One question that is universal between dog owners and is often asked to their furry friends is, ‘what are you thinking about?’ The question may arise when you come home to your new pup tearing through garbage, when they gaze back into your eyes after a good belly rub, or when they bark mysteriously out the window at nothing but swaying grass. So what really is going on in that head of theirs? In this article we will dive into what makes a dog think, work, drool and love.
There are four lobes within the brain: Temporal, Occipital, Frontal and Parietal. The frontal lobe contributes to the memory and movement of the dogs; it controls the planning and execution of the movements known as voluntary movement. The temporal lobe is where dogs process their feelings, fear, learning and hearing functions. Within the temporal and frontal lobe is the thalamus; the thalamus helps relay sensory information for all the senses BUT smell to the proper part of the brain where it can be interpreted. We can thank the thalamus for helping our furry friends with distractions and focusing their behavior when asked to do so. These senses are then sent from the temporal or frontal lobes to the parietal and occipital lobes. The occipital lobe controls the way sensory information is viewed, such as how dogs see colors. Dogs lack the ability to see red and green colors, making their vision comparable to a human with green-red colorblindness. The parietal lobe relays other sensory information such as touch, smell, taste and language.
Image 1: Location and Labels of the Four Lobes in the Canine Brain
The brainstem consists of many vital parts that work together to control the life functions and make the body work as one. The parts within the brainstem responsible for life functions are the Hypothalamus, Medulla Oblongata and Epithalamus. The brainstem provides a pathway for sensory information to travel throughout the brain, allowing our pups to understand the sounds around them, and identify what they are. This explains why the sounds of garbage trucks may leave them silent, but hearing the car door slam as their owner gets home from work makes them bark out of excitement. The parts providing those sensory pathways in the brainstem are the optic nerve, chiasm, and tracts, as well as, Pons, Rostral, and Caudal Colliculus.
Image 2: Location and Label of the Brainstem in a Canine
Located just next to the brainstem is the pituitary which helps produce critical hormones that allow the life functions to be carried out. [1] Emotions of rage and aggression also originate within the brainstem at the hypothalamus but are then controlled and balanced by the hippocampus. The hippocampus is important for storing information such as schedule times, tricks and proper behavior.
Last but not least, the cerebellum, Latin for “little brain,” coordinates voluntary movements, controlling the balance and coordination of the canine. The information from one of the lobes: temporal, occipital, frontal, and parietal; will be relayed to the cerebellum to get a required action such as walking, barking, moving or obeying. The cerebellum grows greatly within the first few months of a dog’s life, which is why a new litter is typically quite clumsy.
Image 3: Location and Label of Cerebellum in Canine Brain
While there are many more complex and widely important parts of the brain that help our dogs function. The basic understanding of their behavior, actions and personalities can be explained by overviewing the lobes, brainstem and cerebellum. So the next time you think your dog is acting strangely, barking at things you can’t hear, remember, they live in a different world than we do.
Key Terms:
Cortisol (control blood sugar, metabolism, memory formulation)
Thyroid ( Metabolic rate controlling heart, muscle and digestive function)
Oxytocin (“mothering” hormone )
TSH (contorls production of TH )
sex hormone (sexual function )
Calcitonin ( regulating levels of calcium and phosphate in blood).
[1] Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Course Gross Anatomy 2, Summer 2021
