Biology subjects

Boch, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Boch, M..

11 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Dog and Human Brains Represent Human Emotional Bodies with Asymmetric Encoding of Happiness and Anger

Dogs live in an environment rich in human emotional signals, yet most of what we know about their visual emotion perception comes from faces. Our study shifts this focus to the body, a central channel of emotional communication in dogs and a source of social information when they observe human emotional expressions. Here, we investigated how the brains of dogs and humans represent emotions conveyed by human bodies. Using fMRI, we examined 24 awake companion dogs and 40 humans viewing videos of bodily happiness, anger, and neutral actions, alongside phase-scrambled controls. Both dogs and humans showed occipito-temporal sensitivity to human bodies, with emotional modulation in the right caudal suprasylvian gyrus in dogs and the right extrastriate body area in humans. Multivariate response patterns also differentiated bodily happiness from anger in both dogs and humans. Emotion-specific RSA further showed a similar representational asymmetry: happiness showed consistent category-specific neural patterns, whereas anger showed no comparable category effect but could still be differentiated from happiness and neutral actions. Despite this shared representational asymmetry, the anatomical distribution differed, with happiness represented across more distributed regions in dogs, whereas anger differentiation involved a broader cortical network in humans. No corresponding effects were found for phase-scrambled controls. Together, these findings provide the first direct neural evidence of how the dog brain represents affective information conveyed by human bodies, while leaving open whether emotions expressed by conspecific bodies evoke similar neural representations. More broadly, our results suggest similar representational relationships between bodily emotions in dogs and humans, despite differences in the anatomical distribution of these effects, while highlighting the role of human bodily expressions in dogs' social cognition, and advancing our understanding of the neural basis of emotional communication across species.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

A comparative framework for neocortical sulcal anatomy in pinnipeds

The transition of pinnipeds from terrestrial ancestors into marine environments provides a unique opportunity to examine how cortical organisation has changed with adaptation to life in water. Here, we examined neocortical sulcal anatomy in nine species representing all three extant pinniped families using cortical surfaces reconstructed from post-mortem MRI. Building on a standardised framework previously established for land-dwelling (fissiped) carnivorans, we developed identification criteria for major pinniped sulci and compared their configurations with those observed across fissipeds. Major sulci were broadly conserved, but pinnipeds exhibited characteristic modifications, including a complex, highly branched pseudosylvian configuration and distinct frontoparietal sulcal patterns, with further family-level variation in both territories. This observed variation in sulcal patterns may reflect pronounced differences in locomotor, tactile, and vocal specialisations, generating hypotheses about how cortical organisation may vary with adaptation to marine environments. Together, these findings establish a common anatomical framework across Carnivora for investigating how cortical organisation diversified in relation to behaviour and ecology.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

Good dog, bad wolf: Debunking evolutionary preparedness to fear wolves

The return of wolves to historical ranges often causes strong opposition, contrasting with widespread affection for domestic dogs. Evolutionary accounts suggest this discrepancy stems from deeply ingrained affective responses that predispose humans to fear wolves while fostering positive attachment to dogs. Using neuroimaging and self-report data from 42 participants, we investigated how defensive neural circuits linked to implicit threat detection are related to explicit threat evaluations of the two species. During functional MRI, participants viewed images of wolves, dogs, and snakes - the latter chosen for their strong engagement of predisposed threat-related responses - displaying either aggressive or non-aggressive behaviours. As predicted, aggressive displays of all species elicited stronger neural responses in threat-related brain areas. Snakes elicited stronger subcortical threat responses than wolves or dogs, while neural responses to wolves and dogs were largely indistinguishable when comparing aggressive displays. However, explicit threat evaluations strongly differed: wolves were perceived and rated as significantly more threatening than dogs, especially when the species exhibited aggressive displays. Together, these findings challenge accounts that humans are predisposed for negative responses to wolves, suggesting instead that our attitudes towards the species are shaped primarily by deliberate-evaluative processes rather than by implicit-automatic threat responses. This underscores the role of experience, knowledge, stereotypes, and socio-cultural mechanisms in shaping public perceptions of human-wildlife conflicts and conservation efforts. These results provide new insights into the cognitive and affective foundations of human-animal relationships, informing efforts to improve human-wildlife coexistence. Significance statementWhy are wolves feared while dogs are loved? One common explanation is that humans are evolutionarily predisposed to fear wolves as dangerous predators, while dogs, due to domestication, occupy a special niche in human lives. By comparing neural and behavioural responses to wolves, dogs and snakes, we show that wolves do not evoke stronger threat-related brain responses than dogs, despite being judged as the greater threat. However, wolves and dogs alike engage cortical systems associated with perception and evaluation, suggesting that cultural narratives and explicit reasoning, rather than hardwired automatic fear, underlie wolf aversion. These findings challenge evolutionary accounts of fear preparedness and suggest that negative attitudes towards wolves can be addressed through education, communication, and public engagement.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Dog brain atlas generated via spatially constrained spectral clustering

