Quick Hits
Daily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences
There have been lots of studies into the positive impacts of having pets around us – but this study just published looked at brain activation patterns while being with a dog, petting a dog, and with an ersatz cuddly toy lion.
The research showed that brain activation patterns were highest when petting dogs – unsurprising because this was the most interactive condition in the study. The researchers saw increased activity in the prefrontal cortex and notably in the medial prefrontal cortex which is associated with human social functions.
More surprisingly was that the cuddly toy elicited smaller responses – obvious you may think but in this study the cuddly toy was filled with a hot water bottle to be at the same temperature as a live dog and to have a similar fur texture. This was to elicit a response as close to the real thing as possible.
The response was lowest for the cuddly lion (but it did elicit a response) – possible because of the social activation as we realise it is not a live animal.
What was also interesting is that the response for petting the dog lingered on for a lot longer than any of the other conditions.
This shows that the response is not only in the moment but also has a lasting impact – that’s one reason to have pets but also an important consideration in animal assisted clinical therapy.

Andy Habermacher
Andy is author of leading brains Review, Neuroleadership, and multiple other books. He has been intensively involved in writing and research into neuroleadership and is considered one of Europe’s leading experts. He is also a well-known public speaker, speaking on the brain and human behaviour.
Andy is also a masters athlete (middle distance running) and competes regularly at international competitions (and holds a few national records in his age category).
References
Rahel Marti, Milena Petignat, Valentine L. Marcar, Jan Hattendorf, Martin Wolf, Margret Hund-Georgiadis, Karin Hediger.
Effects of contact with a dog on prefrontal brain activity: A controlled trial.
PLOS ONE, 2022; 17 (10): e0274833
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274833
More Quick Hits
When Cognitive Games Do Make You Smarter
Quick HitsDaily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences ognitive games have been around for many years now – the first wave of popularity came with Nintendo’s “brain jogging” almost two decades ago now. These games have claimed that they...
How Walking Makes Some People “Super Taskers”
Quick HitsDaily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences hose of you who have followed my writing will know that I have reported regularly on the amazing benefits of exercise and walking on the brain, body, and cognition. However, though...
Older People are Better at Responding to Distress
Quick HitsDaily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences e may have some cliched ideas of older people like the grumpy or angry old man, or woman (but it is often a man). However, research continually shows the opposite. Namely that...
Guided Play Highly Effective for Learning in Children
Quick HitsDaily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences ood news for some and bad news for traditionalists in education. Some believe that starting education early and using classical and traditional learning activities is the best way...
Childhood Fitness Improves Mid-Life Cognition
Quick HitsDaily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences always find these long-term studies fascinating. Imagine launching study and not knowing what the outcomes will be for another 30 years! This is precisely what this study did. It...
The Truth of “Work Hard, Play Hard”
Quick HitsDaily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences e all know the phrase “work hard, play hard” and this drew my attention when I stumbled across some research actually looking into this - and whether this is a good thing or bad...