Have you ever noticed your furry friends giving you the side-eye when you’re late to feed or walk them? A recent study indicates that dogs and cats possess a remarkable ability to tell time, and they could very well be assessing our punctuality. Yikes.
According to research conducted by a team at Northwestern University, both cats and dogs have an innate sense of time that aligns with their feeding schedules and typical walk times. This means that if we deviate from their established routines, they are fully aware of it — and they may not be pleased.
“Have you ever considered that your pet knows it took you longer to serve their dinner today than it did yesterday? This question hadn’t been adequately addressed until now,” explains Dr. Sophie Larson, a neurobiology professor at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and the lead researcher of the study. “This study provides compelling evidence that animals indeed have a clear representation of time within their brains when tasked with measuring intervals.”
The research team focused on specific neurons in the medial entorhinal cortex of mice, discovering that these neurons activate like a clock when the animal is anticipating a reward. This region of the brain is linked to memory and navigation.
In their experiment, researchers designed a virtual task dubbed the “door stop task,” where mice ran on a treadmill through a digital setting. The mice learned that if they navigated a virtual hallway to a door, it would open after a set duration of six seconds, granting them a reward. “The critical aspect here is that the mouse cannot see whether the door is open or closed; it can only succeed by relying on its internal timing ability,” notes James Cooper, one of the study’s authors.
The implications of this research suggest that our pets are likely aware when we are running late for meals or walks. Interestingly, the findings could also benefit human health; the “door stop task” may assist in early identification of Alzheimer’s disease, as it impacts the same area of the brain studied in this research.
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In summary, our pets are not just companions; they are intelligent beings capable of measuring time and likely hold us accountable for our schedules. This intriguing research not only sheds light on animal behavior but may also have insights into human health.
Keyphrase: Pets can tell time
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