In a recent study published in PLoS ONEresearchers looked at how interacting with dogs affects people’s emotions and psychophysiology using an electroencephalogram (EEG).
Their results show that people are significantly less stressed when interacting with dogs, with specific activities showing associations with increased emotional stability, relaxation, creativity, concentration and attention.
Study: Psychophysiological and emotional effects of human-dog interactions by activity type: An electroencephalogram study. Image credit: 4pm production/Shutterstock.com
Record
Since the domestication of dogs more than 30,000 years ago, they have been constant companions of humans, providing invaluable assistance in herding animals, guarding people and property, hunting and working in many other areas.
The emotional and physiological benefits of interacting with animals, especially dogs, are now well known, reducing cortisol levels and thereby behavioral distress, anxiety and stress reactivity, and improving mental and cardiovascular health.
This has led to the use of animal-assisted interventions (AAI) and animal-assisted activities (AAA) for various fields such as social work, education and health.
However, the effects of these interventions have typically been assessed using before-after or experiment-control comparisons, and evidence for underlying mechanisms such as changes in brain activity is lacking.
About the study
In this study, researchers investigated the psychophysiological responses of humans while interacting with dogs through various activities.
Participants were recruited from an animal grooming academy and pet salons in South Korea, excluding those with cynophobia or dog allergies and a medical history of conditions such as unstable angina, high blood pressure, heart surgery, heart attack, or psychiatric illness.
Individuals receiving medication for these conditions or who were pregnant or breastfeeding were also excluded. During the study, participants avoided stimulants and did not drink caffeinated beverages or smoke.
The dog they interacted with was a four-year-old female poodle that had been trained in aggression, sociability, manners and basic obedience. She was healthy and vaccinated and a professional handler was available to ensure her safety.
Participants engaged in eight activities in a single session: meeting, walking, cuddling, photographing, grooming, massaging, feeding, and playing. These activities were chosen to prioritize direct interactions and take place over the course of one hour.
Their responses were measured using electroencephalograms for three minutes during each activity, while their emotional responses were assessed using self-reported mood questionnaires such as the Numerical Stress Rating Scale (Stress NRS), the Profile of Mood State (POMS) and the Semantic Differential. Method (SDM). Demographic information such as weight, height, gender and age were also collected.
Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), statistical test, and Duncan’s post hoc analysis.
Foundings
The study included 30 people, of whom 15 were men and 15 women and were 27.9 years old on average.
Results from the EEG analysis showed that playing with the dog significantly increased activity in both the frontal and left prefrontal lobes.
Walking also boosted activity in both prefrontal lobes. Gaming was associated with increased activation in both frontal lobes, while walking specifically activated the right prefrontal lobe.
Massage and grooming activities are increased in the prefrontal and left frontal lobes. The massage also activated the right frontal lobe. However, no significant differences were found between activities in the parietal and occipital lobes.
Playing with the dog showed consistent activation in multiple brain regions, including those associated with focused attention, meditative states, and cognitive and sensory processing areas.
Subjective reports of emotional states were analyzed into six categories, namely depression–frustration, fatigue, tension–anxiety, confusion, vigor, and anger–hostility.
Subjects reported lower levels of depression, fatigue and stress during AAAs than when resting. They also felt more energetic when feeding, relaxed when massaging the dog and comfortable when walking her.
Participants experienced more positive states when they hugged, massaged or fed her.
conclusions
Findings from this study, which included both pet owners and non-pet owners, support the use of the AAI for stress management and emotional relaxation, with different activities eliciting different brain wave responses.
Responses in the prefrontal lobe are important as this region plays an important role in the regulation of memory, language, emotional, behavioral and cognitive function, while the parietal lobe is essential for stimulus perception, motor control, understanding of spatial orientation and the integration of sensory information.
In addition to the limited sample size, another potential limitation of this study is that AAI participants are more likely to be those who do not fear animals and enjoy being with them.
Individuals without a pre-existing love of animals are likely to respond very differently to the AAA, and this difference could lead to a selection bias in the findings.
Further studies are needed to validate these findings and shed more light on the mechanisms that make interacting with dogs and other animals so beneficial to humans.
