Reconsolidation of a context long-term memory in the terrestrial snail requires protein synthesis

We investigated the influence of the protein synthesis blocker anisomycin on contextual memory in the terrestrial snail Helix. Prior to the training session, the behavioral responses in two contexts were similar. Two days after a session of electric shocks (5 d) in one context only, the context conditioning was observed as the significant difference of behavioral response amplitudes in two contexts. On the day following testing of context learning, a session of "reminding" was performed, immediately after which the snails were injected with anisomycin or vehicle. Testing of long-term context memory has shown that only anisomycin injections impaired the context conditioning. In control series, the snails were injected after the training session with anisomycin/saline without reminding, and no impairment of the long-term context memory was observed, while injection of anisomycin during the training session completely abolished the long-term memory. No effects of anisomycin on the short-term memory were observed. Surprisingly, injection of anisomycin after the reminding combined with reinforcing stimuli elicited no effect on the context memory. Differences between single-trial and multisession learning are discussed.     

Indigenous Women of the Amazon Forest: The Woman Shaman of the Yawanawa Tribe

ABSTRACT

Among the most diverse and indigenous areas of the world is Latin America, specifically the Amazon river basin and its rain forests. Indigenous tribes and indigenous healing practices from these areas have recently gained more attention and popularity. However, less is known about experiences of tribal women related to indigenous practices, including the long-standing legacy of patriarchal and Christian colonization. This contribution offers the voice of one of the few known women-shamans in the area: Hushahu of the Yawanawa tribe. This first full public interview in a Western publication provides not only a perspective on indigenous healing, but also on experiences of indigenous tribal women in light of their history of colonization and oppression.     

Book reviews and notes

THE RUSHDIE FILE. By L. Appignanesi and S. Maitland. London: Fourth Estate, 1989. 258pp. £5.95. ISBN 0–947795–84–7.

BE CAREFUL WITH MUHAMMAD! — THE SALMAN RUSHDIE AFFAIR. By S.Akhtar. London: Bellew, 1989. 136pp. £6.95. ISBN 0–947792–27–9.

A SATANIC AFFAIR: SALMAN RUSHDIE AND THE RAGE OF ISLAM. By M. Ruthven. London: Chatto & Windus, 1990. 184pp. £14.95. ISBN 0–7011–3591–3.

LES NOMS DIVINS EN ISLAM. By Daniel Gimaret. Collection Patrimoines. Paris: Cerf, 1988. 448pp. FF295.00. ISBN 2–204–02828–2.

DIE FESTUNG DES GLAUBENS: TRIUMPH UND SCHEITERN DES ISLAMISCHEN RATIONALISMUS IM 11. JAHRHUNDERT. By Tilman Nagel. München: Beck, 1988. 423pp. Hardback, DM94.00. ISBN 3–406–33280–3.

ISLAMIC SPIRITUALITY FOUNDATIONS. Edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1987. 450pp. Hardback, £39.50. ISBN 0–7102–1097–3.

ALLÄH TRANSCENDENT: STUDIES IN THE STRUCTURE AND SEMIOTICS OF ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY, THEOLOGY AND COSMOLOGY. By Ian Richard Netton. London and New York: Routlege, 1989. xiii + 383pp. Hardback, £45.00. ISBN Hb. 0–415–01893–5.

MUSLIM PREACHER IN THE MODERN WORLD. By Richard T. Antoun. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1989. 289pp. Hardback, $49.50; paperback, £15.95. ISBN Hb. 0–691–09441–1; Pb. 0–691–02847.

DISCOVERING ISLAM: MAKING SENSE OF MUSLIM HISTORY AND SOCIETY. By Akbar S. Ahmed. London: Routledge, 1988. 251pp. Hardback £25.00; paperback £9.95. ISBN Hb. 0–7102–1049–3; pb. 0–415–03930–4.

OUVERTURES SUR L'ISLAM. (New Perspectives on Islam). By Mohammad Arkoun. Paris: Jacques Grancher, 1989. 189pp. FF69.00. ISSN 0993–5754.

AL MUWATTA OF IMAM MALIK IBN ANAS: THE FIRST FORMULATION OF ISLAMIC LAW. Translated by Aisha Abdurrahman Bewley. London: Kegan Paul International, 1989. xxxvii + 464pp. ISBN 07103–0351–0.

ARAB HISTORY AND THE NATION‐STATE: A STUDY IN MODERN ARAB HISTORIOGRAPHY 1820–1980. By Youssef M. Choueiri. London: Routledge, 1989. 238pp. Hardback, n.p. ISBN 0–415–13113–3.

