Training pet dogs for eye-tracking and awake fMRI

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Animal Behavior
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Eye-tracking and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are advanced methods for studying human cognition.
• These techniques have been adapted for canine research to investigate their mental processes.
• Both methods require dogs to maintain stillness and attention for data collection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To detail an effective and ethical training regimen for preparing dogs for eye-tracking and fMRI studies.
• To provide evidence supporting the training method's success and efficiency in canine cognition research.
• To encourage wider adoption of these non-aversive training techniques in the scientific community.

Main Methods:

• Development of a detailed, welfare-focused training protocol for dogs.
• Implementation of the training for participation in eye-tracking experiments.
• Implementation of the training for participation in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans.
• Utilizing positive reinforcement and avoiding any aversive methods throughout training.

Main Results:

• The training regime demonstrated a high success rate across 41 dogs for eye-tracking and 24 dogs for fMRI.
• Qualitative and quantitative data confirmed the effectiveness and efficiency of the training methods.
• Dogs were successfully trained to remain motionless and attentive in both controlled and noisy environments.

Conclusions:

• The described training protocol is highly effective for preparing dogs for advanced cognitive research.
• This ethical approach facilitates precise data collection in canine visual cognition and brain function studies.
• The validated methods can be adopted by other researchers to advance the field of canine behavior and cognition.