Study explores how pet ownership can affect cognition
A study published in the journal Scientific Reports has suggested that pet ownership is linked to a positive influence on cognitive functioning and cognitive decline in older adults.
Researcher Adriana Rostekova, who works at the Lifespan Developmental Psychology Research Group at the University of Geneva, used data from eight waves of the Survey of Health and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to examine the relationship between pet ownership and cognitive decline over an 18-year period amongst adults aged 50+, looking at the role of owning dogs, cats, birds and fish.
Dog ownership was found to help people retain a sharper memory, whilst cat ownership was linked with a slower decline in verbal fluency. Owning fish and birds, however, showed no link.
Adriana says:
“Pet ownership has been linked to a positive influence on cognitive functioning and cognitive decline in late adulthood. However, there is limited understanding of how different species of pets are associated with these outcomes. The key novelty of our study was that we found notable differences between the species. Interactions with dogs and cats provides unique cognitive stimulation, which may be less pronounced in other, less demanding pets.”
You can read the study here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-03727-9