What, if anything, is the medial temporal lobe, and how can the amygdala be part of it if there is no such thing?

Should the medial temporal lobe (MTL) of primates--which includes allocortical structures such as the hippocampus, neocortical structures such as the parahippocampal cortex, and nuclear structures such as the basolateral amygdala--be considered a single "thing"? According to the prevailing view, here termed the reification theory, the answer is yes. According to this theory, the MTL functions as an amalgamated entity that provides the neuronal mechanisms for declarative memory; the greater the damage to the MTL or any of its components, the greater the deleterious effects on declarative memory. A countervailing view, here called the balkanization theory, holds that the various components of the MTL process and store different kinds of information. According to this theory, damage to each part of the MTL causes a unique set of behavioral deficits-some involving memory, others involving perception, and yet others involving response selection. The empirical neuropsychological evidence favors the balkanization theory, as do some new concepts in theoretical neuroanatomy.     

Edmund Husserls Phänomenologie: Philosophia perennis in der krise der europäischen kultur

Ohne ZusammenfassungVortrag, gehalten auf der Gedenkfeier für Edmund Husserl zum 50. Todestag am 27. April 1988 an der Universität Freiburg     

Book notes

Ruchy Pogranicza Religii i Nauki. Jako Zjawisko Socjopsychologiczne [Movements on the Border of Science and Religion as Socio‐Psychological Phenomenon]

Tadeusz Doktor, ed, 1996 Warsav: Wydawnictwa University Warsav 274 pp. ISBN 83–230–9829–8

Religion: North American Style, 3rd edn. Thomas E. Dowdy & Patrick H. McNamara, eds, 1996 New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press 221 pp., US$48.00 (hb), US$16.95 (pb) ISBN 0–8135–2343–5 (hb), ISBN 0–8135–2344–3 (pb)

Islam in a World of Diverse Faiths. Dan Cohn‐Sherbok, ed, 1997 Houndsmill, Basingstoke: Macmillan Press 218 pp., £45.00 (hb), £15.99 (pb) ISBN 0–333–52612–0 (hb), ISBN 0–333–69067–2 (pb)

Spirituality and Culture: The Case of Celtic Christianity. Oliver Davies, 1996 Oxford: Religious Experience Research Centre, Westminster College 10 pp., £2.00 ISBN 0–906165–13‐X

Christianity and New Age Thought. Frank Whaling, 1996 Oxford: Religious Experience Research Centre, Westminster College 11 pp., £2.00 ISBN 0–906165–08–3

Religious Experience: A Sociological Perspective. Bryan Wilson Oxford: Religious Experience Research Centre, Westminster College 15 pp., £2.00 ISBN 0–906165–09–1

Searching for the Truth around the Next Twist: Why Do We Like The X‐Files Mark Fox. Oxford: Religious Experience Research Centre, Westminster College 9 pp., £2.00 ISBN 0–906165–11–3

Sexual Morality in the World's Religions. Geoffrey Parrinder, 1996 Oxford: Oneworld Publications 276 pp., £8.95 (pb) ISBN 1–85168–108–6

The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in its Continuity and Diversity, 2nd edn John I. Brockington, 1996 Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 222 pp., £10.95 (pb) ISBN 0–7486–0830–3

Behind the Crystal Ball: Magic and Science from Antiquity to the New Age. Anthony Aveni, 1996 London: Newleaf 406 pp., £20.00 ISBN 0–7522–0549–8

Historical Dictionary of Methodism. Charles Yrigoyen, Jr. & Susan E. Warrick, 1996 Lanham: Scarecrow Press 299 pp., £44.65 ISBN 0–8108–3140–6

Historical Dictionary of the Orthodox Church. Michael Prokurat, Alexander Golitzin & Michael D. Peterson, 1996 Lanham, Maryland, London: Scarecrow Press 440 pp., £80.40 ISBN 0–8108–3081–7

God's Straggler: Religion in the Writings of Nikos Kazantzakis. Darren J. N. Middleton & Peter Bien, eds, 1996 Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press 236 pp., US$32.95 ISBN 0–86554–499–9

Apocalypticism in the Dead Sea Scrolls. John J. Collins, 1997 London: Routledge 187 pp., £37.50 (hb), £11.99 (pb) ISBN 0–415–14636–4 (hb), ISBN 0–415–14637–2 (pb)

