ABSTRACT The effects of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) on human cerebral activity are not clearly understood, although many studies have reported psychological and physiotherapeutic benefits associated with it. Any benefits of AAT are likely to be closely related to brain activity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of stroking a horse on brain activity in humans, specifically the frontopolar area, to evaluate the significance of using real animals in AAT. In a randomized cross-over trial, 30 healthy adults saw and stroked a stuffed toy (Session T) followed by a miniature horse (Session A), or vice versa. Participants saw and stroked the object (the stuffed toy or the real animal) for 10 minutes, followed by seeing and stroking another object (the real animal or the stuffed toy) for 10 minutes, with 20 minutes for measurements and resting. We measured changes in oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) in the frontopolar area using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Three-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare oxy-Hb changes between the object used (stuffed toy versus real animal), contact method (see versus stroke), and laterality (left versus right). Oxy-Hb changes were larger in the right frontopolar area compared with those in the left frontopolar area when participants stroked a real horse (p < 0.05). Binominal tests showed that, in participants who reported that they “loved horses,” the laterality of oxy-Hb changes when participants stroked a real horse was significant (p = 0.031), but this was not seen in those who reported that they only “kind of liked” horses. These findings suggest that stroking a real horse activates the right frontopolar area, but this effect is not achieved when stroking a stuffed toy. Using horses in AAT that aims to activate human brain activity could be useful.

中文翻译：

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抚摸真马与抚摸玩具马：对人脑额极区的影响

摘要 动物辅助疗法 (AAT) 对人类大脑活动的影响尚不清楚，尽管许多研究报告了与之相关的心理和物理治疗益处。AAT 的任何好处都可能与大脑活动密切相关。本研究的目的是调查抚摸马对人类大脑活动的影响，特别是额极区，以评估在 AAT 中使用真实动物的重要性。在一项随机交叉试验中，30 名健康成年人看到并抚摸了一个毛绒玩具（T 阶段），然后是一匹微型马（A 阶段），反之亦然。参与者看到并抚摸物体（毛绒玩具或真实动物）10 分钟，然后看到并抚摸另一个物体（真实动物或毛绒玩具）10 分钟，测量和休息 20 分钟。我们使用近红外光谱 (NIRS) 测量了额极区氧合血红蛋白 (oxy-Hb) 的变化。三向重复测量方差分析用于比较所用物体（填充玩具与真实动物）、接触方法（参见与中风）和偏侧性（左与右）之间的 oxy-Hb 变化。当参与者抚摸一匹真正的马时，右额极区的 Oxy-Hb 变化比左额极区的变化更大（p < 0.05）。二项式测试表明，在报告他们“喜欢马”的参与者中，当参与者抚摸一匹真正的马时，oxy-Hb 变化的偏侧性是显着的（p = 0.031），但在那些报告他们只“有点喜欢”马。这些研究结果表明，抚摸一匹真正的马会激活右额极区，但抚摸毛绒玩具时不会达到这种效果。在旨在激活人类大脑活动的 AAT 中使用马可能会很有用。