Title |
Functional MRI in Awake Unrestrained Dogs
|
---|---|
Published in |
PLOS ONE, May 2012
|
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0038027 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Gregory S. Berns, Andrew M. Brooks, Mark Spivak |
Abstract |
Because of dogs' prolonged evolution with humans, many of the canine cognitive skills are thought to represent a selection of traits that make dogs particularly sensitive to human cues. But how does the dog mind actually work? To develop a methodology to answer this question, we trained two dogs to remain motionless for the duration required to collect quality fMRI images by using positive reinforcement without sedation or physical restraints. The task was designed to determine which brain circuits differentially respond to human hand signals denoting the presence or absence of a food reward. Head motion within trials was less than 1 mm. Consistent with prior reinforcement learning literature, we observed caudate activation in both dogs in response to the hand signal denoting reward versus no-reward. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 15 | 21% |
United Kingdom | 7 | 10% |
Australia | 5 | 7% |
Canada | 3 | 4% |
Japan | 3 | 4% |
Italy | 2 | 3% |
Germany | 2 | 3% |
Egypt | 1 | 1% |
Netherlands | 1 | 1% |
Other | 2 | 3% |
Unknown | 30 | 42% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 53 | 75% |
Scientists | 9 | 13% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 5 | 7% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 4 | 6% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Hungary | 5 | 2% |
United States | 5 | 2% |
Austria | 4 | 1% |
Germany | 2 | <1% |
Brazil | 2 | <1% |
United Kingdom | 2 | <1% |
Portugal | 1 | <1% |
South Africa | 1 | <1% |
Japan | 1 | <1% |
Other | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 295 | 92% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 53 | 17% |
Researcher | 53 | 17% |
Student > Master | 46 | 14% |
Student > Bachelor | 46 | 14% |
Other | 28 | 9% |
Other | 55 | 17% |
Unknown | 38 | 12% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 86 | 27% |
Psychology | 53 | 17% |
Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine | 35 | 11% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 23 | 7% |
Neuroscience | 22 | 7% |
Other | 45 | 14% |
Unknown | 55 | 17% |