Modulation of recognition and temporal order memory retrieval by dopamine D1 receptor in rats

The present study examines the effects of SKF 81297, a selective D1 agonist, on information retrieval in recognition and temporal order memory for objects, using three different tasks. Separate groups of rats were trained in each task and then given an intraperitoneal injection of saline or the D1 agonist (0.03, 0.3 mg/kg), before the memory testing trial in an object recognition, object location, and object temporal order memory tasks. We show that SKF 81297, at high dose (0.3 mg/kg), facilitates information retrieval after a long delay (4 h) in the three memory tasks whereas both high and low doses of D1 agonist impair recognition memory after a short delay (15 min). These results indicate a significant role of dopamine D1 receptors in recognition memory for both familiarity and place of objects in addition to object temporal order memory.     

Book reviews

Wertewandel und Religiose Umbruche [Religionen im Gesprach, 4]. Reinhard Kirste, Paul Schwarzenau, Udo Tworuschka (Eds), 1996. Balve, Zimmermann Druck und Verlag 671 pp., ISBN 3 89053 061 3

Jesus and the Other Names: Christian mission and global responsibility. Paul F. Knitter, 1996. Oxford, Oneworld. 193 pp., pb. £14.99, ISBN 1 85168 125 6

Marcion, Muhammad and the Mahatma. Heikki RAis Anen, 1997. London, SCM Press. xi + 293 pp., pb. £14.95, ISBN 0 334 02693

Medieval Christian Perceptions of Islam. John Victor Tolan (Ed.), 1996. New York and London, Garland Publishing. xxi + 414pp., hb., ISBN 0 8153 1426 4

Islamic Legal Interpretation: Muftis and their fatwas. Muhammad K. Masud, Brinkley Messick & David S. Powers (Eds), 1996. Cambridge, M, and London, Harvard University Press. 431 pp., hb. £29.95, ISBN 0 674 46870 8

The Fatimids and their Traditions of Learning. Heinz Halm, 1997. London, I.B. Tauris. xv + 112 pp., hb. £25.00, ISBN 1 85043 920 6.

Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood. Fatima Mernissi, 1994. Reading, MA, Addison‐Wesley. 242 pp., pb. ISBN 0 201 62649 7

Intellectual Origins of Islamic Resurgence in the Modern Arab World. Ibrahim M. Abu‐Rabi, 1996. Albany, NY, State University of New York Press. 370 pp., pb. $19.95, ISBN 0 7914 2664 5

The Islamic Middle East: an historical anthropology. Charles Lindholm, 1996. Oxford, Blackwell. 324 pp. pb. £14.99, ISBN 1 55786 421 7

Hizb'Allah in Lebanon: the politics of the Western hostage crisis. Magnus Ranstorp, 1997. London, Macmillan. xvi + 257pp., pb. £15.99, ISBN 0 333 68401 X

Hezbollah: born with a vengeance. Hala Jaber, 1997. London, Fourth Estate. xvi + 240pp., hb. £16.99, ISBN 1 85702 381 1.

Lebanon on Hold: implications for Middle East peace. Rosemary Hoixis & Nadim Shehadi (Eds), 1996. London, The Royal Institute of International Affairs. 94 pp. pb, ISBN 1 86203 020 0

African Muslims in Antebellum America: transatlantic stories and spiritual struggles.. Aixan D. Austin, 1997. New York/London, Routledge. 194 pp., pb. £13.99, ISBN 0 415 91270 9

The Crown and the Turban: Muslims and West African pluralism. Lamin Sanneh, 1997. Boulder, CO, Westview Press. 290 pp., pb. np, ISBN 0 8133 3059 9

Legacy of a Divided Nation: India's Muslims since Independence. Mushirul Hasan, 1997. London, C. Hurst. xv+ 383 pp., hb, £35, ISBN 1 85065 234 1; pb. £14.95, ISBN 1 85065 304 6

A Dictionary of Indonesian Islam. Howard M. Federspiel, 1995. Athens, OH, Ohio University. 297 pp. pb. $25.00, ISBN 0 89680 182 9     

Pastoral accompaniment of the cancer patient

Cancer confronts a person with his or her mortality. On the inner journey of coming to terms with this, the pastor accompanies the patient in a way analogous to the way in which a musical accompanist supports a soloist, providing attentive relationship and supportive context. Patients in these circumstances raise and explore themes of betrayal-faithfulness, control-surrender, despair-hope, and separation-reconciliation.     

Feature-based attention across saccades: Pop-out in color search is spatiotopic

Our perception of the world remains stable despite the retinal shifts that occur with each saccade. The role of spatial attention in matching pre- to postsaccadic visual information has been well established, but the role of feature-based attention remains unclear. In this study, we examined the transsaccadic processing of a color pop-out target. Participants made a saccade towards a neutral target and performed a search task on a peripheral array presented once the saccade landed. A similar array was presented just before the saccade and we analyzed what aspect of this preview benefitted the postsaccadic search task. We assessed the preview effect in the spatiotopic and retinotopic reference frames, and the potential transfer of feature selectivity across the saccade. In the first experiment, the target and distractor colors remained identical for the preview and the postsaccadic array and performance improved. The largest benefit was observed at the spatiotopic location. In the second experiment, the target and distractor colors were swapped across the saccade. All responses were slowed but the cost was least at the spatiotopic location. Our results show that the preview attracted spatial attention to the target location, which was then remapped, and suggest that previewed features, specifically colors, were transferred across the saccade. Furthermore, the preview induced a spatiotopic advantage regardless of whether the target switched color or not, suggesting that spatiotopy was established independently of feature processing. Our results support independent priming effects of features versus location and underline the role of feature-based selection in visual stability.     

Motor imagery: the relation between age and imagery capacity

The imagination of motor actions forms not only a theoretical challenge for cognitive neuroscience but may also be seen as a novel therapeutic tool in neurological rehabilitation, in that it can be used for relearning motor control after damage to the motor system. However, since the majority of rehabilitation patients consist of older individuals it is relevant to know whether the capacity of mental imaging is compromised by age. Scores on the vividness of movement imagery questionnaire were obtained for 333 participants, divided in three age groups. Results showed that elderly participants were slightly worse in motor imagery capacity than younger participants, particularly in relation to motor imagery from an internal (first person) perspective. Furthermore, a possible relation between the level of physical activities and motor imagery capacity is discussed.     

The Nation and the Nun: Mother Teresa,Albania's Muslim Majority and the Secular State

In Albania, a religiously pluralist country with a secular constitution, an atheist past and a Muslim majority, the authorities have since the end of Communism promoted Mother Teresa as the “Mother of Albanians” and an emblem of the state. The name, statues and portraits of this ethnic Albanian Catholic nun have become a prominent feature in the public sphere. Based on fieldwork material, Albanian texts and unique statistical data, this article discusses the “motherteresification” of Albania in the period after her beatification in 2003, particularly during the Democratic government (2005–13). It also explores alternative Christian and Muslim interpretations of the symbol in Albania. Both the top-down construction of “Mother Teresa” as a national symbol and the arguments against it demonstrate that secularism remains a core value. By fronting a Christian Nobel Laureate, this EU-aspiring country signals that it is peaceful and belongs to Europe and the West, a recurrent national concern for over a century and acute after 9/11. Making an ethnic Albanian nun a symbol of a Muslim majority nation thus makes sense.