Scientists Gave Dogs MRIs and Learned That They’re Surprisingly Good at Distinguishing Between Human Emotions, Even Some Negative Ones

A recent study found that man’s best friend processes positive and negative human emotions differently and can distinguish between fearful faces and those showing sadness or anger

Sara Hashemi | Daily Correspondent

August 21, 2026 11:58 a.m.

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When interacting with dogs, you might have thought that the canines seem to respond to your emotions. Appear angry, and a dog may retreat. Cry, and it might try to comfort you. Now, a new study has uncovered evidence to support what many dog lovers and scientists have understood for years: Dogs have the ability to distinguish between human emotions.

Past research had already shown that dogs can recognize human emotions, but these studies usually tested two human facial expressions—one positive and one negative—at a time. It was therefore unclear whether dogs only perceive a difference between a “happy” mood and a “bad” mood or whether they can distinguish between emotions within one of these categories.

To fill this knowledge gap, researchers used machine learning to analyze the brain scans of pet dogs as they were shown images of human facial expressions. The study, published in the journal iScience this month, found that the animals process happy, scared and angry emotions differently. And, for the first time, they revealed that dogs can interpret a difference between negative emotions, such as fear and sadness or fear and anger.

“This is the first demonstration that the dog brain can distinguish between emotions from the same valence,” says study co-author Laura Cuaya, a neuroscientist at the University of Vienna, to Nicola Davis at the Guardian.

Cuaya and her colleagues trained 14 pet dogs to stay still and awake during ten-minute MRI scans without any restraints—no small feat. “They are very, very good at the task,” she says to Meghan Rosen at Science News. Once the dogs were ready, the researchers conducted two sets of experiments.

In the first test, eight dogs were shown happy or neutral human faces that were unfamiliar to them, while the MRI scanned their brains. The happy faces lit up their temporal cortex and caudate nucleus, which are parts of the brain associated with higher cognitive and reward processing.

“Other studies show, for example, that this activation is related when the dog is expecting a snack or a food reward, but also when they hear praise,” Cuaya explains to Kathleen Felton at the Washington Post.

In the second test, 12 dogs were once again shown happy faces, as well as sad, frightened and angry ones. Their brains did not react the same way to the negative emotions as they did to positive ones—the temporal cortex and caudate nucleus responded uniquely to happiness. A different part of the brain activated while dogs were interpreting between sadness and fear, and yet another brain area was activated when distinguishing between anger and fear.

There did not seem to be a difference in how the dogs distinguished between sadness and anger. This suggests, per the paper, that dogs might need more information beyond facial cues, such as body language, to differentiate between these emotions.

The findings indicate that dog brains can conduct more detailed processing than previously thought, Cuaya says to Science News, though she adds that they may not apply to all dogs. Most of the dogs used in the study were border collies, which are known to be highly adept at following social cues, the authors write in the paper. It’s possible that other dog breeds don’t share their ability to interpret facial expressions.

Bridget Waller, a psychologist at England’s Nottingham Trent University who was not involved in the study, tells the Guardian that the work highlights how dogs have been shaped by domestication.

“Smiling is the most commonly used human facial expression, vital to our social interactions, and so it makes sense that dogs have developed a particular ability to distinguish this from other facial movements,” she says to the outlet. However, she adds that it is less clear whether they can distinguish between the other facial expressions. “And again, this would make sense as these are much less commonly produced in human social interaction.”

Next, the researchers plan to adopt a more “dog-centric” perspective to understand how the animals integrate these brain signals to navigate the human world, per a statement. They will also look at how humans and dog brains process the same emotional cues. Ultimately, they hope the research impacts how we care for and interact with these beloved animals.

“Dogs are adept at watching, smelling and listening to our emotions, learning how these signals predict our behaviors toward them, and using this information to live with people harmoniously,” writes Mia Cobb, an animal welfare researcher at the University of Melbourne in Australia who was not involved in the work, for the Conversation.

“Returning the favor, learning more about how dogs express their emotions, seems like the least we can do.”

Sara Hashemi is a science writer and fact-checker currently based in New York City. Her work has appeared in Sierra, The Body, Maisonneuve magazine and more.