The human brain is an essentially evaluative organ endowed with reward systems engaged in learning and memory as well as in higher evaluative tendencies. Our innate species-specific, neuronally-based identity disposes us to develop universal evaluative tendencies, such as self-interest, control-orientation, dissociation, selective sympathy, empathy, and xenophobia. The combination of these tend...

Peter A. Lawrence* and Gary Struhl† Epigenesis, at least in Drosophila, depends on three steps which interlock and overlap; we simplify and refer *Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology to these as the “central dogma.” First, positional information in the form of morphogen gradients allocates Hills Road Cambridge CB2 2QH cells into nonoverlapping sets, each set founding a comp...

one hand, Wolff and Blumenbach attached vitalism to epigenesis. On the other hand, the Montpellier tradition developed the notion of the organism as a network of quasi-organisms in which living forces reside. The latter approach culminated in the work of Bichat, who, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, located vital properties in distinct tissues which he treated as bodily elements. Thi...

if a simplified GRN (sGRN) is found in axolotl, an amphibian with primitive traits. We found that a simpler network does exist in the axolotl, with only one Mix type and two Nodal genes identified. Using morpholinos targeted to disrupt splicing, we demonstrate a single Nodal gene is required for the formation of the mesoderm and endoderm. The phenotype we observe recapitulates that seen in Xeno...

if a simplified GRN (sGRN) is found in axolotl, an amphibian with primitive traits. We found that a simpler network does exist in the axolotl, with only one Mix type and two Nodal genes identified. Using morpholinos targeted to disrupt splicing, we demonstrate a single Nodal gene is required for the formation of the mesoderm and endoderm. The phenotype we observe recapitulates that seen in Xeno...

Modular robots are well suited to implement key features of autonomous machines such as versatility, adaptability and reliability. Our vision is to tackle this task following the three major axes (phylogeny, ontogeny and epigenesis) that underlie the emergence of autonomous and self-organizing organisms in nature. This paper presents Adam, our modular robot simulation and evolution tool. Adam s...

The 104 kDa irreC-rst protein, a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, mediates homophilic adhesion in cell cultures. In larval optic chiasms, the protein is found on recently formed axon bundles, not on older ones. In developing visual neuropils, it is present in all columnar domains of specific layers. The number of irreC-rst-positive neuropil stratifications increases until the midpupal ...

The emerging field of molecular epigenetics studies relatively stable changes in genetic activity that are not due to changes in the DNA sequence. Initial research results indicate a functional role for epigenetic mechanisms in neuron development and neuronal cell function. However, concepts that integrate these findings in an overall theory of psychobiological development have yet to be develo...