维也纳大学的研究人员通过脑扫描技术发现，狗的大脑具有区分不同人类面部表情的能力。[1][2]研究团队使用功能性核磁共振成像（fMRI）对狗进行脑部扫描，分析其在观看不同面部表情图像时的神经活动，结果表明狗能够区分恐惧与愤怒或悲伤的人类面孔。[1][2]这项研究已发表在《iScience》期刊上。[2]
以往的行为学研究证实狗可以区分某些人类面部表情，但通常一次只测试两种表情。[1]本项研究扩展了这些发现的范围，揭示狗脑能够区分不同类型的负面表情。维也纳大学研究员劳拉·夸亚指出，以往研究倾向于一次只测试两种表情。[1]
脑成像数据显示，狗的左颞皮层对人类面孔的反应强于对狗脸的反应。[2]尾状核、海马体和杏仁核等脑区对表现情感的人类面孔反应更强。[2]研究表明，狗与人类一样擅长捕捉面部细节，具备显著的社交和情感理解能力。[2]
Researchers at the University of Vienna have used brain imaging to demonstrate that dogs possess the neurological capability to differentiate between fearful expressions and angry or sad ones on human faces.[1][2] The study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan dogs' brains while they viewed images of different facial expressions, revealing distinct patterns of neural activity in response to these varying emotional states.[2]
The findings extend previous behavioral research that had only tested dogs' ability to distinguish between two expressions at a time.[1] As Dr. Laura Cuaya from the University of Vienna explained, "previous behavioural studies had shown dogs could tell apart some human facial expressions, but such studies tended to only test two at a time."[1] The new research clarifies whether dogs can actually distinguish between different types of negative emotions rather than simply separating positive from negative expressions.[1]
The study was published in the journal iScience and identified specific brain regions involved in this emotional recognition process.[2] The left temporal cortex showed stronger responses to human faces than to dog faces.[2] Additionally, structures including the caudate nucleus, hippocampus, and amygdala demonstrated heightened activation when dogs viewed human faces displaying emotions.[2] Researchers noted that "humans are really good at picking up small details on the face, and so are dogs," underscoring the shared sophistication of facial recognition abilities between the two species.[2]