The IAA One Minute Blog

Does petting your dog make you feel better after having a hard day? Scientists may have found out why that simple gesture makes all the difference.

Your Dog and Your Brain

Researchers found when study participants viewed, felt and touched real dogs it led to increasingly high levels of activity in the prefrontal cortex, which helps regulate and process social and emotional interactions.

The researchers used infrared neuroimaging technology to measure what happened in the brains of 19 adults who viewed a dog, reclined with the same dog against their legs or petted the dog.

The participants then did the same with a furry stuffed lion called Leo, who was filled with a hot water bottle to mimic the temperature and weight of the dogs.

The study found that participants’ prefrontal brain activity was greater when they interacted with real dogs. The biggest impact was found with petting. This brain activity increased each time the participants interacted with the real dog, which did not happen with successive stuffed lion interaction.

The effect continued even after the dogs were no longer present.

The study adds to the research on the benefits of animal-assisted therapy in medically supervised neural rehabilitation for nervous system conditions, such as strokes, seizure disorders, brain trauma, and infections.

The study was published in the journal “PLOS ONE.”

Pets and Your Health

An estimated 68 percent of households in the United States have a pet. Pets can help promote good health in numerous ways:

• Decreasing stress by lowering cortisol levels (a stress-related hormone)
• Helping children with emotional and social skills
• Improving heart health
• Increasing physical activity
• Lowering blood pressure

Studies have found that animals can reduce loneliness, increase feelings of social support and boost your mood.

What IAA has to Say

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