How dogs love us : a neuroscientist and his adopted dog decode the canine brain

A neuroscientist recounts his efforts to overcome administrative and behavioral hurdles to train his dogs to sit still during an MRI scan, an effort that produced evidence about canine empathy and the human-dog bond. A Wall Street Journal bestseller. The powerful bond between humans and dogs is one thats uniquely cherished. Loyal, obedient, and affectionate, they are truly mans best friend. But do dogs love us the way we love them? Emory University neuroscientist Gregory Berns had spent decades using MRI imaging technology to study how the human brain works, but a different question still nagged at What is my dog thinking? After his family adopted Callie, a shy, skinny terrier mix, Berns decided that there was only one way to answer that questionuse an MRI machine to scan the dogs brain. His colleagues dismissed the idea. Everyone knew that dogs needed to be restrained or sedated for MRI scans. But if the military could train dogs to operate calmly in some of the most challenging environments, surely there must be a way to train dogs to sit in an MRI scanner. With this radical conviction, Berns and his dog would embark on a remarkable journey and be the first to glimpse the inner workings of the canine brain. Painstakingly, the two worked together to overcome the many technical, legal, and behavioral hurdles. Bernss research offers surprising results on how dogs empathize with human emotions, how they love us, and why dogs and humans share one of the most remarkable friendships in the animal kingdom. How Dogs Love Us answers the age-old question of dog lovers everywhere and offers profound new evidence that dogs should be treated as we would treat our best human with love, respect, and appreciation for their social and emotional intelligence. Emory University neuroscientist Gregory Berns had spent decades using imaging technology to study how the human brain works. That changed when he and his family adopted Callie, a shy, skinny terrier mix, who inspired Berns to tackle the question: "What is my dog thinking?" Berns learned that military working dogs operate calmly in the most challenging environments, leading to a radical notion: Would it be possible to train dogs to hold completely still in an MRI scanner? If so, it might be possible to see how the canine brain actually works. Berns's colleagues dismissed the idea; everyone knew that dogs needed to be restrained or sedated for MRI scans. Berns refused to do either--instead, he painstakingly trained the dogs to sit still even though it meant overcoming many administrative, technical, legal, and behavioral hurdles. The initial findings offer tantalizing evidence on how dogs empathize with human emotions, how they love us, and why being the "pack leader" with your dogs, as some experts suggest, is a mistake "[Gregory] Berns and his dog would embark on a remarkable journey and be the first to glimpse the inner workings of the canine brain. Painstakingly, the two worked together to overcome the many technical, legal, and behavioral hurdles. Berns's research offers surprising results on how dogs empathize with human emotions, how they love us, and why dogs and humans share one of the most remarkable friendships in the animal kingdom."--Jacket