Anna Gabor

@elte.hu

Neuroethology of Communication Research Group, Department of Ethology
EötvösLoránd University, Budapest,Hungary

Anna Gabor


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https://researchid.co/annagabor33

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My main interest focuses on interspecific social interactions and their neural underpinnings in different species.
13

Scopus Publications

494

Scholar Citations

9

Scholar h-index

9

Scholar i10-index

Scopus Publications

  • Cross-species acoustic codes for yes and no in human nonverbal vocalizations
    Anna Gábor, Fanni Lehoczki, Flavie Bensaali-Nemes, Tamás Faragó, Kinga Surányi, Attila Andics
    Cognition, 2026
    Cross-specifically interpretable acoustic codes in mammal vocalizations have so far been evidenced for inner state-triggered, self-referential contexts only. To reveal if such codes exist more broadly, we tested whether humans can intentionally modulate their voice to nonverbally signal encouragement ( yes , i.e., do it) or objection ( no , i.e., don't do it) to their dogs' impending movement towards different locations (the vocalizer's self, i.e., here or external, i.e., there ). In vocalizations following which dogs performed the intended action (approached/avoided the referenced location), yes/no was encoded in multiple acoustic parameters, with similar patterning across reference locations and vocalizer-sexes. Specifically, yes was reflected in higher f 0 mean and HNR mean, lower f 0 range, PPJ, entropy and power, shorter call length, more frequent bout formation, and earlier intensity peak. Acoustic distinctions for here vs. there were typically analogous to those for yes vs. no, but for many parameters reference location code was restricted to either yes or no . These findings reveal in human nonverbal vocalizations (1) the presence of cross-specifically decodable, robust acoustic patterns for yes and no ; and (2) the same semantic primes behind yes vs. no and here vs. there distinctions. Universal acoustic codes in mammal vocalizations, previously reported only for inner-state triggered, self-referential messages, may thus extend to general, context-independent meanings conveyed during intentional communication.
  • Individual level recognition of familiar human speakers in dogs
    Kinga Surányi, Anna Gábor, Rita Somogyi, Botond Gyenes, Boglárka Morvai, Marianna Boros, Tamás Faragó, Attila Andics
    Animal Behaviour, 2025
    Voice-based individual level recognition facilitates efficient navigation in the social environment for vocal species. Previous studies have indicated that certain species responded differently to calls of different individuals. Investigating individual level recognition in animals is, however, challenging, as distinguishing it from class level recognition (e.g. familiar/unfamiliar) is difficult. Previous studies showed that dogs, Canis familiaris , can choose their owner's voice from among strangers' voices, but whether this performance reflects class or individual level recognition remained unclear. Here, dogs had to choose the vocalizer from among three familiar speakers (owners) based on prerecorded speech in a cross-modal match-to-sample task. We predicted that if dogs are capable of voice-based individual level recognition, they will successfully match the voice to the vocalizer. Dogs' behaviour and its association with acoustic distance between speakers were analysed. Our results showed that, on the group level, dogs' choosing success and the proportion of the time dogs spent looking at the target owner were significantly above chance. Dogs' performance, however, was not significantly correlated with speakers' acoustic distance in either of the measured cues. The performance of choosing the speaker from among familiar people provides evidence for individual level recognition in dogs. Further research will have to reveal the contributions of specific acoustic cues to this performance. • In a cross-modal match-to-sample paradigm, dogs matched voices to familiar speakers. • Dogs looked more at the person whose voice was played and chose them more often. • Dogs are thus capable of true individual level recognition of humans based on voice.
  • Domestication and exposure to human social stimuli are not sufficient to trigger attachment to humans: a companion pig-dog comparative study
