Dogs with bigger brains relative to their bodies aren’t necessarily smarter, a new study finds.
The research, published Nov. 13 in the journal Biology Letters, suggests that while working dogs may have more complex abilities compared with other breeds, they’re organized into a more compact space in the brain. This differs from what’s seen in evolutionary history in wild mammals, where as brains get bigger relative to body size, cognitive skills tend to become more complex.
“In other groups [of species] relative brain size is indicative of higher cognitive abilities — here we see the opposite,” said Ana Balcarcel, lead author of the new study and an evolutionary biologist at the Montpellier Institute of Evolutionary Sciences in France.
Smarter dogs have smaller brains, surprising study reveals
I heard this being discussed on a radio science show Nov 23rd. One thing I heard was that dogs are great models for evolution studies.
“The findings reveal that dogs are pressing buttons purposefully to express their desires and needs, not just imitating their owners. When dogs combine two buttons, these sequences are not random but instead seem to reflect specific requests.”