Hecht Lab @LabHecht

Erin Hecht, PI of the Evolutionary Neuroscience Lab & Director of the Canine Brains Project. Dept of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University. (she/her) hechtlab.org Cambridge, MA Joined November 2018

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Hecht Lab @LabHecht

9 months ago

Human-directed aggression in dogs is a serious problem, both for humans and for dogs. It deserves serious research. We need real data. Not the perpetuation of assumptions and stereotypes.

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Hecht Lab @LabHecht

9 months ago

So why is the media reporting that pit bulls are especially likely to become aggressive if they experience trauma? One possibility: hallucinations from LLMs that generate initial drafts of the news articles. AI reflects the biases of our culture as a whole.

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Hecht Lab @LabHecht

9 months ago

Some media are reporting that our recent study (nature.com/articles/s4159…) shows that pit bulls are especially likely to become aggressive if they are exposed to early life stress. Simply not true.

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Hecht Lab @LabHecht

9 months ago

However, just because a dog has a certain background, or comes from a certain breed, doesn't mean they are destined to behave a certain way. Many factors go making each dog who they are, and breed and life history are just two pieces of the puzzle.

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Hecht Lab @LabHecht

9 months ago

Why is this important? If we can identify the genes and pathways underlying this risk and resilience, we might be able to develop targeted interventions. We are already analyzing the dogs' DNA samples and MRI scans!

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Hecht Lab @LabHecht

9 months ago

If you have a rescue dog, you might have the sense that stressful experiences can impact dogs' behavior later in life. Well, we just did the largest study ever on this topic. Open access! nature.com/articles/s4159…

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Mélina Cordeau @CordeauMelina

a year ago

@LabHecht @Sophie_A_Barton @HarvardHEB @Harvard 📄 Published in Imaging Neuroscience @ImagingNeurosci 🙏 Huge thanks to @LabHecht and @Sophie_A_Barton 📍@HarvardHEB @Harvard

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Hecht Lab @LabHecht

a year ago

Hey @colossal. Wanna scan your dire wolves' brains? My lab at Harvard University does non-invasive MRI scans in dogs, foxes, and more!

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Hecht Lab @LabHecht

2 years ago

Using non-invasive MRI, we found a pathway in dog brains that predicts receptive vocabulary size. It’s left-lateralized & connects regions that produce and perceive vocal communication. A convergently evolved arcuate fasciculis? Read at @CurrentBiology: sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

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Hecht Lab @LabHecht

2 years ago

I emailed Dr. Trut as a no-name grad student asking if I could do MRI research with her foxes. She didn’t write me off & 15 years later I have a lab at Harvard continuing to study the amazing animals she helped create. She made an impact in science & my life. Thank you, Dr. Trut.

Scientific American @sciam

2 years ago

Lyudmila Trut devoted her life to studying the process of domestication by selectively breeding friendly foxes trib.al/RracGzx

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Christopher Krupenye @ChrisKrupenye

2 years ago

📢 PhD position in human, ape, or dog cognition @JohnsHopkins - please RT! We study how animals think, & what makes the human mind unique Deadline: Dec 1 Learn more here: social-cognitive-origins.com And here: social-cognitive-origins.com/join-our-team.… And in QT'd thread

Christopher Krupenye @ChrisKrupenye

5 years ago

🚨 PhD position(s) in human, nohuman primate, and dog cognition! I am thrilled to be recruiting one or more PhD students to join the new Comparative Social Cognition research group, launching next summer at @JohnsHopkins @JHUArtsSciences. 1/