Left-Hemispheric Brain Lateralization and Sex Differences in the Processing of Familiar Human Speech by Domestic Dogs
Open AccessCanine social cognition and communication is a growing field, as domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) have become increasingly impactful especially in developed countries as companions and coworkers (Maharaj et al., 2016). Free-ranging dogs comprise nearly 80% of the global dog population, and their socio-cognitive abilities may differ from pet dogs because they are not under human supervision or direct control (Bhattacharjee et al., 2017). Although the body of research on canine social cognition is growing, there is less work on canine facial communication. Of particular interest is the communicative pathways between humans and our canine companions (Kaminski et al., 2017). Asymmetrical behaviors like head-turning have been examined as a means of lateralized lexical processing in dogs, but other frequently observed asymmetrical behaviors like the head-tilt lacks sufficient explanation in scientific literature, despite being of interest to dog owners (Andics et al., 2016; Sommese et al., 2022). In this study, I aim to examine the head-tilt as either a stable, individualized trait, or a behavior indicative of lateralized lexical processing in the brain.
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