Because of their striking neurological similarities, humans and dogs have had a special bond since the dawn of time.
More than 30,000 years of research have been devoted to examining this unique relationship between humans and dogs, and this research has revealed many brain-related similarities between the two species.
For instance, the limbic system, the part of the brain responsible for feelings like love and fear, is similar in humans and dogs. This contributes to the understanding of why dogs frequently display empathy and appear to comprehend human emotions.
The ability of the brain to quickly pick up new behaviors or adapt to changes in the environment is known as neuroplasticity, and it is this ability that allows people and dogs to form close bonds.
Furthermore, both humans and dogs heavily rely on their senses to process information about their surroundings. Our brains are designed to quickly pick up on even the smallest cues coming from one another, whether they be audio or visual cues like verbal inflections or facial expressions.
Our canine companions frequently pick up on our body language when interacting with strangers, which helps them decide whether or not to trust them. These nonverbal cues can sometimes be even more useful than words in a communication situation.
More than that, studies have shown that the structural makeup of specific brain regions involved in memory formation in humans and dogs is surprisingly similar.
The fact that their brains are similar enough to store these shared memories helps to explain why people and their canine companions can form lasting bonds.
Given that our brains are remarkably similar, which has allowed us to live together for so long and develop a profound understanding of one another’s minds, it makes sense that humans and dogs have been best friends for so long.
The remarkable relationship that can be seen in the video between a young child and several German shepherds has been further illuminated by recent research.
It proved that both humans and dogs have the same brain areas that react to speech-based emotional expression. This led to the conclusion that dogs love people because they are socially secure and have close relationships with us, just like people do.
American scientists conducted studies at Emory University in Atlanta that suggested humans and dogs shared a brain region with happy emotions.
This study therefore provides evidence for what dog owners have long believed to be true intuitively: that their furry companions genuinely love and care for them.
This idea further clarifies why a young child may play so happily with as many as fourteen dogs, an incident that ultimately went viral on the internet, despite the widespread misconception that dogs are aggressive and dangerous around young children.
Additional research on this topic may shed more light on the variety of emotions that animals may feel and how they respond emotionally to human auditory stimuli.