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Friday, April 17, 2015
Scientists have figured out how dogs make us fall in love with them
When people call their dogs their "fur babies," they may be onto something, at least on a chemical level.
Dogs that make so-called puppy eyes at their owners get a spike in the "love hormone" oxytocin — and their owners do too, according to a new study. This same positive feedback in oxytocin release occurs when a mom gazes at her newborn infant, studies have shown.
Because dogs don't otherwise use eye contact as a way to cement bonds with other dogs, the study researchers suggest that man's best friend may have gotten its prized place in human hearts by tapping into an ancient human bonding pathway.
"We humans use eye gaze for affiliative communications, and are very much sensitive to eye contact," study co-author Takefumi Kikusui, a professor of veterinary medicine at the Companion Animal Research Lab at Azabu University in Japan, said in an email.
"Therefore, the dogs who can use eye gaze to the owner efficiently would have more benefits from humans."
Loving feeling
Oxytocin, often called the "love hormone," performs various actions in humans, such as triggering the onset of labor, reducing stress and helping group members recognize individual members.
But in all mammals, one of its key roles is to help a parent and infant bond. For instance, when rodent pups are separated from their moms, they emit a series of ultrasonic noises that spur moms to release more oxytocin and to scoop up their pups and behave in a more nurturing way. This, in turn, leads to the release of more oxytocin and, as a result, more attachment behavior in pups.
In humans, both moms and babies get a spike in oxytocin during breast-feeding, and they will spend hours gazing at each other, each fueling the release of oxytocin in the other, various studies have suggested.
For domesticated dogs and wolves, however, eye contact isn't normally a bonding behavior. Rather, dominant dogs stare down canines lower in the group's hierarchy, and pups that are nervous will look away, said Evan MacLean, an evolutionary anthropologist at Duke University who was not involved in the new study.
Gazing behavior
Kikusui and his colleagues wondered exactly what dogs are getting out of their affectionate gazing at humans. In the new study, which is detailed today (April 16) in the journal Science, the team measured the oxytocin levels of dogs and their owners before and after the pairs spent 30 minutes together.
After the owners spent quality time gazing into their dogs' eyes, petting and talking to the furballs, both the people and dogs showed increases in the levels of oxytocin in their urine. What's more, the more oxytocin rose in humans, the more it did in dogs as well.
In similar experiments with wolves, the researchers found no such interspecies-oxytocin loop — even though the wolves were interacting with people who had raised them from pups.
In a second experiment, the researchers spritzed an oxytocin nasal spray into dogs' nostrils and found that female dogs stared longer at their owners afterward, and that both the pups and the humans showed a rise in oxytocin as a result.
The findings suggest that the oxytocin feedback loop can cross species boundaries, at least between man and his best friend.
"This tells us something about our relationships with dogs," MacLean, who wrote a Perspectives article in the same issue of Science, told Live Science. "In many ways, they're similar to our relationships with people."
APPartners in evolutionary change
The findings may help explain one of the most puzzling stories in human history: how a predatory, fearsome wolf transformed into man's best friend. Kikusui speculated that, at some point early in the domestication of dogs, a small group of naturally more friendly dogs may have gazed at their human counterparts for bonding. In doing so, the dogs unwittingly tapped into the natural human system designed for parent-child bonding.
Humans and dogs may have co-evolved this ability in order for love to flourish across species, Kikusui speculated. In follow-up research, they hope to identify the genes involved, in both humans and dogs.
MacLean, however, doesn't think humans necessarily needed to undergo genetic changes to get an oxytocin boost when they lock eyes with their canine companions.
"Originally, this kind of bonding mechanism was very important between mother and infant, and then we've probably already recycled those same mechanisms in our relationships with other individuals," MacLean said. Therefore, the human ability to bond via eye contact is already very flexible and easily repurposed, he added.
