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Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2025-05-15"

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  • Contrast affects stimulus detection in natural scenes
    Publication . Lopes, Gabriel; Tavares, Mara; Mendonça, Catarina
    How can we predict if a brief stimulus will be detected or perceived when embedded in a dynamic natural scene, such as those we encounter in our daily lives? This is a complex problem, with several approaches to it. Here, we were interested in determining the minimum luminance contrast to the background scene required to achieve detection and shape perception. To investigate this, we used natural videos with briefly appearing natural events, varying in timing of appearance, shape, position, and contrast. We found that there is an interplay between the timing of the event, its position, and the contrast needed for detection. However, for correct shape perception, timing was not a relevant variable. A lower contrast was required for event detection than for correct shape perception. We conclude that contrast alone can affect stimulus detection, but other parameters might interact with it in this task.
    2025-05-15Journal article Open access Show more
  • The origins and spread of the opium poppy ( Papaver somniferum L.) revealed by genomics and seed morphometrics
    Publication . Machado, Rui; Bonhomme, Vincent; Soteras, Raül; Jeanty, Angele; Bouby, Laurent; Evin, Allowen; Fernandes Martins, Maria João; Gonçalves, Sandra; Antolín, Ferran; Salavert, Aurélie; Oliveira, Hugo
    The opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) is one of the most important plants in human history. It is the main source of opiates used as analgesic medicines or psychotropic drugs, the latter related to addiction problems, illegal trafficking and geopolitical issues. Poppyseed is also used in cooking. The prehistoric origins, domestication and cultivation spread of the opium poppy remain unresolved. Traditionally, Papaver setigerum has been considered the wild ancestor with early cultivation presumed to have occurred in the Western Mediterranean region, where setigerum is autochthonous. Other theories suggest that somniferum may have been introduced by Southwest Asian early farmers as a weed. To investigate these hypotheses, we analysed 190 accessions from 15 Papaver species using genotype-by-sequencing and geometric morphometric (GMM) techniques. Our analysis revealed that setigerum is the only taxa genetically close to somniferum and can be better described as a subspecies. The domesticated plants are, however, distinct from setigerum. Additionally, GMM analysis of seeds also revealed morphological differences between setigerum and somniferum. Some phenotypically wild setigerum accessions exhibited intermediate genetic features, suggesting introgression events. Two major populations were found in somniferum and, to some extent, these correspond to differences in seed form. These two populations may reflect recent attempts to breed varieties rich in opiates, as opposed to varieties used for poppyseed production. This study supports the idea that opium poppy cultivation began in the Western Mediterranean, with setigerum as the wild progenitor, although some wild varieties are likely to be feral forms, which can confound domestication studies.This article is part of the theme issue 'Unravelling domestication: multi-disciplinary perspectives on human and non-human relationships in the past, present and future'.
    2025-05-15Journal article Open access Show more