BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Many dog owners believe their pets understand and respond not only to commands such as “sit” and “stay,” but also to words referring to their favorite objects. “Bring me your ball” will often result in exactly that.But science has had trouble determining whether dogs and other animals genuinely activate a mental image in their minds when they hear the name of an object, something that would suggest a deeper grasp of language, similar to the kind that humans have.A new study in Hungary has found that beyond being able to respond to commands like “roll over,” dogs can learn to associate words with specific objects — a relationship with language called referential understanding that had been unproven in dogs until now.”When we are talking about objects, objects are external to the dogs, and dogs have to learn that words refer, they stand for something that is external to them,” said Marianna Boros, a cognitive neuroscientist and co-lead author of the study conducted by the Department of Ethology of the Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest.The study, which has been peer reviewed, was published last Friday in the science journal “Current Biology.” It involved 18 dogs and a non-invasive EEG procedure using electrodes attached to dogs’ heads to measure brain activity and register brain waves.Dog owners participating in the study would play an audio clip in which they said the name of their dog’s toy — …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnBUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Many dog owners believe their pets understand and respond not only to commands such as “sit” and “stay,” but also to words referring to their favorite objects. “Bring me your ball” will often result in exactly that.But science has had trouble determining whether dogs and other animals genuinely activate a mental image in their minds when they hear the name of an object, something that would suggest a deeper grasp of language, similar to the kind that humans have.A new study in Hungary has found that beyond being able to respond to commands like “roll over,” dogs can learn to associate words with specific objects — a relationship with language called referential understanding that had been unproven in dogs until now.”When we are talking about objects, objects are external to the dogs, and dogs have to learn that words refer, they stand for something that is external to them,” said Marianna Boros, a cognitive neuroscientist and co-lead author of the study conducted by the Department of Ethology of the Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest.The study, which has been peer reviewed, was published last Friday in the science journal “Current Biology.” It involved 18 dogs and a non-invasive EEG procedure using electrodes attached to dogs’ heads to measure brain activity and register brain waves.Dog owners participating in the study would play an audio clip in which they said the name of their dog’s toy — …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
