After research correlated the act of taking dogs for a walk with greater physical and cognitive health in the elderly, new studies were carried out to understand how the neurological mechanism works and which hormones are released when a person has contact with their pet pet. Numerous benefits have been discovered for the brain related to greater contact with your kitty. Find out now what the research says about benefits of petting your pet:
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Brain benefits of petting your pet
Would you imagine that petting your pet can improve your brain function? Factors such as decreased anxiety and stress are already easily perceived symptoms, but there are several other benefits beyond that. Understand a little about the research carried out:
How was the study done?
To better understand how our brain reacts to finding our favorite pet, scientists used functional spectroscopy in the near-infrared (fNIRS), i.e. a brain scanner that can measure, based on the amount of oxygen in the blood in the brain, the activity brain.
Then 19 volunteers connected to the portable scanner while interacting with their pets. All respondents had puppies, so no experiments were done with other animals.
What did the scientists realize?
Areas of the brain responsible for controlling thought and emotional reactions became more active. Soon after, for comparison purposes, humans were asked to pet stuffed animals. The result demonstrates that the brain reaction decreased considerably.
And what is the conclusion of this?
Brain activity increases as the physical proximity increases between the human and the animal, be it live or stuffed animal. However, there is considerable emotional involvement between the pet and its owner, significantly increasing brain activity.