    Anna Gábor, Paula Pérez Fraga, Márta Gácsi, Linda Gerencsér, Attila Andics
    Scientific Reports, 2024
    Dogs exhibit human-analogue attachment to their owners, with similar function and mechanisms to that of infant-mother bond, but its origin is unclear. Comparative studies on socialised wolves and dogs emphasise genetic influence in dogs' preparedness for attachment to humans. We aimed to reveal if this genetic effect stems from general domestication or artificial selection that increased dogs' dependence on humans. We assessed and compared behavioural patterns of young companion pigs and dogs using a Strange Situation Test. Dogs but not pigs exhibited distinct behaviours towards their owner and a stranger along attachment-specific variables, so only dogs’ relevant behaviours fulfilled attachment criteria. From the observed behaviours, three factors were formed: Attachment (to the owner), Anxiety (in a strange situation), and Acceptance (of a stranger). Results indicate (1) higher Attachment scores in dogs than pigs, (2) greater Acceptance scores in pigs, (3) positive correlation of Attachment and Anxiety in both, (4) similar time tendency of pigs' Attachment and Acceptance scores. These suggest that in pigs, domestication and early exposure to human social stimuli did not trigger attachment to humans. Thus, along with species predispositions, the unique dog-owner attachment can be facilitated by artificial selection that increased dogs' dependence on humans.
  • Dog brains are sensitive to infant- and dog-directed prosody
    Anna Gergely, Anna Gábor, Márta Gácsi, Anna Kis, Kálmán Czeibert, József Topál, Attila Andics
    Communications Biology, 2023
    When addressing preverbal infants and family dogs, people tend to use specific speech styles. While recent studies suggest acoustic parallels between infant- and dog-directed speech, it is unclear whether dogs, like infants, show enhanced neural sensitivity to prosodic aspects of speech directed to them. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging on awake unrestrained dogs we identify two non-primary auditory regions, one that involve the ventralmost part of the left caudal Sylvian gyrus and the temporal pole and the other at the transition of the left caudal and rostral Sylvian gyrus, which respond more to naturalistic dog- and/or infant-directed speech than to adult-directed speech, especially when speak by female speakers. This activity increase is driven by sensitivity to fundamental frequency mean and variance resulting in positive modulatory effects of these acoustic parameters in both aforementioned non-primary auditory regions. These findings show that the dog auditory cortex, similarly to that of human infants, is sensitive to the acoustic properties of speech directed to non-speaking partners. This increased neuronal responsiveness to exaggerated prosody may be one reason why dogs outperform other animals when processing speech.
  • The acoustic bases of human voice identity processing in dogs
    Anna Gábor, Noémi Kaszás, Tamás Faragó, Paula Pérez Fraga, Melinda Lovas, Attila Andics
    Animal Cognition, 2022
    Speech carries identity-diagnostic acoustic cues that help individuals recognize each other during vocal–social interactions. In humans, fundamental frequency, formant dispersion and harmonics-to-noise ratio serve as characteristics along which speakers can be reliably separated. The ability to infer a speaker’s identity is also adaptive for members of other species (like companion animals) for whom humans (as owners) are relevant. The acoustic bases of speaker recognition in non-humans are unknown. Here, we tested whether dogs can recognize their owner’s voice and whether they rely on the same acoustic parameters for such recognition as humans use to discriminate speakers. Stimuli were pre-recorded sentences spoken by the owner and control persons, played through loudspeakers placed behind two non-transparent screens (with each screen hiding a person). We investigated the association between acoustic distance of speakers (examined along several dimensions relevant in intraspecific voice identification) and dogs’ behavior. Dogs chose their owner’s voice more often than that of control persons’, suggesting that they can identify