雅思阅读精选：“狗医生”为受惊学生提供心理治疗_雅思英语阅读

雅思阅读精选：“狗医生”为受惊学生提供心理治疗

　　People also benefit from interacting with canines. Simply petting a dog can decrease levels of stress hormones, regulate breathing, and lower blood pressure. Research also has shown that petting releases oxytocin, a hormone associated with bonding and affection, in both the dog and the human.

　　Do Dogs Have Empathy?

　　In situations like the Newtown shootings, it makes a lot of sense that dogs would be an effective form of comfort, says psychologist Debbie Custance of Goldsmiths College, University of London.

　　Dogs are social creatures that respond to us quite sensitively, and they seem to respond to our emotions, she said.

　　Custance recently led a study to see whether dogs demonstrated empathy. She asked volunteers to either pretend to cry, or just hum in a weird way. Would the dogs notice the difference?

　　The response was extraordinary, she said. Nearly all of the dogs came over to nuzzle or lick the crying person, whether it was the owner or a stranger, while they paid little attention when people were merely humming.

　　Were not saying this is definitive evidence that dogs have empathybut I can certainly understand why people would think they do, at least, Custance said.

　　Other animals can also be useful in whats known as animal-assisted therapy. The national organization Pet Partners has 11,000 registered teams of volunteer handlers and animals that visit nursing homes, hospitals, schools, and victims of tragedy and disaster. Although most of the teams use dogs, some involve horses, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, and even barnyard animals like pigs and chickens.