ÇABRA HACHMA: SEXUALTTE ET TRADITION. By Lilia Labidi. Tunis: Dar Annawras, 1989. 427pp. FF130.00. ISBN 9–973–733–00–2.

THE ISLAMIC DEVELOPMENT BANK: A CASE STUDY OF ISLAMIC COOPERATION. By S.A. Meenai. London: Kegan Paul International, 1989. xii + 226pp. Hardback, £65.00. ISBN 0–7103–0329–7.

THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF JUSTICE: LAW AS CULTURE IN ISLAMIC SOCIETY. By Lawrence Rosen. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. 101pp. Paperback, £7.50. ISBN 0–521–36740–9.

THE QUR’ Än IN ISLAM: ITS IMPACT AND INFLUENCE ON THE LIFE OF MUSLIMS. By ‘Allämah Sayyid M. H. Tabätabä'i. London: Zahra Publications, 1987. 118pp. n.p. ISBN 0–7103–0266–5.

JOURNEY OF THE UNIVERSE AS EXPOUNDED IN THE QUR’ ÄN. By SHAYKH FADHLALLA HAERI. London: KPI and Zahra Publications, 1985.102pp. Hardback £15.00. ISBN 0–7103–0149–9.

THE CIRCLING SONG. By N. El Saadawi. London: Zed Books, 1989. 88pp. Hardback, £7.95; paperback, £3.95. ISBN Hb. 0–86232–816–0; Pb. 0–86232–817–9.

MYSTICAL ISLAM: AN INTRODUCTION TO SUFISM. By J. baldick. London: I.B. Tauris, 1989. 192pp. Hardback, £24.95. ISBN 1–85043–137X.

THE MUSLIM CONQUEST AND SETTLEMENT OF NORTH AFRICA AND SPAIN. By A. D. Taha. London: Routledge, 1989. 280pp. Hardback, £49.50. ISBN 0–415–00474–8.

WA AND THE WALA: ISLAM AND POLITY IN NORTHWESTERN GHANA. By I. Wilks. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. 256pp. Hardback, £27.50. ISBN 0–521–36210–5.

LIBYA, CHAD AND THE CENTRAL SAHARA. By John Wright. London: Hurst, 1989. 168pp. Hardback, £23.00. ISBN 1–85065–050–0.

PRELUDE TO THE MAHDIYYA: PEASANTS AND TRADERS IN THE SHENDI REGION. By A. Bj?rkelo. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. 192pp. Hardback £25.00. ISBN 0–521–35336‐X.

RELIGION IN CALABAR: THE RELIGIOUS LIFE AND HISTORY OF A NIGERIAN TOWN. By R. I. J. Hackett. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 1989. 481pp. DM158.00. ISBN 0–89925–394–6.

FRANCE AND ISLAM IN WEST AFRICA, 1860–1960. By Christopher Harrison. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. 242pp. £25.00. ISBN 0–521‐ 35230–4.

ROOTS OF NORTH INDIAN SHT'ISM IN IRAN AND IRAQ: RELIGION AND STATE IN AWADH 1722–1859. By J. R. I. COLE. Comparative Studies on Muslim Societies, vol. 6. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1988. xiv + 32pp. $38.00. ISBN 0–520–05641–8.

ISLAM IN ASIA: RELIGION, POLITICS AND SOCIETY. By John L. Esposito. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1987. 272pp. n.p. ISBN 0–19–504082–3.

THE CRESCENT IN THE EAST: ISLAM IN ASIA MAJOR. Edited by Raphael Israeli. London: Curzon Press, 1989 (rpt. of the first ed.: Curzon Press, 1981). 245pp. £6.75. ISBN O‐7007–0219–9. In the USA: Riverdale, MD 20737: The Riverdale Company, 1989. ISBN 0–913215–45–7.

THE POLITICS OF COMMUNITY: THE BANGLADESHI COMMUNITY IN EAST LONDON. By John Eade. London: Gower, 1989. xii + 213pp. Hardback, £24.00. ISBN 0–566–05717–4.

THE SOVIET EMPIRE: ITS NATIONS SPEAK OUT. By OLEG GLEBOV and JOHN CROWFOOT. Chur: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1989. 189pp. n.p. Pb. ISBN 3–7186–5017–7; Hb. ISBN 3–7186–5000–2.

THE TURBAN FOR THE CROWN: THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION IN IRAN. By Arjoman Said Amir. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988. 283pp. $21.95. ISBN 0–19–504257–5.

LAW OF DESIRE: TEMPORARY MARRIAGE IN SHII IRAN. By Shahla Haeri. New York: Syracuse University Press, 1989. 256pp. Paperback $14.95. ISBN 0–8156–2483–2.

