Search

Simple Summary: It is widely acknowledged that dogs synchronise their behaviours with those of humans. In this article, we delve into the neural and cognitive bases of this form of behavioural adjustment. Using knowledge of cerebral processes underlying behavioural synchronisation in humans, namely motor resonance and the activation of mirror neurons, we investigated whether dogs' behavioural synchronisation with humans could be based on similar mechanisms. In humans, both perceiving and executing an action activate the motor representations of that action. Motor resonance occurs when motor representations of an action are simultaneously activated in both the observer and the individual being observed. Mirror neurons are the neural substrate for motor resonance as these motor neurons activate both when an individual performs or perceives an action. Our review of existing literature shows that motor resonance could occur in dogs, suggesting that dogs' behavioural synchronisation with humans relies on the activation of both human and canine mirror neurons. Behavioural studies suggest but do not prove the existence of motor resonance between the two species, and thus further research is needed to confirm this hypothesis. Revealing the mechanisms underlying dogs' behavioural synchronisation with humans would contribute to a better understanding of how dogs and humans have evolved together since the beginning of their cohabitation. Dogs' behavioural synchronisation with humans is of growing scientific interest. However, studies lack a comprehensive exploration of the neurocognitive foundations of this social cognitive ability. Drawing parallels from the mechanisms underlying behavioural synchronisation in humans, specifically motor resonance and the recruitment of mirror neurons, we hypothesise that dogs' behavioural synchronisation with humans is underpinned by a similar mechanism, namely interspecific motor resonance. Based on a literature review, we argue that dogs possess the prerequisites for motor resonance, and we suggest that interspecific behavioural synchronisation relies on the activation of both human and canine mirror neurons. Furthermore, interspecific behavioural studies highlight certain characteristics of motor resonance, including motor contagion and its social modulators. While these findings strongly suggest the potential existence of interspecific motor resonance, direct proof remains to be established. Our analysis thus paves the way for future research to confirm the existence of interspecific motor resonance as the neurocognitive foundation for interspecific behavioural synchronisation. Unravelling the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying this behavioural adjustment holds profound implications for understanding the evolutionary dynamics of dogs alongside humans and improving the day-to-day management of dog–human interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication. Autistic children suffer from social cognitive difficulties. There is no specific treatment for ASD, but ongoing individualized care can lead to an improvement in symptoms. Adopting a pet into a family with an autistic child is increasingly recognized as beneficial for improving some of the child's social skills. Cats are the second most common pet in the homes of autistic children. Previous studies showed that adopting calm-tempered shelter cats to autistic children decreased anxiety and improved the child's social skills. In the present study, we aimed to qualitatively explore the experience of parents of autistic children who adopted a shelter cat. 11 families participated in the study, and were asked 6 open-ended questions every 2 weeks for 18 weeks after the cat's adoption. Five main themes emerged from the analysis: benefits of cat adoption, challenges of cat adoption, parent-cat bonding, child-cat bonding, and family impact of cat adoption. Adoption leads to the creation of a strong relationship between the family members and the shelter cat, and an improvement in the child's social skills, with some difficulties related to the maintenance of the cat. These findings highlight the beneficial impact of adopting a shelter cat into a family with an autistic child, and open the door for future research to generalize these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have demonstrated that dogs synchronize their locomotor behaviour with that of their owners. The present study aims to improve our understanding of the sensorimotor processes underlying interspecific behavioural synchronization by testing the influence of the number of humans on dogs' behavioural synchronization. We used Global Positioning System (GPS) devices in an outdoor environment to measure dogs' behavioural synchronization to humans during a locomotor activity involving three speeds (static, slow walking and fast walking). For half of the dogs, only their owner was walking, while for the other half, the owner walked with two familiar people. We also tested the effect of dog breeds by involving 30 shepherd dogs and 30 molossoids. Our results showed that dogs exhibited the same level of behavioural synchronization with their owner if alone or if surrounded by two familiar people. Though the presence of a group of humans did not strengthen the dogs' locomotor synchronization, it did produce another effect: dogs gazed at their owners more