it. Choosing success and time spent looking in the direction of the owner’s voice were positively associated, showing that looking time is an index of the ease of choice. Acoustic distance of speakers in mean fundamental frequency and jitter were positively associated with looking time, indicating that the shorter the acoustic distance between speakers with regard to these parameters, the harder the decision. So, dogs use these cues to discriminate their owner’s voice from unfamiliar voices. These findings reveal that dogs use some but probably not all acoustic parameters that humans use to identify speakers. Although dogs can detect fine changes in speech, their perceptual system may not be fully attuned to identity-diagnostic cues in the human voice.
  • Social relationship-dependent neural response to speech in dogs
    Anna Gábor, Attila Andics, Ádám Miklósi, Kálmán Czeibert, Cecília Carreiro, Márta Gácsi
    Neuroimage, 2021
    In humans, social relationship with the speaker affects neural processing of speech, as exemplified by children's auditory and reward responses to their mother's utterances. Family dogs show human analogue attachment behavior towards the owner, and neuroimaging revealed auditory cortex and reward center sensitivity to verbal praises in dog brains. Combining behavioral and non-invasive fMRI data, we investigated the effect of dogs' social relationship with the speaker on speech processing. Dogs listened to praising and neutral speech from their owners and a control person. We found positive correlation between dogs' behaviorally measured attachment scores towards their owners and neural activity increase for the owner's voice in the caudate nucleus; and activity increase in the secondary auditory caudal ectosylvian gyrus and the caudate nucleus for the owner's praise. Through identifying social relationship-dependent neural reward responses, our study reveals similarities in neural mechanisms modulated by infant-mother and dog-owner attachment.
  • Multilevel fMRI adaptation for spoken word processing in the awake dog brain
    Anna Gábor, Márta Gácsi, Dóra Szabó, Ádám Miklósi, Enikő Kubinyi, Attila Andics
    Scientific Reports, 2020
    Human brains process lexical meaning separately from emotional prosody of speech at higher levels of the processing hierarchy. Recently we demonstrated that dog brains can also dissociate lexical and emotional prosodic information in human spoken words. To better understand the neural dynamics of lexical processing in the dog brain, here we used an event-related design, optimized for fMRI adaptation analyses on multiple time scales. We investigated repetition effects in dogs’ neural (BOLD) responses to lexically marked (praise) words and to lexically unmarked (neutral) words, in praising and neutral prosody. We identified temporally and anatomically distinct adaptation patterns. In a subcortical auditory region, we found both short- and long-term fMRI adaptation for emotional prosody, but not for lexical markedness. In multiple cortical auditory regions, we found long-term fMRI adaptation for lexically marked compared to unmarked words. This lexical adaptation showed right-hemisphere bias and was age-modulated in a near-primary auditory region and was independent of prosody in a secondary auditory region. Word representations in dogs’ auditory cortex thus contain more than just the emotional prosody they are typically associated with. These findings demonstrate multilevel fMRI adaptation effects in the dog brain and are consistent with a hierarchical account of spoken word processing.
  • Repetition enhancement to voice identities in the dog brain
    Marianna Boros, Anna Gábor, Dóra Szabó, Anett Bozsik, Márta Gácsi, Ferenc Szalay, Tamás Faragó, Attila Andics
    Scientific Reports, 2020
