In this contribution we investigate a simple pattern formation process [9,10] based on Hebbian learning and competitive interactions within cortex. This process generates spatial representations of afferent (sensory) information which strongly resemble patterns of response properties of neurons commonly called brain maps. For one of the most thoroughly studied phenomena in cortical development,...

The aim of the present study was to determine the extent to which aesthetic preference, previously attributed to cerebral dominance, may be determined by reading habits. One hundred and sixty two normal subjects were presented pairs of images, one being the mirror-image of the other, and were asked for their aesthetic preference. Half of the subjects were left-to-right readers (French subjects)...

Phenotypic change in response to variation in environmental cues has been widely documented in fish. Transitions in social dominance, in particular, have been shown to induce a rapid switch in reproductive phenotypes in many species. However, this effect has been mainly studied in adults and focused on behavioural transitions. The way social cues constraint the phenotypic development of juvenil...

Temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) is a widely used method to assess dynamic sensory perception. While TDS has been studied more extensively with trained panels, there growing interest in testing the consumers. However, little known about how consumers interpret notion “dominance” decide which attribute they should select at given point time. This study investigated effect changing definiti...

BACKGROUND Although a wealth of literature points to the importance of social factors on health, a detailed understanding of the complex interplay between social and biological systems is lacking. Social status is one aspect of social life that is made up of multiple structural (humans: income, education; animals: mating system, dominance rank) and relational components (perceived social status...

Introduction The purpose of this paper is to understand the sources and consequences of Christian Democratic dominance in Italy. As opposed to studies that postulate single cause and effect relationships among variables as the central explanation for a particular political outcome, the variables in this analysis will be treated as interrelated parts in a system where different types of patterns...