How dogs are able to "feel" smells may help keep us safe

Many people know dogs have an amazing sense of smell. It helps them find lost hikers, sniff out contraband, and detect health issues. Their noses pick up odors we barely notice, offering an invisible map of the world around them.

Scientists have taken a closer look at this skill by scanning canine brains while they work their sniffing magic. The study was led by Professor Zeev Zalevsky from the Kofkin Faculty of Engineering at Bar-Ilan University.

The researchers found key insights in the amygdala, hippocampus, and olfactory bulb of four dog breeds, which shed light on how dogs separate one odor from another.

Dogs read smells with their brain

Dogs have a larger set of odor receptor genes than humans, allowing them to detect scents in trace amounts.

Their noses send signals to the olfactory bulb, where initial processing happens. Next, the signals reach deeper regions of the brain linked to memory, motivation, and emotion.

The research team used a remote optical sensor that could scan a dog’s brain activity while it took in four different smells. Experts say this approach might open the door for observing real-time canine responses without bulky equipment.

Why the amygdala matters

“The findings show that the amygdala is crucial in the way dogs process and react to odors, with specific scents triggering distinct emotional and memory responses, and we are capable of optically detecting their brain activity in this region,” said Professor Zalevsky. 

”This discovery could be the first step toward creating a device that enables us to better understand and interpret the unique way dogs perceive and differentiate smells.”

The amygdala is often associated with emotion and survival instincts. The researchers saw this region activate differently when the dogs sampled each odor, highlighting why some smells bring about strong behaviors.

Tracking the smell response of dogs

“Our next step is to develop a portable, Wi-Fi-controlled device equipped with a mini camera and laser system, which could be mounted on a dog’s head and used to monitor its olfactory responses in real time,” said Dr. Yafim Beiderman, an expert in Professor Zalevsky’s Optical Research Lab at Bar-Ilan University.

This technology could potentially transform how dogs are used in substance detection or medical diagnosis.

Some experts have looked at dogs for cancer screening and diabetes alerts. A deeper understanding of their scent processing could speed up these efforts, making it possible to gather data without waiting for canine training to finish.

Scanning from a distance

Using lasers to pick up tiny vibrations on the surface of the skull may sound out of the ordinary. Yet studies show that such non-invasive methods can sense blood flow and neural activity in humans.

The researchers adapted that idea for dogs, focusing on specific brain zones where odor signals land.

Data from the sensor was processed by a machine-learning system, revealing that each area of the brain responded in unique ways. This led to the conclusion that the emotional center is a heavyweight in scent separation.

Implications for health and safety

Police often rely on K9 units to sniff out drugs and other illegal substances. A remote brain scanner might help them interpret the dog’s recognition of a target odor without confusion or guesswork.

In medical fields, a quick read of a dog’s amygdala response may one day spot an illness before a patient notices symptoms.

Teams that conduct search-and-rescue missions also stand to gain. Any gadget that clarifies what a dog is smelling could guide them toward trapped individuals more efficiently.

A shift in how we see dogs

The research emphasizes that dogs are more than loyal companions. Their noses have been described as sophisticated analyzers that monitor odors for emotion-based clues.

Decoding those responses may add new dimensions to how people partner with animals in daily tasks.

A deeper look at the hippocampus in dogs may also reveal how memories of smells guide their actions. The research team noted that future studies could expand to more breeds and more scents, refining the technology along the way.

Subtle scent triggers from a dog’s brain

Some individuals rely on service dogs for anxiety or panic disorders. Interpreting real-time signals from the dog’s brain might uncover subtle scent triggers that a person hasn’t recognized.

This concept extends to therapy animals, especially if professionals want to measure how dogs respond to stressful environments.

Researchers have found that dog noses can often detect changes in body chemistry, sometimes months or years before medical tests confirm a disease. Real-time tracking of this skill could produce a fast approach for problem detection, bridging the communication gap between species.

Scientists plan to explore broader ways to translate canine brainwaves into easy-to-read data. There might come a time when a single device reveals how dogs process everything from everyday household smells to suspicious substances.

The study is published in the Journal of Biophotonics.

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