The Word Made Strange: Theology, Language, Culture. John Milbank, 1996 Oxford; Cambridge, MA: Blackwell 298 pp., £45.00, US$59.95 (hb), £14.99, US$23.95 (pb) ISBN 0631–20335–4 (hb), ISBN 0631–20336–2 (pb)

The Simple Guide to the Roman Catholic Church. Edmund Hartley, 1997 Folkestone, Kent: Global Books 144 pp., £5.99 ISBN 1–86034–023–7

The Simple Guide to Judaism. David Starr‐Glass, 1997 Folkestone, Kent: Global Books 120 pp., £5.99 ISBN 1–86034–008–3

The Simple Guide to Hinduism. Venika Mehra Klngsland, 1997 Folkestone, Kent: Global Books 117 pp., £5.99 ISBN 1–86034–018–0

Mission on the Margins. Mary Beasley, 1997 Cambridge: The Lutterworth Press 110 pp., £7.99 ISBN 0–7188–2966–2     

Distinctions between separation anxiety and social anxiety in children and adolescents

Separation anxiety and social phobia are intertwined to a considerable degree, and high comorbidity rates have been reported. The present study used latent class analysis (LCA) to investigate if classes of children and adolescents with-simultaneously-high rates of separation anxiety and low rates of social anxiety symptoms, or vice versa, could be identified. Eight- to 18-year-olds from a large general population (n=1000) and referred sample (n=735) were assessed with the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC). With LCA, a separate class of referred 8-11-year-old children with high separation anxiety scores, and simultaneously lower social anxiety scores was identified, next to a class of children with high scores on separation anxiety and social anxiety. In the other groups (referred 12-18-year-olds and children and adolescents from the general population), a class with individuals who specifically scored high on separation anxiety could not be revealed. The results indicated that separation anxiety represents a different construct than social anxiety in referred children (but not in referred adolescents or in the general population). It can be concluded that, in referred children, research regarding etiology and treatment outcome of anxiety symptoms should be aimed specifically at separation anxiety and social anxiety, instead of just investigating a broader anxiety dimension.     

Coming of age in New York City: two homeless boys

This paper focuses on two cases, both homeless young gay men living--trying to survive--in New York City. The young men's stories and their manner of being in psychotherapy are presented. One, Hispanic, had developed as an angry, aggressive, manipulative anti-authoritarian; the other, African American, was engaging, passive, exploitable, and full of rescue fantasies. The author raises questions about how humiliating childhood physical and sexual abuse and neglect can become woven into character formations of such opposite sorts. The paper concludes with reflections on the technical challenges of working with homeless youth of color in drop-in center circumstances, and some indication of how the therapeutic process had to be adapted to these young people and their situations.     

Ultimate, provisional, and personal meaning of life: differences and common ground

Building on Viktor Frankl's clinical approach of Logotherapy and the works of subsequent theoreticians, three types of meaning of life were theoretically derived and empirically investigated, Ultimate, Provisional, and Personal meaning. These types were characterized, first, by the amount of agreement of subjects, second, by sources of Life Meaning, which were assessed by content analyses, third, by correlations, and fourth by prediction with ratings of important life concepts from the domains of Well-being, Religiosity, and Prosocial Behavior. 192 German adults, 45 men and 147 women, whose M age was 31.6 yr. (SD = 11.9), participated. Analysis indicated different sources for the Ultimate meaning compared with the other meaning types, which seem to display more similarities with each other. Other important life concepts, such as Belief, Harmony, Happiness, and Human Goodness were related to the investigated types of meaning of life. Some implications for clinical applications, research perspectives, and Positive Psychology are discussed.     

Temporal stability of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in a chronic traumatic brain injury sample

The aim of the present study was to investigate the temporal stability of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) in a clinical population with documented brain pathology, stable cognitive deficits, and for whom repeated testing is common: chronic severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Participants were 34 patients at least 1 year post severe TBI living at a large residential rehabilitation facility. The WCST was administered in standard fashion with both the standard and 64-card versions scored. All derived scores with norms were examined. Results indicated acceptable temporal stability of most scores for both the standard and short WCST, although the stability of the WCST-64 was poorer than for the standard WCST. Three sets of significant change indices are provided for clinical use.