Human–dog relationships are among the most socially intimate bonds across species. In a groundbreaking study published in Advanced Science, Wei Ren and colleagues identified a previously unknown form of interbrain synchronization—a shared pattern of neural activity that emerges when humans and dogs interact.
Using simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) recordings from both humans and dogs, the researchers observed that mutual gaze and gentle petting triggered coordinated brain activity between the two species. Synchronization occurred primarily in the frontal and parietal regions, which are associated with social attention and emotional processing. This neural alignment strengthened as the human–dog pairs became more familiar over several days, reflecting the deepening of social bonds.
Information flow analyses revealed that humans often acted as the leaders of neural exchange, with dogs following their cues—a dynamic mirroring the trust and responsiveness seen in human–dog partnerships. The study’s most striking finding came from dogs with Shank3 gene mutations, a genetic model associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These dogs displayed disrupted interbrain coupling and reduced attention toward humans, paralleling social impairments seen in human ASD.
Remarkably, treatment with lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) restored interbrain synchronization and improved social engagement in the mutant dogs. While the researchers emphasized that this was an exploratory finding, it points to potential neurochemical pathways underlying social connection and opens avenues for therapeutic research in ASD.
Ren et al. propose that human–dog neural coupling represents a fundamental mechanism of interspecies empathy and communication. Their discovery not only sheds light on the biological roots of the human–dog bond but also underscores how this relationship can model the neural foundations of social behavior and connection.
Source: Ren, W., Yu, S., Guo, K., Lu, C., & Zhang, Y. Q. (2024). Disrupted Human–Dog Interbrain Neural Coupling in Autism-Associated Shank3 Mutant Dogs. Advanced Science, 11. Published September 11, 2024.
