Secret Thoughts of Dogs – Can Brain Scans and ‘Contagious Yawning’, Reveal Canine Consciousness? [VIDEO]

by MICHAEL RICCIARDI on MAY 13, 2012

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Looking into the Brain and Mind of Human’s ‘Best Friend’

Celebrated for their loyalty, affection, and occasional acts of heroism, our faithful canine companions are often given attributes, and even some cognitive abilities, compatible with — if not exactly congruent with — our own. But how justified are we in ascribing to dogs (or any domesticated animal) thoughts and feelings similar to our own? How much can we really know about what dog’s are really thinking  about (apart from food and “chasing rabbits”)?

Two recent studies are attempting to shed (no pun intended) some light on the cognitive capabilities of canines. The first, involving fMRI tests on fully awake dogs, and the second, focusing on dog empathy in the form of “contagious yawning”. Read on, oh dog-lovers, read on…

First Brain Scans of Non-Sedated Dogs

Researchers (Berns et al) from Emory University are reporting in the open journal PLoS ONE, the results of the first brain scans (using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI) of dogs while fully awake and aware.

Prior to these tests, most researchers had assumed that dogs could not stay still long enough to go through the claustrophobia-inducing fMRI machines. But after reading about a canine member of the Navy Seal team (that killed bin Laden) trained to jump from helicopters, the Emory U researchers realized that they could also be trained to sit still during an MRI session.

A dog named Callie wears ear protection as she prepares to enter the fMRI scanner. The research team includes, from left, Andrew Brooks, Gregory Berns and Mark Spivak. Image: Bryan Meltz, Emory University

The experiment conducted here was rather simple, but revelatory: dogs were trained to recognize two different hand signals, the first being a left hand pointing down (signifying a hot dog treat would be given), and the second signal (both hands pointing toward each other), indicating no treat would be given. In humans, a brain region called the caudate (and the caudate nucleus) plays a central role in our reward “circuitry”.  The researchers found that this same brain area in dogs would suddenly become active when given the first hand signal (the “treat” signal) but remained static when the “no treat” signal was shown. Quoting Gregory Berns in a recent SciAm article:

“These results indicate that dogs pay very close attention to human signals and these signals may have a direct line to the dog’s reward system.”

Exploring A Deep Connection from Our Evolutionary Past

Given the co-evolution of modern humans and dogs, the researchers hope to reveal the nature of our mutual connection with our canine companions (from the dog’s perspective), including how dogs decipher and represent human language and facial expressions. Their continued studies of dog cognition may offer us a “mirror” into the human mind, for, the dog’s brain is in many ways a product of human culture and evolution.

On the other hand (or paw), some recent research supports the notion that dogs have influenced human evolution — including our language and tool-making abilities — as much as we have influenced dog evolution.

Watch the video of the Dog brain scan experiment (article continues below):

Doggie Empathy? It’s All in the Yawn

You’ve no doubt seen it happen many times: someone yawns, and in short time, someone else yawns too. The phenomenon is referred to as ‘contagious yawning’ and apart from humans, the behavior is found in only a few other animals — mostly in primates, such as gelada baboons, stump-tail macaques, and chimpanzees…and it also occurs in “Man’s best friend.”

Most human yawning (apart from bored/sleep-deprived students in lecture halls) tends to occur around friends and relatives which has prompted some behaviorists to view the act as a form of empathy. It has been observed that dogs tend to yawn more after observing familiar and trusted humans yawning. But, whether this is the result of an empathetic response has remained in doubt. Perhaps, if the yawning response occurred in the absence of visual cues, that is, only through hearing, this might lend more credence to the theory.

Recently, a team of behavioral biologists led by Karine Silva at the University of Porto, Portugal, conducted a series of tests with 29 dogs who had lived at least six months with their owners. The tests were conducted in familiar rooms in their actual homes so as to to reduce any potential, laboratory-induced anxiety in the dogs. The canine subjects were tested in the presence of their owners, but without visual contact with them.

Some dogs will yawn when they hear a familiar person yawning. Credit: Joyce Marrero/Shutterstock

The researchers used recorded sounds of their owners yawning as well as an unfamiliar person (a woman yawning) and a computer-reversed yawn. Owners first listened to recording of other people yawning to induce their own, natural yawning. All 29 dogs were exposed to all the recordings in two different sessions  conducted one week apart. The team then recorded the number of dog yawns in response to the yawn recordings of familiar and unfamiliar sources.

The results? Just under half (12) of the dogs yawned during the experiment. But of those that did so, they yawned five times more often when hearing a familiar person yawn, as opposed to any of the control yawns.

Speaking cautiously, Silva stated: “These results suggest that dogs have the capacity to empathize with humans.”

Given our long, entangled history, it would not be too surprising to learn that dog’s have developed some empathetic response to human behaviors. But is this what is really going on inside the canine cranium?

Empathy or Animal Mimicry?

Other researchers are more skeptical about the results, asserting that using behaviors (like yawning) as indicators of the dog’s internal ‘state of mind’ will only show similarities in behavior and do not tell us about what the dog is actually experiencing cognitively. Earlier tests with dogs who “looked guilty” failed to show that this emotion was actually being experienced by the dog.

Dogs can be very good imitators of human social interests and we humans, being given to personification of animals, may tend to believe that these imitations of human emotions are the result of the same mental processes.

Still, the results of these dog experiments indicate some type of connection between humans and canines that is operating even when the human is not in view.

