Biology subjects

Gacsi, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Gacsi, M..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

A human-like EEG signature of cognitive control in the domestic dog

In humans, theta ({theta}) band activity (defined as 4-8 or 5-7 Hz), measured over the frontal midline of the scalp, is an important EEG correlate of voluntary and conscious self-control. Theta waves specifically reflect the workings of the frontal lobes, and can therefore be useful in distinguishing cortical from more ancient control mechanisms. In dogs, inhibitory self-control is extensively studied, but mostly through behavioural tests. Here, we present a first inquiry into a possible EEG correlate of cognitive control in the domestic dog, by comparing short ([~]30-second-long) EEG recordings from two conditions: passive wakefulness (baseline) versus a delayed gratification challenge (test). Both were recorded alternating, under similar conditions for each dog within the same session. In total, we collected and analysed 226 short recordings from fourteen dogs. Within and across animals, we found an increase in activity (test > baseline) that resembles human cognitive theta in frequency range (5-7 Hz) and scalp localization. Our results are a first demonstration that frontal midline theta in awake dogs can peak under similar conditions to those in humans. These findings indicate that compliant behaviour in dogs is under prefrontal control.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2025

Dogs' behaviour is more similar to that of children than to that of cats in a prosocial problem situation

Investigating prosociality within a comparative framework is crucial for understanding the evolutionary origins and emergence of prosocial behaviours, often considered uniquely human. We compared 16-24-month-old children and two distantly related domesticated species, untrained companion dogs and cats--both living in the human niche among relatively similar conditions but characterised by different ecological, evolutionary, and developmental backgrounds. We assessed subjects spontaneous behaviour in a natural helping situation, where a familiar human caregiver (parent/owner) searched for an object hidden by the experimenter in the subjects presence without requesting help. We measured orientation and object-related behaviours, distinguishing those explainable by stimulus enhancement (approaching/manipulating) from the ones most probably explainable by prosocial behaviours (showing/fetching). To control for motivation, we added a trial where subjects favourite treat/toy was hidden. All three species showed similar levels of attention towards the caregiver/object. In line with our hypotheses, children and dogs displayed similar levels of object-related behaviour in the test trials, including those explainable also by stimulus enhancement and those likely indicative of prosociality. In contrast, cats only displayed showing (gaze alternation), and even this occurred with a significantly lower probability. Importantly, in the motivational trial, no species differences were observed in any variable, indicating that cats could also be involved in the problem situation if it was their own interest. Our findings suggest that domestication and close social contact with humans do not, by themselves, induce a tendency towards spontaneous, human-like prosociality. The similar results in dogs and children can be explained by dogs social/cooperative nature inherited from their ancestor and the specific selection effects that occurred during their domestication. These factors may have contributed to dogs exceptional cooperativity with humans, even favouring the development of spontaneous interspecific prosocial tendencies.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2024

Comparative fMRI reveals differences in the functional organization of the visual cortex for animacy perception in dogs and humans

The animate-inanimate category distinction is one of the general organizing principles in the primate high-level visual cortex. Much less is known about the visual cortical representations of animacy in non-primate mammals with a different evolutionary trajectory of visual capacities. To compare the functional organization underlying animacy perception of a non-primate to a primate species, here we performed an fMRI study in dogs and humans, investigating how animacy structures neural responses in the visual cortex of the two species. Univariate analyses identified animate-sensitive bilateral occipital and temporal regions, non-overlapping with early visual areas, in both species. Multivariate tests confirmed the categorical representations of animate stimuli in these regions. Regions sensitive to different animate stimulus classes (dog, human, cat) overlapped less in dog than in human brains. Together, these findings reveal that the importance of animate-inanimate distinction is reflected in the organization of higher-level visual cortex, also beyond primates. But a key species difference, that neural representations for animate stimuli are less concentrated in dogs than in humans suggests that certain underlying organizing principles that support the visual perception of animacy in primates may not play a similarly important role in other mammals.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

Resting-state fMRI data of awake dogs (Canis familiaris) via group-level independent component analysis reveal multiple, spatially distributed resting-state networks

Resting-state networks are spatially distributed, functionally connected brain regions. Studying these networks gives us information about the large-scale functional organization of the brain and alternations in these networks are considered to play a role in a wide range of neurological conditions and aging. To describe resting-state networks in dogs, we measured 22 awake, unrestrained animals of either sex and carried out group-level spatial independent component analysis to explore whole-brain connectivity patterns. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), in this exploratory study we found multiple resting-state networks in dogs, which resemble the pattern described in humans. We report the following dog resting-state networks: default mode network (DMN), visual network (VIS), sensorimotor network (SMN), combined auditory (AUD)-saliency (SAL) network and cerebellar network (CER). The DMN, similarly to Primates, but unlike previous studies in dogs, showed antero-posterior connectedness with involvement of hippocampal and lateral temporal regions. The results give us insight into the resting-state networks of awake animals from a taxon beyond rodents through a non-invasive method.

neuroscience↗