    In the human speech signal, cues of speech sounds and voice identities are conflated, but they are processed separately in the human brain. The processing of speech sounds and voice identities is typically performed by non-primary auditory regions in humans and non-human primates. Additionally, these processes exhibit functional asymmetry in humans, indicating the involvement of distinct mechanisms. Behavioural studies indicate analogue side biases in dogs, but neural evidence for this functional dissociation is missing. In two experiments, using an fMRI adaptation paradigm, we presented awake dogs with natural human speech that either varied in segmental (change in speech sound) or suprasegmental (change in voice identity) content. In auditory regions, we found a repetition enhancement effect for voice identity processing in a secondary auditory region – the caudal ectosylvian gyrus. The same region did not show repetition effects for speech sounds, nor did the primary auditory cortex exhibit sensitivity to changes either in the segmental or in the suprasegmental content. Furthermore, we did not find evidence for functional asymmetry neither in the processing of speech sounds or voice identities. Our results in dogs corroborate former human and non-human primate evidence on the role of secondary auditory regions in the processing of suprasegmental cues, suggesting similar neural sensitivity to the identity of the vocalizer across the mammalian order.
  • Dogs can sense weak thermal radiation
    Anna Bálint, Attila Andics, Márta Gácsi, Anna Gábor, Kálmán Czeibert, Chelsey M. Luce, Ádám Miklósi, Ronald H. H. Kröger
    Scientific Reports, 2020
    The dog rhinarium (naked and often moist skin on the nose-tip) is prominent and richly innervated, suggesting a sensory function. Compared to nose-tips of herbivorous artio- and perissodactyla, carnivoran rhinaria are considerably colder. We hypothesized that this coldness makes the dog rhinarium particularly sensitive to radiating heat. We trained three dogs to distinguish between two distant objects based on radiating heat; the neutral object was about ambient temperature, the warm object was about the same surface temperature as a furry mammal. In addition, we employed functional magnetic resonance imaging on 13 awake dogs, comparing the responses to heat stimuli of about the same temperatures as in the behavioural experiment. The warm stimulus elicited increased neural response in the left somatosensory association cortex. Our results demonstrate a hitherto undiscovered sensory modality in a carnivoran species.
  • Enlargement in pet dogs trained for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies
    Eva Gunde, Kálmán Czeibert, Anna Gábor, Dóra Szabó, Anna Kis, Attila Arany-Tóth, Attila Andics, Márta Gácsi, Enikő Kubinyi
    Veterinary Sciences, 2020
    Background: Recent studies suggest that clinically sound ventriculomegaly in dogs could be a preliminary form of the clinically significant hydrocephalus. We evaluated changes of ventricular volumes in awake functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) trained dogs with indirectly assessed cognitive abilities over time (thus avoiding the use of anaesthetics, which can alter the pressure). Our research question was whether ventricular enlargement developing over time would have any detrimental effect on staying still while being scanned; which can be extrapolated to the ability to pay attention and to exert inhibition. Methods: Seven healthy dogs, 2–8 years old at the baseline scan and 4 years older at rescan, participated in a rigorous and gradual training for staying motionless (<2 mm) in the magnetic resonance (MR) scanner without any sedation during 6 minute-long structural MR sequences. On T1 structural images, volumetric analyses of the lateral ventricles were completed by software guided semi-automated tissue-type segmentations performed with FMRIB Software Library (FSL, Analysis Group, Oxford, UK). Results and conclusion: We report significant enlargement for both ventricles (left: 47.46 %, right: 46.07 %) over time while dogs retained high levels of attention and inhibition. The results suggest that even considerable ventricular enlargement arising during normal aging does not necessarily reflect observable pathological changes in behavior.
  • On the Face of It: No Differential Sensitivity to Internal Facial Features in the Dog Brain
    Dóra Szabó, Anna Gábor, Márta Gácsi, Tamás Faragó, Enikő Kubinyi, Ádám Miklósi, Attila Andics
    Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 2020
  • Interspecific voice discrimination in dogs
    Anna Gábor, Noémi Kaszás, Ádám Miklósi, Tamás Faragó, Attila Andics
    Biologia Futura, 2019
  • Neural mechanisms for lexical processing in dogs
    A. Andics, A. Gábor, M. Gácsi, T. Faragó, D. Szabó, Á. Miklósi
    Science, 2016

