogs are also welcome to visit the gallery! Click here for more about the William Secord Gallery. (Photos from their Facebook page)
A good place to scope out some dog behaviors in the past!
Why do we humans like to play so much? Play sports, play tag, play the stock market, play Duck Duck Goose? We love it all. And we’re not the only ones. Dogs, cats, bears, even birds seem to like to play. What are we all doing? Is there a point to it all?