Functional parcellations enable reproducible analyses of brain organization, yet the dog fMRI field still lacks a validated, multi-scale functional atlas. We applied spatially constrained spectral clustering to a resting state fMRI dataset (n = 27 dogs) to generate whole-brain parcellations spanning 20-300 parcels. Replicability was evaluated against an independent dataset (n = 20 dogs) using Dice overlap and Adjusted Rand Index (ARI) as measures of spatial overlap and similarity; within-parcel functional coherence was assessed via homogeneity. Functional parcellations were anatomically coherent across scales, with global Dice peaking at 0.625 at N = 140 and 0.623 at N = 100, while decreasing to 0.526 at N = 300. ARI peaked at 0.48 for N = 60 and remained [≥] 0.46 through N = 180. Mean within-parcel homogeneity increased monotonically from 0.08 (N = 20) to 0.19 (N = 300). Concordance with an anatomical atlas (Johnson et al., 2020) increased at the regional level (plateau [~]0.16 for N [≥] 140) while diminishing at gyral and lobar levels as resolution increased, consistent with functionally driven sub-regional differentiation. Together, these results indicate functional segmentations that are replicable across datasets and internally coherent across scales, with intermediate resolutions (100-140 parcels) balancing specificity and reproducibility for common analyses. We introduce a comprehensive, multi-scale functional dog brain atlas derived from data-driven clustering, providing an open resource for comparative studies of brain evolution and canine cognition.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Precon_all: A species-agnostic automated pipeline for non-human cortical surface reconstruction

Cortical surface reconstruction has changed how we study brain morphology and geometry. However, extending these methods to non-human species has been limited by the lack of standardized pipelines, anatomical templates, and variability in imaging protocols. To address these challenges, we present Precon_all, an open-source, species-agnostic pipeline that automates cortical surface reconstruction for non-human neuroimaging. It runs reliably across a wide range of anatomical structures and imaging conditions and has been successfully applied to datasets from primates, carnivores, and artiodactyls. Its modular framework mirrors human neuroimaging workflows, supports manual quality control, and produces outputs compatible with FreeSurfer and Connectome Workbench. In doing so, it substantially reduces technical barriers to non-human neuroimaging. As data-sharing initiatives continue to expand access to non-human imaging datasets, Precon_all provides a scalable and standardized solution that supports the broader adoption of surface-based methods for studying cortical evolution through comparative neuroscience.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Comparative neuroimaging of the carnivoran brain: Neocortical sulcal anatomy

