There is an ongoing need to improve animal models for investigating human behavior and its biological underpinnings. The domestic dog (Canis familiaris) is a promising model in cognitive neuroscience. However, before it can contribute to advances in this field in a comparative, reliable, and valid manner, several methodological issues warrant attention. We review recent non-invasive canine neuroscience studies, primarily focusing on (i) variability among dogs and between dogs and humans in cranial characteristics, and (ii) generalizability across dog and dog-human studies. We argue not for methodological uniformity but for functional comparability between methods, experimental designs, and neural responses. We conclude that the dog may become an innovative and unique model in comparative neuroscience, complementing more traditional models.

中文翻译：

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家犬作为非侵入性比较神经科学的模型

不断需要改进用于研究人类行为及其生物学基础的动物模型。家犬（犬熟悉）是认知神经科学中一个很有前途的模型。然而，在它能够以比较、可靠和有效的方式促进该领域的进步之前，需要注意几个方法论问题。我们回顾了最近的非侵入性犬神经科学研究，主要关注 (i) 狗之间以及狗与人之间颅骨特征的变异性，以及 (ii) 狗和狗-人研究的普遍性。我们争论的不是方法论的一致性，而是方法、实验设计和神经反应之间的功能可比性。我们得出的结论是，狗可能成为比较神经科学中一个创新和独特的模型，补充更传统的模型。