The phylogenetically ancient neuropeptide oxytocin has been linked to a plethora of social behaviors. Here, we argue that the action of oxytocin is not restricted to the downstream level of emotional responses, but substantially alters higher representations of attitudes and values by exerting a distant modulatory influence on cortical areas and their reciprocal interplay with subcortical regions and hormonal systems.

Current perspectives on attractiveness-related prosocial biases emphasize the contribution of evolutionarily shaped mating drives. Here, we extend these concepts by highlighting the pivotal role of the hypothalamic peptide oxytocin in augmenting the salience and rewarding value of social stimuli, including the partner's face, thereby fostering social bonding in general and the stability of monogamous pair bonds and offspring care in particular.

The glutamate amplifies noradrenergic effects (GANE) model emphasizes the role of focal glutamate–noradrenaline interactions in creating functional hotspots for prioritized processing of salient stimuli. Here, we briefly outline current evidence that synergistic action of noradrenaline and cortisol enables emotional stimuli to gain privileged access to amygdala–hippocampus circuits, eventually resulting in the formation of indelible memories and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in combination with a conventional mine prodder is applied for remote detection of explosives and mine housing materials. High power subnanosecond laser pulses (pulse power Ep = 0.6 mJ and pulse duration Δt = 650 ps) at 1064 nm with a typical repetition rate of 10 kHz are generated by using a passively Q-switched Cr4+:Nd3+:YAG microchip-laser as seed-laser for an Yb-fiber amplifier. In the present investigation, the ratios of “late” and “early” LIBS intensities for the cyanide (CN) plasma emission at 388 nm and for the C-emission at 248 nm are used for data analysis. This allows the classification of different explosives and mine casing materials under real time conditions and also similar applications to materials processing.