Happy petting the dog! The latest research confirms that petting dogs not only strengthens the brain cognition, but also reduces stress and relieves emotions!

"Petting the dog" can be said to be a stress-relieving and enjoyable experience
in fast-paced urban life.
After a hard day dragging a tired body home, if there is a cute dog to greet you lively, the workers will seem to get "life extension pistachios", instantly full of vitality
.
If you don't have the time and energy to own your own dog, you will feel better
even if you go to a pet store or pet café on weekends to play with the dogs.

Dogs are not only man's best and most loyal friend, their abilities and talents have actually been used in many industries and have a long
history.
For example: guide dogs, search and rescue dogs, police dogs
.
From the medical field, the therapeutic effect of dogs on mental diseases such as depression has been extensively studied
.

It is not difficult to understand that with the increase in the population living alone, the emergence of negative emotions such as loneliness, social fear, and apathy will only increase
.
And the companionship that dogs can provide to these people is very
large.
In addition to these externally observable positive effects, what exactly does interaction with dogs have on our brains? Or is this just a psychological comfort effect? From a neuroscientific point of view, how will our brain function change after interacting with dogs?

Researchers from Switzerland recently published a research paper titled Effects of contact with a dog on prefrontal brain activity: A controlled trial.

To understand human-animal interactions from a neuroscientific perspective, the researchers explored changes
in human frontal brain activity when in contact with dogs.
Interaction with dogs elicited more brain activity than control conditions, suggesting that interaction with dogs activates stronger attention processes
.
Compared to non-living body interaction stimuli, dog interaction can trigger more emotional arousal
.

The prefrontal cortex is a key area for different aspects of social cognitive processing, such as theories/intellectualization, understanding self and others
.
Therefore, the activity of the prefrontal cortex is important
for studying the underlying mechanisms of human-animal interactions.
In this study, researchers studied brain activation of the prefrontal cortex in healthy subjects in a controlled trial using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), comparing different interaction patterns with dogs and with different interaction patterns
with stuffed animals.

A controlled intra-subject crossover design and repeated measurements were used, with detailed steps and procedures shown below
.
The types of interaction between subjects and dogs or stuffed animals were divided into 3 types: watching, leaning their bodies against them but not feeling, and stroking
.

Illustration: Research overview map (Source: Marti, Rahel, et al.
2022)

O2Hb can reflect neuronal firing frequency, while HHb reflects the number of recruited neurons, O2Hb more directly reflects task-related cortical activation than HHb, so O2Hb was chosen as the primary outcome and HHb, tHb, and oxygen saturation were selected as the secondary outcomes
.

It was found that oxygenated hemoglobin (O2Hb) in the prefrontal lobe increased significantly by 2.
78 μmol/l
from neutral phase 1 (baseline, participants look directly at the white wall and relax) to stroking phase as stimulation increased.
After removal of the neutral 2 stimulus (looking directly at the white wall again), O2Hb remained unchanged and remained significantly elevated
compared to neutral phase 1.
O2Hb is 0.
80 μmol/l higher in the presence of dogs than when stuffed animals are present (see figure below).

Illustration: Effects of conditions and stages on O2Hb, HHb, tHb, and oxygen saturation (left).

Effects of conditions and exposure times on O2Hb, HHb, tHb, and oxygen saturation (right).

(Source: Marti, Rahel, et al.
2022)

Combining multiple measurements and analyses, prefrontal lobe activity increased with increased intensity of contact with dogs or stuffed animals, i.
e.
, more stimulation was associated with
higher brain activity.
When participants interacted with dogs, their prefrontal brain activity was higher
than when they interacted with stuffed animals.
In the presence of dogs, O2Hb, tHb, and oxygen saturations were significantly higher compared to control conditions, while HHb tended to be lower, indicating increased oxygen consumption in the prefrontal region and therefore brain activation in
the presence of dogs.

The continued increase in brain activity may be related
to the participants' familiarity with the people they interact with or their social relationships.
People can have an emotional connection with dogs and become more familiar
with each contact.
However, it is difficult to form such a relationship
with non-living organisms such as plush animals.
Therefore, interaction with stuffed animals does not lead to a sustained increase
in brain activity.

In summary, interaction with dogs may activate more attention processes, and particularly close and positive physical contact with a familiar dog may promote social attention
in humans.
This is especially important for patients who lack motivation, attention, and social-emotional functioning, as interactions with dogs can increase learning and achieve therapeutic goals
.
Including dogs in therapeutic interventions may be a promising way
to improve emotional engagement and concentration.

I don't know if in the near future will doctors include "petting the dog for half an hour, once a day" in the prescription list
.
However, I also hope that everyone can realize the freedom of petting dogs as soon as possible, and do not wait until there is a physical or psychological problem to go to a dog therapist
.

Reference source:

Marti, Rahel, et al.
"Effects of contact with a dog on prefrontal brain activity: A controlled trial.
" Plos one 17.
10 (2022): e0274833.