研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，狗鼻子里的“紅外傳感器”可以探測到熱量

研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，狗鼻子里的“紅外傳感器”可以探測到熱量

Dogs have a type of infrared sensor in the tip of their nose which enables them to detect minute changes in temperature such as when other animals are nearby, according to new research.

最新研究顯示，狗的鼻尖有一種紅外傳感器，可以探測到溫度的微小變化，比如其他動物在附近的時候。

Scientists at Sweden’s Lund University and Hungary’s Eotvos Lorand University say the discovery can help better understand how predators detect their prey when other senses such as sight, hearing or smell are hindered.

瑞典隆德大學和匈牙利厄托沃斯羅蘭德大學的科學家說，這一發(fā)現(xiàn)有助于更好地理解當視覺、聽覺或嗅覺等其他感官受到阻礙時，捕食者是如何發(fā)現(xiàn)獵物的。

In their study printed in Scientific Reports, a journal published by Nature Research, scientists found that the naked, wet skin surface at the tip of a dog’s nose, which is full of nerve endings, worked as an infrared sensor.

科學家們在發(fā)表在《自然研究》雜志《科學報告》上的研究中發(fā)現(xiàn)，狗鼻尖裸露濕潤的皮膚表面充滿了神經(jīng)末梢，起到了紅外傳感器的作用。

“Dogs are able to sense the thermal radiation coming from warm bodies or weak thermal radiation and they can also direct their behavior according to this signal,” said Anna Balint, lead author of the study.

這項研究的主要作者安娜·巴林特說：“狗能感覺到來自溫暖身體或微弱熱輻射的熱輻射，它們也能根據(jù)這個信號來調(diào)整自己的行為。”。

“We tested whether we can find an area in the brain that shows higher activity if they are exposed to a warmer than to a colder object,” she said.

她說：“我們嘗試在大腦中找到一個區(qū)域，測試當他們暴露在溫暖的環(huán)境中，大腦活動是否會比暴露在寒冷的環(huán)境中更活躍。”

Brain scans showed increased brain activity when dogs were shown objects that were warmer than their surroundings.

腦部掃描顯示，當狗看到比周圍環(huán)境更溫暖的物體時，它們的腦部活動會增強。

“It is possible that other carnivorans possess a similar infrared sense and that adds a new chapter to the story of prey-predator relationships,” said Ronald Kroger, a sensory scientist at Lund University.

隆德大學的感官科學家羅納德·克羅格說:“其他食肉動物也可能具有類似的紅外線感應能力，這為食肉動物與被捕食動物之間的關系揭開了新的一頁。”

Among the dogs involved in the test were golden retrievers and border collies.

參與測試的狗包括金毛獵犬和邊境牧羊犬。