Can Your Dog's Squeaky Chew Toys Can Help Diagnose Brain Injury?

Written by Dr. Jonathan Walker

There are few things cuter than watching man's best friend enjoy a brand new squeaky chew toy. Depending on your pooch, you've usually got days to weeks before they finally tear enough holes in it to silence the squeaks once and for all.?

But did you ever wonder why your dog loves those little squeaky toys so much? The answer may surprise you, particularly if your dog is about as vicious as a bowl of oatmeal.?

Scientists believe that the reason a dog loves a toy that makes high pitched noise is due to its innate predatory instinct and the fact that the squeak mimics the sound of small injured or scared prey like squirrels or rats.??

Next time you're taking pictures for your social media of Fido enjoying his favorite Sponge Bob squeaky toy, you'll now be reminded that your sweet pup has visions of wounded prey dancing in his head!?

Humans are also wired to respond quickly to auditory stimuli, and there's an innovative TBI diagnostic test that takes advantage of this.??

As most of you know, traditional EEGs don't typically have many positive findings unless the patients is having seizures or is epileptic. However, a type of study that can be added to an EEG known as a P300 auditory evoked potential offers tremendous value.?

This test works by having the patient listen to a high pitched tone while their brain waves are being recorded with EEG leads. When they hear the tone, they push a button, and reaction time is recorded and compared against a normative database.?

More importantly, the electrical response to this activity is measured by observing a specific type of brain wave called the P300. This measurement is also compared to normative data, and a decrease in P300 voltage is strongly correlated with diminished cognitive function.

The medicolegal value of this test is substantial as the P300 voltage is not under conscious control....so it can't be faked or manipulated. This is a very valuable tool to have in our arsenal, and there is a significant body of research backing this finding. For those of you that are research nerds like me, here's some studies that have been performed using the exact technology we incorporate at Ethos to measure the P300: https://wavimed.com/publications/.

If you have a client that would benefit from TBI diagnostics or therapy at any of our locations across Florida, please reach out via email at [email protected] or you can call directly at 904-616-1284.