Dogs understand human behavior better than most people believe, according to a new research.

Researchers in Hungary undertook a study to examine how canines are able to sense emotion in human voices. They trained 11 dogs to sit still in a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner (fMRI). The scientists recorded brain function in the canines as they listened to 200 human and dog sounds, including crying and laughing.

A group of human subjects was then put through a similar experience . . .

“In this first comparative neuroimaging study of a nonprimate and a primate species, we made use of this special combination of shared environment and evolutionary distance,” the Hungarian team wrote in the article detailing the study.

If brains of both species have similar structures, they could handle social clues in much the same way as one another. This could also partly explain the special bond between humans and dogs.

“This method offers a totally new way of investigating neural processing in dogs. At last we begin to understand how our best friend is looking at us and navigating in our social environment,” Attila Andics, of MTA-ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group in Hungary, wrote in the press release.

Dog lovers often say their canine companions understand feelings and emotions. This study confirms that widely-held belief. It also provides a basis for the understanding.