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POPSBird brains prove to be very sexy Dr Keagy hopes this study will get people thinking about how sexual selection influences cognitive evolution."We can't ignore, however, that unless a male gets a female to mate with him, he will not pass on his genes. If an animal is carrying around something as big and expensive as a brain, why not use it for increasing his likelihood of mating?"
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POPSSexy? plain? who chooses? "In women, preferences for male faces, voices, body odors and behavior change over the course of the menstrual cycle as estrogen levels rise and fall. Our work with these songbirds shows a possible neural basis for those changes" Put aside the specific hormone, what is pointed here is how much happens in the background of one's perception, that has control of what is perceived as very real.... and the 'changes' that we experience must be doubted.