Quoting from the paper’s (Auditory contagious yawning in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris): first evidence for social modulation) abstract:

‘The present study explored the ‘contagion-only’ hypothesis by testing whether the mere sound of a human yawn can be sufficient to elicit yawning in dogs, in a way that is unaffected by social–emotional factors. Unexpectedly, results showed an interesting interplay between contagion and social effects. Not only were dogs found to catch human yawns, but they were also found to yawn more at familiar than unfamiliar yawns. Although not allowing for conclusive inferences about the mechanisms underlying contagious yawning in dogs, this study provides first data that renders plausible empathy-based, emotionally connected, contagious yawning in these animals.’ [emphasis added]

Full results of the tests will be reported in the July, 2012 issue of Animal Cognition.

Top photo: John Haslam via Flickr ; CC – By 2.0

Source: Planetsave (http://s.tt/1bxXe)

2012: End of the World or Consciousness Revolution?

Posted: 05/07/2012 6:20 pm

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With few exceptions, the Mayan prophecy about the end of the cosmic cycle has been misinterpreted as predicting the actual physical destruction of humanity and the material world.

This is similar to the misinterpretation of the term "apocalypse" by Christian fundamentalists, particularly the millions of American Christians who believe that at the time of this global destruction they will experience "rapture" and be united with Jesus.

The original and literal meaning of the term apocalypse, however, is not "destruction" but "lifting of the veil" or "revelation." It referred to the disclosure of secrets, hidden from the majority of humanity, to certain privileged persons.

Based on my research into non-ordinary states of consciousness, I believe in a radically different, more optimistic interpretation of the Mayan prophecy. Instead of predicting a physical destruction of the material world, the Mayan prophecy might imply the possibility of a mass inner transformation of humanity -- the end of a world dominated by unbridled violence and insatiable greed.

The Mayans were indeed accomplished astronomers. More than 2,000 years ago they noticed that the position of the winter solstice sun was slowly shifting toward an alignment with the galactic axis. This movement (precession) is caused by the wobble of the rotational axis of the earth. The Mayans concluded that major changes of cosmic proportions would occur at the time of this auspicious solar/galactic alignment that occurs only once every 25,800 years.

But in addition to making sophisticated astronomical observations, the ancient Mayans were also keen explorers of their inner worlds. We have ample pictorial evidence that they used various "technologies of the sacred" for this purpose, including the cactus Lophophora Williamsii (peyote), Psilocybe mushrooms, Salvia divinatorum (also known as diviner's sage), morning glory seeds, wild tobacco, balche (a fermented drink made from the tree Lonchocarpus longistylus and honey), and skin secretions of the toad Bufo marinus.

For the last 50 years, I have used "technologies of the sacred" in order to research the modern human psyche and its potential for healing. In my case, this was clinical research with psychedelics as well as numerous workshops and a training program using breathwork. In a supportive environment and under responsible guidance, individuals can use these techniques to experience states of consciousness that are both healing, informative, and transformational. I call these states "holotropic" -- meaning that they move us toward wholeness.

In holotropic states of consciousness, it is possible for individuals to obtain profound revelations about the universe -- far beyond the limits of their everyday imagination. And often, in such states, individuals can perceive a meaningful correlation between inner experiences and outer events.

Although the modern, post-industrial consciousness tends to dismiss this idea, the perception of the universe as an organic whole in which everything is meaningfully interconnected and the human psyche is a microcosm that reflects the macrocosm is a typical feature of profound inner experiences. In holotropic states the Mayans thus might have envisioned a meaningful connection between their inner experiences, terrestrial events, and the movements of celestial bodies.

Another key insight from my research is that individuals who enter holotropic states repeatedly will experience a profound transformation -- a process of psychospiritual "death" and rebirth. This process can be "apocalyptic" in the truest sense of the word, in that it lifts the veil on their previously unseen spiritual nature.

And yet, for individuals to experience that lifting of the veil, or revelation, they must let go of their previous identities. And this "death" can provoke tremendous fear of destruction, a protracted struggle with existential issues, and violent resistance. Given this evidence, it is hard not to conclude that the current behavior of our species is a kind of unconscious "acting out" of our inner fear of transformation.

To look around at current events, one might conclude that our world is indeed falling apart. And whether or not this was predicted by ancient Mayan seers, we are clearly involved in a dramatic race for time that has no precedent in the entire history of humanity. What is at stake is nothing less than the future of humanity and of life on this planet.

Many of the people with whom I have worked saw in their holotropic visions humanity at a critical crossroad -- facing either collective annihilation or an evolutionary jump in consciousness of unprecedented nature and dimension. The philosopher-poet Terence McKenna put it very succinctly: "The history of the silly monkey is over, one way or another." We either undergo a radical transformation of our species or we might not survive.

The final outcome of the crisis we are facing is ambiguous and uncertain; it lends itself to pessimistic or optimistic interpretation, and each of them can be supported by existing data. If we continue the old strategies, which in their consequences are clearly extremely destructive and self-destructive, it is unlikely that modern civilization will survive.

However, if a sufficient number of people undergo a process of deep inner transformation, we might reach a stage and level of consciousness at which we will deserve the proud name we have given to our species: homo sapiens sapiens (the wise people) -- and live in a new world that will have little resemblance to the old.

Dr. Stanislav Grof will deliver a free online seminar, expanding on these themes, entitled: "2012 and Human Destiny: End of the World or Consciousness Revolution?" on May 8, 2012. To register for this seminar (or hear the recorded replay afterward), visit www.healingourwounds.com.