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Cross-species acoustic codes for yes and no in human nonverbal vocalizations
    A Gábor, F Lehoczki, F Bensaali-Nemes, T Faragó, K Surányi, A Andics
    Cognition 266, 106284 , 2026
    2026
  • Individual level recognition of familiar human speakers in dogs
    K Surányi, A Gábor, R Somogyi, B Gyenes, B Morvai, M Boros, T Faragó, ...
    Animal Behaviour 219, 123016 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 1
  • Domestication and exposure to human social stimuli are not sufficient to trigger attachment to humans: a companion pig-dog comparative study
    A Gábor, P Pérez Fraga, M Gácsi, L Gerencsér, A Andics
    Scientific Reports 14 (1), 14058 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 5
  • Dog brains are sensitive to infant-and dog-directed prosody
    A Gergely, A Gábor, M Gácsi, A Kis, K Czeibert, J Topál, A Andics
    Communications Biology 6 (1), 859 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 25
  • Dog brains are sensitive to infant-and dog-directed prosody. Commun. Biol. 6, 859
    A Gergely, A Gábor, M Gácsi, A Kis, K Czeibert, J Topál, A Andics
    2023
    Citations: 7
  • The acoustic bases of human voice identity processing in dogs
    A Gábor, N Kaszás, T Faragó, P Pérez Fraga, M Lovas, A Andics
    Animal Cognition 25 (4), 905-916 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 19
  • Social relationship-dependent neural response to speech in dogs
    A Gábor, A Andics, Á Miklósi, K Czeibert, C Carreiro, M Gácsi
    Neuroimage 243, 118480 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 25
  • Acoustics of dogs' interspecific voice discrimination ability
    A Gabor, N Kaszas, T Farago, PP Fraga, M Lovas, A Andics
    INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY 61, E287-E287 , 2021
    2021
  • Social relationship-dependent neural response to speech in dogs: Social relationship-based neural responses in dogs
    A Gábor, A Andics, Á Miklósi, K Czeibert, C Carreiro, M Gácsi
    2021
  • Longitudinal volumetric assessment of ventricular enlargement in pet dogs trained for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies
    E Gunde, K Czeibert, A Gábor, D Szabó, A Kis, A Arany-Tóth, A Andics, ...
    Veterinary sciences 7 (3), 127 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 9
  • Multilevel fMRI adaptation for spoken word processing in the awake dog brain
    A Gábor, M Gácsi, D Szabó, Á Miklósi, E Kubinyi, A Andics
    Scientific reports 10 (1), 11968 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 33
  • Repetition enhancement to voice identities in the dog brain
    M Boros, A Gábor, D Szabó, A Bozsik, M Gácsi, F Szalay, T Faragó, ...
    Scientific reports 10 (1), 3989 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 25
  • On the face of it: no differential sensitivity to internal facial features in the dog brain
    D Szabó, A Gábor, M Gácsi, T Faragó, E Kubinyi, Á Miklósi, A Andics
    Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 14, 25 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 27
  • Dogs can sense weak thermal radiation
    A Bálint, A Andics, M Gácsi, A Gábor, K Czeibert, CM Luce, Á Miklósi, ...
    Scientific Reports 10 (1), 3736 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 34
  • How do dog brains get familiarized with a previously unknown language?-A longitudinal awake fMRI case study
    M Baldachini, M Boros, A Gábor, LV Cuaya, R Hernández-Pérez, A Deme, ...
    -, 1-1 , 2020
    2020
  • Interspecific voice discrimination in dogs
    A Gábor, N Kaszás, Á Miklósi, T Faragó, A Andics
    Biologia Futura 70 (2), 121-127 , 2019
    2019
    Citations: 20
  • Interspecific voice discrimination in dogs. Biol Futur 70: 121–127
    A Gábor, N Kaszás, Á Miklósi, T Faragó, A Andics
    2019
    Citations: 5
  • Neural mechanisms for lexical processing in dogs
    A Andics, A Gábor, M Gácsi, T Faragó, D Szabó, A Miklósi
    Science 353 (6303), 1030-1032 , 2016
    2016
    Citations: 256
  • Neural mechanisms for lexical processing in dogs
    A Gábor
    Science , 2016
    2016
  • Quantitative classification of macrohabitats for small mammals’ habitat segregation surveys in a forest reserve
    A Gábor, G Horváth, A Ortmann-né Ajkai, G Csicsek
    Natura Somogyiensis, 123-134. , 2015
    2015
    Citations: 3

MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Neural mechanisms for lexical processing in dogs
    A Andics, A Gábor, M Gácsi, T Faragó, D Szabó, A Miklósi
    Science 353 (6303), 1030-1032 , 2016
    2016
    Citations: 256
  • Dogs can sense weak thermal radiation
    A Bálint, A Andics, M Gácsi, A Gábor, K Czeibert, CM Luce, Á Miklósi, ...
    Scientific Reports 10 (1), 3736 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 34
  • Multilevel fMRI adaptation for spoken word processing in the awake dog brain
    A Gábor, M Gácsi, D Szabó, Á Miklósi, E Kubinyi, A Andics
    Scientific reports 10 (1), 11968 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 33
  • On the face of it: no differential sensitivity to internal facial features in the dog brain
    D Szabó, A Gábor, M Gácsi, T Faragó, E Kubinyi, Á Miklósi, A Andics
    Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 14, 25 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 27
  • Dog brains are sensitive to infant-and dog-directed prosody
    A Gergely, A Gábor, M Gácsi, A Kis, K Czeibert, J Topál, A Andics
    Communications Biology 6 (1), 859 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 25
  • Social relationship-dependent neural response to speech in dogs
    A Gábor, A Andics, Á Miklósi, K Czeibert, C Carreiro, M Gácsi
    Neuroimage 243, 118480 , 2021
    2021
    Citations: 25
  • Repetition enhancement to voice identities in the dog brain
    M Boros, A Gábor, D Szabó, A Bozsik, M Gácsi, F Szalay, T Faragó, ...
    Scientific reports 10 (1), 3989 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 25
  • Interspecific voice discrimination in dogs
    A Gábor, N Kaszás, Á Miklósi, T Faragó, A Andics
    Biologia Futura 70 (2), 121-127 , 2019
    2019
    Citations: 20
  • The acoustic bases of human voice identity processing in dogs
    A Gábor, N Kaszás, T Faragó, P Pérez Fraga, M Lovas, A Andics
    Animal Cognition 25 (4), 905-916 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 19
  • Longitudinal volumetric assessment of ventricular enlargement in pet dogs trained for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies
    E Gunde, K Czeibert, A Gábor, D Szabó, A Kis, A Arany-Tóth, A Andics, ...
    Veterinary sciences 7 (3), 127 , 2020
    2020
    Citations: 9
  • Dog brains are sensitive to infant-and dog-directed prosody. Commun. Biol. 6, 859
    A Gergely, A Gábor, M Gácsi, A Kis, K Czeibert, J Topál, A Andics
    2023
    Citations: 7
  • Domestication and exposure to human social stimuli are not sufficient to trigger attachment to humans: a companion pig-dog comparative study
    A Gábor, P Pérez Fraga, M Gácsi, L Gerencsér, A Andics
    Scientific Reports 14 (1), 14058 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 5
  • Interspecific voice discrimination in dogs. Biol Futur 70: 121–127
    A Gábor, N Kaszás, Á Miklósi, T Faragó, A Andics
    2019
    Citations: 5
  • Quantitative classification of macrohabitats for small mammals’ habitat segregation surveys in a forest reserve
    A Gábor, G Horváth, A Ortmann-né Ajkai, G Csicsek
    Natura Somogyiensis, 123-134. , 2015
    2015
    Citations: 3
  • Individual level recognition of familiar human speakers in dogs
    K Surányi, A Gábor, R Somogyi, B Gyenes, B Morvai, M Boros, T Faragó, ...
    Animal Behaviour 219, 123016 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 1
  • Cross-species acoustic codes for yes and no in human nonverbal vocalizations
    A Gábor, F Lehoczki, F Bensaali-Nemes, T Faragó, K Surányi, A Andics
    Cognition 266, 106284 , 2026
    2026
  • Acoustics of dogs' interspecific voice discrimination ability
    A Gabor, N Kaszas, T Farago, PP Fraga, M Lovas, A Andics
    INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY 61, E287-E287 , 2021
    2021
  • Social relationship-dependent neural response to speech in dogs: Social relationship-based neural responses in dogs
    A Gábor, A Andics, Á Miklósi, K Czeibert, C Carreiro, M Gácsi
    2021
  • How do dog brains get familiarized with a previously unknown language?-A longitudinal awake fMRI case study
    M Baldachini, M Boros, A Gábor, LV Cuaya, R Hernández-Pérez, A Deme, ...
    -, 1-1 , 2020
    2020
  • Neural mechanisms for lexical processing in dogs
    A Gábor
    Science , 2016
    2016