New research has compared the brain of dogs with the brain of humans and they have found that both have areas specifically dedicated to dealing with voice and acoustic emotional cues.
This study was published in the journal Cell Press and says that the cerebral voices areas last evolved with the last shared ancestor of dogs and humans, according to Nature World News.
This study was the first of its kind; comparing a human brain to a non-primate animal. "Dogs and humans share a similar social environment," said lead author of the study, Attila Andics. "Our findings suggest that they also use similar brain mechanisms to process social information. This may support the successfulness of vocal communication between the two species."
This research suggests that dogs may not be the only animals we share brain functions with, according to Wired Science. “It’s not only dogs and humans. We probably share this function with many other mammals,” Andics said.
Humans and dogs shared a common ancestor approximately 100 million years ago. Because the voice and acoustic emotional cues were found in the dog’s brain, it means that the shared biology goes quite deep.
By researching this and finding out more information, it may give us reasons as to why humans react emotionally. Other animals’ biology may be the basic building blocks for what makes us “tick.”