Fig 1. Training procedure for awake dog fMRI.

During a period of approximately four months, dogs learned to stay still and attend to a visual stimulation paradigm within the MRI scanner. First, dogs learned to rest their chin and avoid movement (A), followed by habituation to the scanning environment, including scanner sounds and the use of protective headphones, in a mock MRI scanner (B). Next, dogs were further trained within the real MRI scanner (C) and habituated to the imaging coils (D). Upon completion of training, all dogs were able to lie still and awake for periods of up to 15 minutes.