Reward-based learning is known to induce cortical plasticity in primary sensory areas. A new study by Goltstein, Meijer, and Pennartz [1] (eLife2018;7:e37683), adopting a dual-scale approach (single-unit and population level), shows how associative learning in mice tunes cortical processing, but unlike other primary sensory cortices it does not modify the retinotopic map. Read Full Article […]

The dual mating strategy hypothesis proposes that women’s preferences for uncommitted sexual relationships with men displaying putative fitness cues increase during the high-fertility phase of the menstrual cycle. Results consistent with this hypothesis are widely cited as evidence that sexual selection has shaped human mating psychology. However, the methods used in most of these studies […]

Abstract Speakers frequently perform representational gestures to depict concepts in an iconic fashion. For example, a speaker may hold her index finger and thumb apart to indicate the size of a matchstick. However, the process by which a physical handshape is mentally transformed into abstract spatial information is not well understood. We present a series […]