Dog lovers now have confirmation of what they have known all along.Sorry Grumpy Cat, it’s science.Dogs are smarter than cats, a new study by researchers at Vanderbilt University has found.
The study found that dogs have twice as many neurons as cats in their cerebral cortex, which is associated with thinking, planning and complex behavior.
TODAY knows all about smart dogs after seeing our own puppies with a purpose, Wrangler and Charlie, complete their training to become service dogs. We also watched a group of Connecticut prison inmates train dogs to open refrigerator doors, turn on light switches and pick items off the ground so that they could help wounded military veterans. Plus, there is also the K-9 partners assisting law enforcement across the country.
Dogs have about 530 million cortical neurons compared to 250 million for cats, the study found. Humans have 16 billion, so don’t expect Spot to be doing your algebra homework.
“Our findings mean to me that dogs have the biological capability of doing much more complex and flexible things with their lives than cats can,” associate professor of psychology and biological sciences Suzana Herculano-Houzel, an admitted dog lover, said in a news release.
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