Paper Summary

Paper Summary

In the paper written by Berns et al. (2015) on behavioral processes, the hypothesis of the study entails that if the primary association of dog is, rewards such as food or scent as attributed to humans, then the human scent is liable for the caudate as compared to conspecific scents. The authors collected data to address the hypothesis using neuroimaging (fMRI), MRI scanning in cohorts of dogs, and eye-tracking method using a visual clicker. Through the practical, the authors established that the size of the peduncle, which was activated in dogs, was similar to the degree of all the scents. As such, the caudate that was activated in dogs was similar to that of a human being. From the results, one outlines that the dog’s caudate in terms of smell is more active and familiar to that of human beings as compared to their fellow dogs due to human ability to rewards.

In the scholarly work by Siniscalchi et al. (2011) on animal behavior, one view the question being studied is “do the dogs show nostril asymmetries in processing odorants that differ in terms of emotional prevalence and familiarity during free sniffing behavior under unrestrained conditions using the two nostrils?” The data was collected using a video-based observation method. The findings of the research show that shows that there was a significant effect on the sniffing concerning the type of odor, and the use of right nostrils was utilized more. Such information is thus crucial in understanding evolutionary brain processes of dogs’ thus opening the door for exploitation in animal studies. Such will help in addressing challenges affecting dogs and develop an effective animal-therapy method.

In Nagasawa et al. (2015), the study hypothesizes that the evolution of dogs has resulted in various changes that have made them function like human beings in social, cognitive, and behavioral aspects. The authors used a novel experimental approach in examining the effect of interaction that exists between the human and the dog. From the findings, one highlights that there are modulators and existence between dogs and their owners based on the oxytocin loop. However, the research failed to highlight if the loop was acquired during the process of domestication or not. As such, one highlight that the mythology and statistics used had a limitation, thus fostering further research in the future. Closer matching of experimental arms by ensuring equity in sex distribution and performing various statistical measurements should be done. Such will help in addressing the discrepancies in the current hypothesis.

In Muller et al., 2015, one will outline the hypothesis that dogs use hetero-specific emotions as discriminative cues. The authors used eye-tracking data collection methodology in studying the dog’s facial processing abilities utilizing dogs from different environments. That is the lab and pet dogs. Through the methodology, it was established that dogs discriminate between the facial regions of humans from their spontaneous viewing pattern using emotions and real human emotions based on their faces. The dogs focus on the eye region of the human beings independent of facial expression.  However, further research in the aforesaid is needed since the finding tabled has a methodological implication. The dogs only can concentrate on the initial images presented to it. For instance, it only concentrates on the two initial images before a drastic reduction in concentration.

In cook et al., 2015, one will focus on the questions; what is the nature of the relationship between dog and man from a dog’s perspective? What are the underpinning biological relationships existing between dogs and humans? The research utilized two magnetic resonance imaging methodologies of gathering data. One MRI was used in collecting data of the selected animals out of site, whereas the second MRI via a compatible box. That is, the first experiment was to check on the relationship existing between dogs and food. The findings showed that there was a differential caudate in response to owner versus food. In the MRI experiment, it was established that there was a strong relationship existing between relative values for praise versus the expected food while there was withholding in the relationship existing between praise and praise. In the two experiments, it was established that dogs prefer social reinforcement rather than food. From the findings, one can highlight dogs’ preference for social interactions. Thus it can be used in the development of suitable for assistive or therapeutic jobs.

In Call et al. (2003) journal, the piece of work is based on the hypothesis that dogs are sensitive to human attention specifically on the body orientation and role of the eyes during interaction sessions. The research was based on a video-observation data collection method using a sample of twelve dogs using two experiments. From the analysis, it was established that dogs are subtle attention to human beings while they approach forbidden food. During retrieving food while being looked at by human beings, they intend to retrieve less, and they use an indirect way. However, during the retrieval of forbidden food without visual observations from humans, they retrieved it more openly and in large numbers. Despite the observation, one views that the area requires further research to give more information, which can help in establishing social experiences that are important in sensitivity development in dogs.

In the scholarly work by Albuquerque et al. (2018), one will address the hypothesis that dogs can differentiate between emotional sounds and facial expressions in humans. Pairs of dogs or human or dog faces depicting various facial expressions were used in the gathering of data. Screens and video-observation camera was also used in the collection of data to collect spontaneous looking behavior among the dogs. The findings of the research show that dogs can obtain both human and dog emotional information using visual and auditory inputs. After that, the dog can integrate the two into a coherent emotional perception; as such, it is clear that dogs possess mental prototypes used for emotional categorization.  The emotional classifications among the dogs are intrinsically motivated since they can perform the act without training. From the results, one can attribute that emotional categorization in dogs relating to humans, and dogs show that they have cognitive abilities that were primarily selective to only humans. However, further research is required to measure this cognitive ability concerning one existing in human beings as well as other animals in the same class, such as wolves.

In the journal, by Ben-Aderet et al. (2018), one will focus on the hypothesis that presenters have to keep using dog-directed speech as used by dogs which are at the adult stage since they cannot develop language. Data collection was based on supplementary electronic materials such as pictures with 90 images of dogs and recorded subject for playback experiments. From the methodology used, the research established that speech based on dog-directed has a difference with control speech both in temporal and supernatural dimensions.   It was also found that puppies were the only animals that had a highly responsive speech to that of a dog-directed one. Regardless of that, the research also established that the speech quality in dog-directed one was based on speech sequences. From the information obtained, one thus views that the study has limitations since the human beings who participated were subjected to reading to scripts in the picture. As such, it may lead to limitations of some features in the dog-directed speech, thus need to establish a more advanced way of creating clear differences between human and dog-directed speech.

In Adachi et al. (2006) journal, the hypothesis under discussion is that dogs recall the faces of their owners upon hearing their voice. The data collection utilized video-observation techniques and sampling of both dogs and their owners. From the experiments, it was found that dogs, from their owner’s voice, they manifest an internal illustration depicting their owners. From the statement, one outlines that despite that dogs’ visual and auditory stimulus, they also produce the visual appearance of their owners using the hearing information. The information thus shows that the cognitive abilities in dogs have a close relation to that of humans. However, the aforesaid is just but an assumption; hence, one should perform comparative studies with animals in dog family to establish whether the assumption is true or it has only resulted from the close cohabiting existing between dogs and humans.