Max Planck Institutes and Experts

At the end of the fifteenth Century the Cesarini family ascended to the nobility of Rome. In order to consolidate this position, they developed specific strategies: They claimed to descend from the ancient nobility of Rome and they exploited their office of the Roman standard-bearer (Gonfaloniere) to demonstrate their close connection with the traditions of Rome. A study in the Research Area „Malerei und Bildkünste der Frühen Neuzeit“ of the Bibliotheca Hertziana reconstructs these strategies in detail.

Knowledge about neural signaling originates from experiments where the activity of a neuron is correlated with stimuli. Meanwhile, simultaneous recording from many neurons is possible. With new mathematical methods such experiments can be used to determine the response properties of neural networks rather than of individual cells. This allows us to analyze how retinal images are processed collectively by neural networks in the visual pathway.

Population ageing, low fertility and increasing disparities of family forms and life course patterns in Europe have put the interdependencies between politics and demography at the centre of public debate. Studies of the newly founded Laboratory of Population and Policy / PoL at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock show that demographic change may have a lasting effect on political systems both on the national and the European level.

Technological invention and innovation are primarily the result of practical process. In China, they usually take place at the level of the illiterate craftsman and are principally conveyed through personal contacts. Their documentation demonstrates fundamental modifications in the way that culture handles knowledge. A study at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science focuses on developments between the 10th and 18th century in fields such as porcelain manufacture, textile manufacture, and military technology.

Normative beliefs about the lifespan influence individuals’ perceptions and actions. In a recent study at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development researchers used a recognition-memory paradigm in which participants are presented adult faces of various ages along with two developmental goal orientations, growth and loss-prevention, and are later asked to recognize the initially presented faces and the developmental goal orientations with which they were associated.