Comparative studies of cognitive and behavioral characteristics in dogs and cats

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This study investigates the behavioral/cognitive characteristics and effects of domestication on them in dogs and cats. About behavioral characteristics and its genetic basis, we have shown that the polymorphism in androgen receptor related to sociality in cats, as shown in dogs. About cognitive characteristics, the following possibilities have been shown: dogs mainly process human voices in left hemisphere; eye contact for humans differs among dog breeds; cats discriminate owner's voice from others' voices, emotional states of owner's voice, their own names from other words, and owners' attention states. To clarify the phylogenetic changes, we studied the close relatives of dogs and cats and the other domesticated species and its relatives. Wolves have the capacity to yawn contagiously. In lions, affiliative behavior maintains the amicable relationship, but they do not reconcile. Zebras' group moving is mainly led by adult individuals.