PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Dogs know a left-sided wag from a right

2013-10-31
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Mary Beth O'Leary
moleary@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Dogs know a left-sided wag from a right

VIDEO: Dogs visual stimuli (naturalistic and silhouette) exhibiting prevalent left- or right-asymmetric tail wagging. Stationary stimuli not wagging their tail are also showed (pictures are single frames from moving videos).
Click here for more information.

You might think a wagging tail is a wagging tail, but for dogs there is more to it than that. Dogs recognize and respond differently when their fellow canines wag to the right than they do when they wag to the left. The findings reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on October 31 show that dogs, like humans, have asymmetrically organized brains, with the left and right sides playing different roles.

The discovery follows earlier work by the same Italian research team, which found that dogs wag to the right when they feel positive emotions (upon seeing their owners, for instance) and to the left when they feel negative emotions (upon seeing an unfriendly dog, for example). That biased tail-wagging behavior reflects what is happening in the dogs' brains. Left-brain activation produces a wag to the right, and right-brain activation produces a wag to the left.

VIDEO: Dogs visual stimuli (naturalistic and silhouette) exhibiting prevalent left- or right-asymmetric tail wagging. Stationary stimuli not wagging their tail are also showed (pictures are single frames from moving videos).
Click here for more information.

But does that tail-wagging difference mean something to other dogs? Yes it does, the new study shows.

While monitoring their reactions, the researchers showed dogs videos of other dogs with either left- or right-asymmetric tail wagging. When dogs saw another dog wagging to the left, their heart rates picked up and they began to look anxious. When dogs saw another dog wagging to the right, they stayed perfectly relaxed.

"The direction of tail wagging does in fact matter, and it matters in a way that matches hemispheric activation," says Giorgio Vallortigara of the Center for Mind/Brain Sciences of the University of Trento. "In other words, a dog looking to a dog wagging with a bias to the right side—and thus showing left-hemisphere activation as if it was experiencing some sort of positive/approach response—would also produce relaxed responses. In contrast, a dog looking to a dog wagging with a bias to the left—and thus showing right-hemisphere activation as if it was experiencing some sort of negative/withdrawal response—would also produce anxious and targeting responses as well as increased cardiac frequency. That is amazing, I think."

Vallortigara doesn't think that the dogs are necessarily intending to communicate those emotions to other dogs. Rather, he says, the bias in tail wagging is likely the automatic byproduct of differential activation of the left versus the right side of the brain. But that's not to say that the bias in wagging and its response might not find practical uses; veterinarians and dog owners might do well to take note.

"It could be that left/right directions of approach could be effectively used by vets during visits of the animals or that dummies could be used to exploit asymmetries of emotional responses," Vallortigara says.



INFORMATION:

Current Biology, Siniscalchi et al.: "Seeing left or right asymmetric tail wagging produces different emotional responses in dogs."



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Evolution of new species requires few genetic changes

2013-10-31
Evolution of new species requires few genetic changes Only a few genetic changes are needed to spur the evolution of new species—even if the original populations are still in contact and exchanging genes. Once started, however, evolutionary divergence ...

Study offers new theory of cancer development

2013-10-31
Study offers new theory of cancer development Patterns found in cancer's chaos illuminate tumor evolution For more than 100 years, researchers have been unable to explain why cancer cells contain abnormal numbers of chromosomes, a phenomenon known as aneuploidy. ...

Women working in Head Start programs report poor physical and mental health

2013-10-31
Women working in Head Start programs report poor physical and mental health Women working in Head Start, the nation's largest federally funded early childhood education program which serves nearly one million low-income children, report higher than expected levels ...

Cellular tail length tells disease tale

2013-10-31
Cellular tail length tells disease tale Simon Fraser University molecular biologist Lynne Quarmby's adventures in pond scum have led her and four student researchers to discover a mutation that can make cilia, the microscopic antennae on our cells, grow too long. ...

How protein suicide assure healthy cell structures

2013-10-31
How protein suicide assure healthy cell structures This news release is available in Portuguese. Centrioles are tiny structures in the cell that play an important role in cell division and in the assembly of cilia and flagella. Changes in the ...

Opportunities abound for nonprofit hospitals aiming to address obesity through community benefit

2013-10-31
Opportunities abound for nonprofit hospitals aiming to address obesity through community benefit New STOP Obesity Alliance report offers guidance for implementing obesity programs to meet community health needs WASHINGTON, D.C., October 31, 2013 --New research from ...

New stem cells go back further

2013-10-31
New stem cells go back further Scientists isolate new human pluripotent stem cells capable of generating 'humanized' mouse models containing human-derived tissues One of the obstacles to employing human embryonic stem cells for medical use lies in their very ...

A high protein diet and meal replacements can reduce rebound weight gain

2013-10-31
A high protein diet and meal replacements can reduce rebound weight gain New research shows that there are several effective strategies available to people wanting to avoid regaining weight after a successful diet. Anti-obesity drugs, meal replacements and a high ...

Chickens to benefit from biofuels bonanza

2013-10-31
Chickens to benefit from biofuels bonanza Chickens could be the unexpected beneficiaries of the growing biofuels industry, feeding on proteins retrieved from the fermenters used to brew bioethanol, thanks to research supported by ...

New knowledge about serious muscle disease

2013-10-31
New knowledge about serious muscle disease About 3,000 people in Denmark suffer from one of the serious muscle-related diseases that come under the heading of muscular dystrophy. Some patients diagnosed with muscular dystrophy die shortly after ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

Mission accomplished for the “T2T” Hong Kong Bauhinia Genome Project

[Press-News.org] Dogs know a left-sided wag from a right