A recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has shown that after thousands of years of domestication, dogs have evolved a special eye muscle to better communicate with humans.
A muscle responsible for raising the inner eyebrow intensely is uniformly present in dogs but not in wolves. Behavioral data show that dogs also produce the eyebrow movement significantly more often and with higher intensity than wolves do, with highest-intensity movements produced exclusively by dogs. Interestingly, this movement increases paedomorphism and resembles an expression humans produce when sad, so its production in dogs may trigger a nurturing response. We hypothesize that dogs’ expressive eyebrows are the result of selection based on humans’ preferences.
A recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has shown that after thousands of years of domestication, dogs have evolved a special eye muscle to better communicate with humans.
The term "puppy dog eyes" may sound sentimental, but according to researchers, it's actually scientific.
A muscle responsible for raising the inner eyebrow intensely is uniformly present in dogs but not in wolves. Behavioral data show that dogs also produce the eyebrow movement significantly more often and with higher intensity than wolves do, with highest-intensity movements produced exclusively by dogs. Interestingly, this movement increases paedomorphism and resembles an expression humans produce when sad, so its production in dogs may trigger a nurturing response. We hypothesize that dogs’ expressive eyebrows are the result of selection based on humans’ preferences.