Jung's Erotic Phenomenology: I. A New Translation.

In the introduction to The Psychology of the Transference (1946), Carl Jung sketched out a theory of "erotic phenomenology" which condenses his teaching about sexuality and romantic love into a very concise summary. But the meaning of this passage is obscured in the English translation given in the Collected Works of C. G. Jung. I propose here a new translation which makes Jung's meaning clearer, along with a commentary which explains it in the context of Freudian drive theory and German 19th century philosophy. Invoking the concepts of instinct, mind, and Eros (both the passion and the divine figure), Jung's theory says that male sexual desire can be cultivated or repressed in four distinct ways, each associated with a female symbolic figure or anima image: Eve, Helen, Mary and Sophia.

Dans son introduction à La Psychologie du Transfert (1946), Carl Jung esquisse une « phénoménologie érotique ¼ qui condense ses enseignements sur la sexualité et le désir en un résumé très concis. Mais le sens de ce passage est brouillé dans la traduction anglaise des Collected Works of C.G. Jung. Je propose ici une nouvelle traduction qui rend l'argument de Jung plus clair, suivie d'un commentaire qui l'explique dans le contexte de la théorie freudienne des pulsions et de la philosophie allemande du XIXe siècle. Invoquant les concepts d'instinct, d'esprit et d'Eros (en tant que passion ainsi que figure divine), la théorie de Jung dit que le désir sexuel masculin peut être cultivé ou réprimé de quatre manières distinctes, chacune associée à une figure symbolique féminine ou image de l'anima: Eve, Hélène, Marie et Sophia.

En la introducción a La Psicología de la Transferencia (1946), Carl Jung esbozó una "fenomenología erótica" que condensa sus enseñanzas sobre la sexualidad y el amor romántico en un resumen muy conciso. Pero el significado de este pasaje queda opacado en la traducción inglesa de las Obras Completas de C.G. Jung. Propongo aquí una nueva traducción que aclara el significado de Jung, junto con un comentario que lo explica en el contexto de la teoría freudiana de la pulsión y la filosofía alemana del siglo XIX. Invocando los conceptos de instinto, mente y Eros (tanto la pasión como la figura divina), la teoría de Jung expresa que el deseo sexual masculino puede cultivarse o reprimirse de cuatro maneras distintas, cada una asociada a una figura simbólica femenina o imagen del ánima: Eva, Helena, María y Sofía.

Edward Trautner (1890-1978), a pioneer of psychopharmacology.

This article examines the scientific career of Edward Trautner, who did pioneering research in the 1950s on lithium treatment for psychiatric disorders. Trautner was the first scientist to study the mechanism of action of lithium as a psychiatric medication. His research established that lithium could be used safely and rationally, and anticipated by a decade the large volume of research in the 1960s and 1970s that led to international acceptance of lithium treatment for mood disorders. Trautner was a pioneer of biological psychiatry who considered pharmacology to be a useful therapeutical tool rather than a permanent cure for putative chemical imbalances. His research involved cross-disciplinary collaborations that combined clinical and laboratory research in the disciplines of psychiatry, physiology, biochemistry, teratology, and even oncology. Trautner himself had a multidisciplinary background that included publications in literature and philosophy.

A morphological correlate of synaptic scaling in visual cortex.

We studied the response of dendritic spines in the thalamic-recipient zone of rat visual cortex to simple manipulations of the visual environment. We measured the morphologies of a total of 3824 spines located on the basal dendrites of 60 layer 3 pyramidal cells. As expected from previous studies, we found a significantly lower spine density in dark-reared animals at postnatal day 30 (P30) compared with light-reared controls. Additional analysis revealed that the spines in dark-reared animals were significantly shorter and more bulbous than in light-reared animals. When these two results were combined, we found that the total synaptic area per unit length of dendrite was conserved, compatible with the phenomenon of "synaptic scaling." We also found that the increase in average spine head diameter is reversed by 10 d of light exposure (starting at P20), but surprisingly, the decrease in spine density is not. Thus, not all effects of dark rearing can be reversed by subsequent visual experience, even when the experience occurs during the third postnatal week.

The vibrating nerve impulse in Newton, Willis and Gassendi: first steps in a mechanical theory of communication.

In later editions of his two major works, Isaac Newton proposed an electrical hypothesis of nervous transmission. According to this hypothesis, an electrical aether permeates the nerve and transmits vibrations along it. This implies that the nerve is a communication line, and potentially, an extension of the mind. The opposite view was held by Cartesian mechanists, who taught that the nerve is a power line, transmitting either pressure or tension, and that the mind is separate from the nervous system. The Newtonian model eventually supplanted the Cartesian model in the mid 18th century, and became a crucial part of the conceptual environment in which neuroscience originated. In this paper I examine the scientific origins of the Newtonian model of nervous transmission. I argue that Newton's model relies on prior work by Thomas Willis and Pierre Gassendi. Willis supplied the anatomical and physiological "hard data" upon which the model was built. But Gassendi, a generation before, laid out the conceptual foundations of the problem, including the principle of impulse-transmission, and the corrolary principle of the muscle as an autonomous generator of force. I conclude that Gassendi's work has been undeservedly neglected as a turning-point in the history of neuroscience.