Your Dog’s Brain Flags a Word in 400 Milliseconds, Just Like Yours

Quick Take

• Dogs' brains did something 400 milliseconds after hearing certain words that hints at a level of awareness no one predicted. Explore the brain activity results →
• Training your dog may matter far less than you think when it comes to how they process your words. See what training really means →
• The next study wants to pit domestic dogs against wolves, and the reason why could reframe everything we know about canine comprehension. See the wolves comparison plan →

It’s only natural for dog owners to wonder if their four-legged best friend understands what they say. Your dog shows clear excitement over the words “walk” and “treat,” but do they understand these meanings on a deeper level? According to a new study, their comprehension might be closer to ours than scientists originally believed.

The study used a group of 20 dogs to test this theory. It turns out that the same speech patterns humans use to communicate may also be teaching your pup to do the same.

The Experiment Put Various Speech Patterns to the Test

In addition to the 20 dogs recruited for the experiment, researchers at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest also recruited 20 humans. Both groups were tested using noninvasive electroencephalography (EEG). This is a safe technique that utilizes sensors placed on the scalp to measure brain activity. Each sensor picks up tiny electrical currents corresponding to specific regions of the brain. Computers display these pulses through line graphs, which are then analyzed for patterns.

While the two groups wore these sensors, they listened to a series of sounds. Each sound stream consisted of continuous, nonsensical three-syllable words, which were chosen for one of several purposes. Some emphasized vowel sounds, while others relied on consonant sounds.

None of the sound streams had pauses to separate thoughts or ideas. This ensured that the dogs picked up only on sounds rather than cues. Some of the sound bytes scrambled the syllables and words, which also eliminated the chance of dogs recognizing certain words over others. The goal? To determine whether dogs can genuinely comprehend human language rather than just learn words through repetition.

Can Dogs Understand What Their Owners Say?

Sadly, your dog can’t carry on a conversation with you. But that doesn’t mean he or she doesn’t use the same recognition patterns to try to understand what you’re saying. Throughout the experiment, researchers believed that vowels—being acoustically stronger—would elicit greater brain activity in the dogs. Interestingly, this was not the case.

This means that, of 20 dogs, none relied on the more prominent sounds to decipher what they were hearing. Instead, the dogs focused on consonants in the three-syllable words. When the test results were analyzed, researchers found that a dog’s brain activity synchronized with made-up words, varying with the use of consonants.

Even more surprisingly, this pattern follows what the 20 humans responded to. Brain activity showed the human test group following consonant patterns more strongly. This is a bold step in a dog’s comprehension, closely following that of a human’s, even without understanding human language.

Researchers found even more evidence to support this theory. Exactly 400 milliseconds after a consonant-strong word was played, the dogs’ brain activity shifted yet again. This implied that they were separating the word from others, indicating a level of conscious understanding of speech patterns. While this is nothing like a human’s full ability, the similarities are far closer than researchers anticipated.

Study Results Show Pattern Recognition, Not Understanding

Understanding human language, the semantic meaning of words, is strictly a human experience. Researchers found that a dog’s training does not affect its recognition, as there were no significant differences between those with formal training and those without. But even this is not indicative of a higher level of understanding when it comes to communicating with our pups.

Another thing to consider is that dogs associate certain words with actions over time. Saying the word “walk” before grabbing their leash reinforces this behavior. Food is another strong motivator, which is why certain words like “treats” or “cookies” herd dogs into action more quickly.

What the study does well is provide a basis for understanding how comprehension occurs in a dog’s brain in the space between words. On some level, they pick up on slight deviations between consonant-heavy words, implying that they can, and do, follow speech patterns.

With this foundation, researchers can conduct further testing to narrow results down even further. One idea is to test dog groups with specific histories. This would provide a basis for whether a dog’s environment is also a factor. Another potential test proposed by researchers is to compare brain activity between domestic dogs and wolves. This would provide valuable information about whether the ability is associated with humans or existed long before domesticated breeds.