Carnivorans are an important study object for comparative neuroscience, as they exhibit a wide range of behaviours, ecological adaptations, and social structures. Previous studies have mainly examined relative brain size, but a comprehensive understanding of brain diversity requires the investigation of other aspects of their neuroanatomy. Here, we obtained primarily post-mortem brain scans from twenty-six species of the order Carnivora, spanning across eight families with diverse representatives and including additional individuals for selected species, to create the largest Carnivoran brain collection to date. We then reconstructed their cortical surfaces, and examined neocortical sulcal anatomy to establish a framework for systematic inter-species comparisons. We observed distinct regional variations in sulcal anatomy, potentially related to the species behaviour and ecology. Arctoidea species with pronounced forepaw dexterity exhibited complex sulcal configurations in the presumed somatosensory cortex but low sulcal complexity in the presumed visual and auditory occipitotemporal cortex. Canidae had the largest number of unique major sulci with a unique sulcus in the occipital cortex and highly social canids featuring an additional frontal cortex sulcus. We also observed differentially complex occipito-temporal sulcal patterns in Felidae and Canidae, indicative of changes in auditory and visual areas that may be related to foraging strategies and social behaviour. In conclusion, this study presents an inventory of the sulcal anatomy of a number of rarely studied carnivoran brains including detailed digital atlases and establishes a framework and novel avenues for further investigations employing a variety of neuroimaging modalities to reveal more about carnivoran brain diversity.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Functional mapping of the somatosensory cortex using noninvasive fMRI and touch in awake dogs

Dogs are increasingly used as a model for neuroscience due to their ability to undergo functional MRI fully awake and unrestrained, after extensive behavioral training. Still, we know rather little about dogs basic functional neuroanatomy, including how basic perceptual and motor functions are localized in their brains. This is a major shortcoming in interpreting activations obtained in dog fMRI. The aim of this preregistered study was to localize areas associated with somatosensory processing. To this end, we touched N = 22 dogs undergoing fMRI scanning on their left and right flanks using a wooden rod. We identified activation in anatomically defined primary and secondary somatosensory areas (SI and SII), lateralized to the contralateral hemisphere depending on the side of touch, as well as activations, beyond an anatomical mask of SI and SII, in the cingulate cortex, right cerebellum and vermis, and the Sylvian gyri. These activations may partly relate to motor control (cerebellum, cingulate), but also potentially to higher-order cognitive processing of somatosensory stimuli (rostral Sylvian gyri), and the affective aspects of the stimulation (cingulate). We also found evidence for individual side biases in a vast majority of dogs in our sample, pointing at functional lateralization of somatosensory processing. These findings not only provide further evidence that fMRI is suited to localize neuro-cognitive processing in dogs in vivo, but also expand our understanding of touch processing in mammals, beyond classically defined primary and secondary somatosensory cortices. Significance StatementTo understand brain function and evolution, it is necessary to look beyond the human lineage. This study provides insights into the engagement of brain areas related to somatosensation using whole-brain non-invasive neuroimaging of trained, non-sedated, and unrestrained pet dogs. It showcases again the usefulness of non-invasive methods, in particular fMRI, for investigating brain function and advances the mapping of brain functions in dogs; using this non-invasive approach without sedation, we are able to identify previously unknown potential higher-order processing areas and offer a quantification of touch processing lateralization.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Action observation reveals a network with divergent temporal and parietal lobe engagement in dogs compared to humans

Action observation is a fundamental pillar of social cognition. Neuroimaging research has revealed a human and primate action observation network (AON) encompassing fronto-temporo-parietal areas with links to a species imitation tendencies and relative lobe expansion. Dogs (Canis familiaris) have good action perception and imitation skills and a less expanded parietal than temporal lobe, but their AON remains unexplored. We conducted a functional MRI study with 28 dogs and 40 humans and found functionally analogous involvement of somatosensory and temporal brain areas of both species AONs and responses to transitive and intransitive action observation in line with their imitative skills. However, activation and task-based functional connectivity measures suggested significantly less parietal lobe involvement in dogs than in humans. These findings advance our understanding of the neural bases of action understanding and the convergent evolution of social cognition, with analogies and differences resulting from similar social environments and divergent brain expansion, respectively.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Validation of a new coil array tailored for dog functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies

Comparative neuroimaging allows for the identification of similarities and differences between species. It provides an important and promising avenue, to answer questions about the evolutionary origins of the brains organization, in terms of both structure and function. Dog fMRI has recently become one particularly promising and increasingly used approach to study brain function and coevolution. In dog neuroimaging, image acquisition has so far been mostly performed with coils originally developed for use in human MRI. Since such coils have been tailored to human anatomy, their sensitivity and data quality is likely not optimal for dog MRI. Therefore, we developed a multi-channel receive coil (K9 coil) tailored for high-resolution functional imaging in canines, optimized for dog cranial anatomy. In this paper we report structural (n = 9) as well as functional imaging data (resting-state, n = 6; simple visual paradigm, n = 9) collected with the K9 coil in comparison to reference data collected with a human knee coil. Our results show that the K9 coil significantly outperforms the human knee coil, improving the signal-to-noise ratio across the imaging modalities. We noted increases of roughly 45% signal-to-noise in the structural and functional domain. In terms of translation to functional fMRI data collected in a visual flickering checkerboard paradigm, group-level analyses show that the K9 coil performs better than the knee coil as well. These findings demonstrate how hardware improvements may be instrumental in driving data quality, and thus, quality of imaging results, for dog-human comparative neuroimaging. Significance StatementComparative neuroimaging is a powerful avenue to discover evolutionary mechanisms at the brain level. However, data quality is a major constraint in non-human functional magnetic resonance imaging. We describe a novel canine head coil for magnetic resonance imaging, designed specifically for dog cranial anatomy. Data quality performance and improvements over previously used human knee coils are described quantitatively. In brief, the canine coil improved signal quality substantially across both structural and functional imaging domains, with strongest improvements noted on the cortical surface.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Similarities and differences of face and body perception in the dog (Canis familiaris) and human brain

Comparing the neural correlates of socio-cognitive skills across species provides insights into the evolution of the social brain and has revealed face- and body-sensitive regions in the primate temporal lobe. Although from a different lineage, dogs share convergent visuo-cognitive skills with humans and a temporal lobe which evolved independently in carnivores. We investigated the neural correlates of face and body perception in dogs (N = 15) and humans (N = 40) using functional MRI. Combining univariate and multivariate analysis approaches, we found functionally analogous occipito-temporal regions involved in the perception of animate entities and bodies in both species, while only humans had regions specialized for face perception. Though unpredicted, we also observed neural representations of faces compared to inanimate objects, and dog compared to human bodies in dog olfactory regions. These findings shed light on the evolutionary foundations of human and dog social cognition and the predominant role of the temporal lobe.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Tailored haemodynamic response function increases detection power of fMRI in awake dogs (Canis familiaris)

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of awake and unrestrained dogs (Canis familiaris) has been established as a novel opportunity for comparative neuroimaging, promising important insights into the evolutionary roots of human brain function and cognition. However, data processing and analysis pipelines are often derivatives of methodological standards developed for human neuroimaging, which may be problematic due to profound neurophysiological and anatomical differences between humans and dogs. Here, we explore whether dog fMRI studies would benefit from a tailored dog haemodynamic response function (HRF). In two independent experiments, dogs were presented with different visual stimuli. BOLD signal changes in the visual cortex during these experiments were used for (a) the identification and estimation of a tailored dog HRF, and (b) the independent validation of the resulting dog HRF estimate. Time course analyses revealed that the BOLD signal in the primary visual cortex peaks significantly earlier in dogs compared to humans, while being comparable in shape. Deriving a tailored dog HRF significantly improved the model fit in both experiments, compared to the canonical HRF used in human fMRI. Using the dog HRF yielded significantly increased activation during visual stimulation, extending from the occipital lobe, to the caudal parietal cortex, the bilateral temporal cortex, and into bilateral hippocampal and thalamic regions. In sum, our findings provide robust evidence for an earlier onset of the dog HRF in a visual stimulation paradigm, and suggest that using such an HRF will be important to increase fMRI detection power in canine neuroimaging. By providing the parameters of the tailored dog HRF and related code, we encourage and enable other researchers to validate whether our findings generalize to other sensory modalities and experimental paradigms. HighlightsO_LIDog fMRI typically uses human HRF, but underlying neurophysiology might differ C_LIO_LIV1 BOLD signal peaked earlier in dogs than predicted by the human HRF C_LIO_LITailored dog HRF improved model fit when tested with independent data C_LIO_LIWhole-brain comparisons confirmed increased detection power for tailored dog HRF C_LIO_LIDog fMRI will benefit from increased detection power of tailored HRF C_LI

neuroscience↗