New research in Hungary shows that dogs' brains are able to separate the continuous flow of human speech into word-like units; An ability previously observed only in humans.

New research in Hungary shows that dogs' brains are able to separate the continuous flow of human speech into word-like units; An ability previously observed only in humans.

The researchers of the "Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience of Communication" in Budapest examined the brain activity of 20 domestic dogs and 20 humans while listening to continuous speech without interruption using EEG electrodes.

The results published in the scientific journal "Science" showed that dogs' brains, like humans, respond more to patterns based on consonants when processing words and have a "consonant bias" in recognizing the structure of words.

The researchers say these findings show that exposure to human language can affect the way the brain works to process speech, even in animals that do not have complex language abilities.