PALESTINE AND ISRAEL: THE UPRISING AND BEYOND. By David Mcdowall. London: I.B.Tauris, 1989. xiii + 322pp. Hardback, £14.95. ISBN 1–85043–131–0

RELIGION AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN MODERN TURKEY: THE CASE OF BEDIÜZZAMAN SAID NURSI. By Serif Mardin. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989. 267pp. Hardback, n.p. ISBN 0–88706–996–7.

ISLAM, THE PEOPLE AND THE STATE: ESSAYS ON POLITICAL IDEAS AND MOVEMENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. By Sami Zubaida. London: Routledge, 1989. 192pp. Hardback, £27.95. ISBN 0–415–01277–5.

ENCOUNTER IN THE SPIRIT: MUSLIM‐CHRISTIAN MEETINGS IN BIRMINGHAM. By A. WINGATE. Risk Book Series, no. 29. Geneva: WCC Publications: 1988. 86pp. £3.50. ISBN 2–8254–0944–8.

MEETING IN FAITH. Compiled by Stuart E. Brown. Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1989. 181pp. £6.50. ISBN 2–8524–0949–9.

A TREATISE ON THE UNITY AND TRINITY OF GOD BY Israel of Kashkar. (d.872). By B. HOLMBERG. Lund: Plus Ultra, 1989. 290 pp. n.p. ISBN 99–86668–28–5.

WELTRELIGIONEN UND FRIEDENSERZIEHUNG: WEGE ZUR TOLERANZ: SCHWERPUNKT: CHRISTENTUN‐ISLAM. Edited by J. LÄHNEMANN. Hamburg: EB‐Verlag Rissen, 1989. 450pp. DM42.00. ISBN‐3–923002–47–5.     

Effects of handedness and sex on the morphology of the corpus callosum: a study with brain magnetic resonance imaging.

In view of conflicting data in the existing literature, we examined 53 normal subjects using a handedness questionnaire and callosal area measurements obtained from midsagittal MRI images. The callosum was found to be significantly larger in nonconsistent right-handers (NCRH), especially in its anterior half and especially for males. A significant hand x sex interaction, favoring consistent right-handed (CRH) females, was also found for the posterior midbody, a region known to house interhemispheric fibers connecting the right and left posterior association cortices. These results (1) confirm Witelson's (1985) first findings on postmortem specimens; (2) validate a dichotomy between CRH and NCRH rather than simply considering the writing hand, as was the case in most other similar studies; and (3) suggest that at least two different sex-related--probably hormonal--factors may be acting during the callosal development, one explaining the larger anterior half in NCRH males and the other the larger posterior midbody in CRH females.     

Two Steps Forward,One Step Back: The Presence of Female Characters and Gender Stereotyping in Award-Winning Picture Books Between the 1930s and the 1960s

Since the late 1960s, there has been steady, progressive change in the depiction of gender in award-winning picture books for children (e.g., Clark, Almeida, Gurka, & Middleton, 2003). Female characters in Caldecott winners and runners-up have become increasingly visible and gender stereotyping has become decreasingly evident. In this article we consider whether this steady change can be projected back into the decades before the 1960s, or whether local, temporal variation in gender norms affected less monotonic change. We found that Caldecotts of the late 1940s and the late 1960s had fewer visible female characters than Caldecotts of the late 1930s and the late 1950s, but that characters in the 1940s and 1960s were less gender stereotyped than the characters of the 1930s and 1950s. We interpret these findings in terms of the greater level of conflict over gender roles that existed in the 1940s and 1960s, as well as the relatively greater status enjoyed by American women in those decades.     

Self–Serving Perceptions of Terrorism Among Israelis and Palestinians

Definitions of political violence as terrorism are often tainted by self–serving motivations. Groups in conflict in particular tend to justify the use of indiscriminate violent means by highly regarded political ends. This study explores such self–serving perceptions of terrorism in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In two surveys during December 2001, Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs and Palestinians were asked whether 11 local and international incidents were acts of terrorism in their view, and whether they were considered acts of terrorism by the international community. Self–serving judgments on both sides were expected, but their extent is striking, and they extend also to the international incidents. Israeli Arabs judge all acts of violence as terrorism in high percentages. Israeli Jews and Palestinians' definitions present a mirror image; however, they do not project these definitions to the international community. Instead, they perceive an international norm largely divergent from their own point of view, inflating world judgment of their own acts of violence as terrorism and underestimating world judgment of the other side's violence, in what amounts to a hostile–world phenomenon.