AsianScientist (Apr. 27, 2015) – The strong bond between man and his “best friend” the dog is due in part to the hormone oxytocin. In a study done by researchers from Azabu University, Jichi Medical University and University of Tokyo Health Sciences, researchers have found that mutual gazing behavior between dogs and their owners increases the levels of oxytocin in both parties, leading to stronger bonds.
Oxytocin is a naturally-produced hormone and its increase in production is an indicator of close bonds, such as those between a mother and her infant, or in the case of this study, between dogs and their human family members.
In their study published in Science, Dr. Nagasawa Miho and colleagues demonstrate that gazing behavior increased oxytocin concentrations in owners, leading to the owners’ affiliation and a resultant increased oxytocin concentration in dogs. Their findings support the existence of an interspecies oxytocin-mediated positive loop facilitated which is modulated by gazing.
While dogs have been found to demonstrate gazing behavior and develop close bonds with their human owners, it is noted that wolves do not share the same response and behavior. This suggests that gazing behavior and the social bonding mechanism was part of the evolution of dogs, resulting from their domestication by humans.
In their second experiment, the researchers sprayed oxytocin into the noses of dogs and observed that female dogs increased the time spent gazing at their owners. It was also found that oxytocin levels in owners increased when measured at 30 mins, thus validating the presence of a oxytocin-mediated feedback loop between dogs and humans.
The study demonstrates the evidence for oxytocin activity between dogs and humans, one that is similar to that of human mother-infant relations. It concludes that mutual interaction such as gazing increases oxytocin levels in dogs and humans, resulting in further deepening of interspecies bonding.
The article can be found at: Nagasawa et al. (2015) Oxytocin-gaze Positive Loop And The Coevolution Of Human-dog Bonds.
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Copyright: Asian Scientist Magazine; Photo: Mikako Mikura.
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