frequently in the presence of a group compared to their owner alone. This result suggests the same level of locomotor social entrainment but a difference in social referencing depending on the number of humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dogs exhibit sensitivity to human behaviours directed towards them (see Part 1), but dogs' sensitivity to human third-party interactions, i.e. eavesdropping or indirect sensitivity, remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate dogs' indirect sensitivity in an ecological context devoid of food incentives. We thus explored dogs' responsiveness to interactions between their owner and an unfamiliar person during a synchronous walk in an outdoor environment. To do so, we delineated two experimental groups of pet dogs: an unfamiliar experimenter either walked and talked with the owner for 15 minutes, maintaining a 1-metre proximity and aligning speed (n = 16 dogs) or stayed away from the owner for 15 minutes (n = 16 dogs) in the dog's presence. We then compared the dogs' locomotor synchronization with the experimenter and the dogs' gaze behaviour during a straight-line walk. Dogs for which the experimenter had interacted with the owner displayed enhanced location, temporal and activity synchronization with the experimenter during the straight-line walk compared to dogs for which the experimenter had not interacted with the owner. Specifically, these dogs were closer to the experimenter, had a smaller speed difference compared to the experimenter's speed at the beginning of the straight-line walk, and more dogs from this group adjusted their speed directly after the experimenter's change of speed. Regarding dogs' gaze behaviour, we did not find significant differences between the two experimental groups. Finally, we found that dogs from both experimental groups were attracted to their owner during the straight-line walk. Our results demonstrate, for the first time, that dogs' behavioural synchronization with an unfamiliar person occurs subsequently to the dogs' perception of intraspecific behavioural synchronization between their owner and the unfamiliar person. This third-party sensitivity may result from an automatic process of reproducing perceived behaviours, suggesting interspecific motor contagion when dogs perceive synchronous behaviour of two human agents; and/or from a transitivity of familiarity, the unfamiliar person becoming indirectly familiar to the dogs through their interaction with the dogs' owners. These findings bear practical significance, as encounters between unfamiliar people and dog-owner dyads can be enhanced if those people first synchronize and talk with dogs' owners before interacting with dogs. • Dogs are sensitive to third party behavioural synchronization. • Dogs synchronize with an unfamiliar person who synchronized with their owner. • Unfamiliar person synchronizing with dogs' owners does not affect the owners' social attraction effect. • Motor contagion may occur when dogs perceive synchronous behaviours between humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dogs are sensitive to human social signals directed towards them. In this study, we investigated how this direct sensitivity affects dogs' behavioural synchronization. To do so, we compared two experimental groups: an unfamiliar person either synchronized their locomotion with that of each dog for 15 minutes for the first group (n = 16) or desynchronized their locomotion with that of each dog for 15 minutes for the second group (n = 16). We then compared the dogs' locomotor synchronization with the unfamiliar person and the dogs' gaze behaviour during a straight-line walk. Dogs were off leash throughout the entire procedure, the owner was present but neutral and static during the whole procedure, except for 9 dogs who remained inactive for too long during the 15-minute period, requiring owners to briefly intervene to re-engage them in activity. We found that dogs from the first group engaged less in social referencing towards the unfamiliar person during the 15 minutes, and synchronized more with them and tended to go to their owner later during the straight-line walk compared to dogs from the second group. We thus demonstrated that dogs, upon perceiving behavioural synchronization from an unfamiliar person, reciprocate with behavioural synchronization towards this person, thereby elucidating for the first time motor contagion at the interspecific level. Also, since dogs usually synchronize their behaviour only with familiar humans, our findings suggest that synchronizing with dogs, by maintaining a proximity of 1 m and an average speed difference of 0.2 m/s, is a way of becoming familiar with them. We thus offer a valuable tool, applicable in various daily situations in which the owner is present, to facilitate familiarization between dogs and unfamiliar people, without the need for food or direct contact with dogs. • Dogs are sensitive to 15 mn of human synchronizing their walk with them. • GPS data show dogs' sensitivity impacts their behaviour when walking with the human. • Unfamiliar human synchronizing to dogs increases dogs' synchronization to the human. • Unfamiliar human synchronizing to dogs delays the owner's social attraction effect. • Interspecific motor contagion occurs when dogs perceive behaviours directed at them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]