CPT President Mark Spivak Co-Authors Potentially Groundbreaking Research

CPT President Mark Spivak, functioning as a research consultant in conjunction with Emory University’s Neuroscience Department, co-authored a fourth research paper published in a prestigious peer reviewed academic journal. The article, entitled “One Pair of Hands is not Like Another: Caudate BOLD Response in Dogs Depends on Signal Source and Canine Temperament,” co-authored by Dr. Peter F. Cook , PhD, Dr. Gregory Berns, MD, PhD, and Mark Spivak, CPT, describes the existence of fMRI biomarkers that may help researchers determine a dog’s suitability for a designated working role.

CPT Performs Research in Conjunction with the Arizona State University, University of Florida, and Emory University Psychology Departments

The radial arm maze examines working memory, spatial memory, and spatial learning. The maze consists of 8 arms of equal length that spoke off a central hub. Food is placed at the end of each arm. The subject animal is then placed in the center and must continue the maze until navigating so that the animal eats all the food drops. The experimenters meanwhile measure time to completion and the number of errors, with an error defined as the animal returning to an empty arm.