Skinny Pregnant Model Sarah Stage See, My BIG Baby Had ... Plenty of Womb
People don't want to believe model Sarah Stage gave birth to an 8 lb. baby -- especially since her belly only looked like it had a quarter pounder with cheese in it -- but here's photo proof of the big guy.
Sarah's son, James, is looking totally comfy and snug after his arrival on Tuesday. As we first told you ... James weighed in at 8 lbs. 7 oz, and 22 inches ... all above average measurements for newborns.
Sarah stirred controversy, disbelief, and probably some hatred -- when she posted selfies looking super skinny for any woman ... much less one who was 8-9 months pregnant.
We get the feeling she didn't mind the heat -- at least based on that lingerie pic she posted ... just HOURS before she officially attained MILF status.
Dagrin’s memorial concert to hold on 5th death anniversary
(Memorial concert for Dagrin billed for April 22, 2015. Photo: Filed) Tee Blaq and Eldar Records have announced a concert in celebration of the memory of late hip hop star, Olaitan Olanipekun, popularly known as Dagrin. The memorial service for the late rapper, who lost his life 5 years ago, will take place on Wednesday, April 22, 2015 at Spice Route, Victoria Island, Lagos. It will be a commemoration of the incident that left tears and heartache in the minds of the Ogun State born star’s teeming fans and followers of the Nigerian entertainment scene...
Here's what the cast of 'Game of Thrones' looks like in real life
"Game of Thrones" goes to great lengths to bring George R.R. Martin's Westeros to life.
Costume designers and hair stylists for the show draw inspiration from cultures from all over the world in order to capture this expansive and diverse world.
The cast members themselves are always willing to commit, whether they play a king, a queen, or a knight. Some wear lavish wigs while others chop their hair right off.
Many of the actors are barely recognizable in real life. If you passed by a few of them on the street, you probably wouldn't even know it.
In season five, Sansa Stark goes for a new, darker look as she tags along with Little Finger.
In real life, Turner dyes her hair for the show. When her character had red hair, they had to use a "mix of four different watercolor shades."
(Source: Fashionista)
Here's how Kit Harington looks as Jon Snow.
He looks a bit more clean shaven without his Night's Watch uniform.
Maisie Williams plays Arya Stark, who at one point had to pretend to be a boy in order to survive.
Williams looks far more like a princess in real life. The 18-year-old actress cuts her hair short for the show. She's one of the only female characters that doesn't wear a wig.
(Source: Vulture)
Lena Headey plays the conniving and calculating Cersei Lannister.
Headey looks a lot different without her long wig. She's a brunette!
As Margery Tyrell, Natalie Dormer isn't the only actress who hides her hair under a wig.
In reality, she's a natural blonde.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is the handsome king-slayer Jamie Lannister on the show.
Outside of the series, he doesn't look all that different.
As Brienne of Tarth, Gwendoline Christie is one of the fiercest warriors in Westeros.
Christie looks remarkably transformed at a fashion show. The actress cuts her hair short for "Game of Thrones."
"I struggled for a long time with [cutting] my hair, but then I’m grateful for the opportunity to realize that femininity doesn’t have to come from hair or any of those traditional female archetypes of appearance, So, that’s been exciting actually," Christie told TV Guide.
For the season five premiere, Peter Dinklage grew his hair and beard out to play Tyrion Lannister.
He cleaned up for the show's red carpet premiere.
Emilia Clarke plays the very blonde Mother of Dragons, Daenerys Targaryen.
But in reality, Clarke, a brunette, is nearly unrecognizable as Daenerys.
Theon Greyjoy has gone through a lot of changes on the show. Last season, he transformed into the beaten, brainwashed Reek.
Greyjoy is played by Alfie Allen, who doesn't look like he has ever had to answer to Ramsay Bolton.
The wig Dutch actress Carice van Houten wears to play Melisandre is among the 30 or so wigs used on set. Each hairpiece can cost up to $7,000.
(Source: Fashionista)
In real life, the actress is a lot livelier than her "Game of Thrones" counterpart.
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