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Non-tricyclic and non-monoamine oxidase inhibitors
BOOK REVIEW
Non-Tricyclic and Non-Monoamine Oxidaw Inhibitors. H.E. Lehmann (ed). Karger: Base1
and New York, 1982, 212 pages, $69.00
Ralph A. O’Connell, M.D. New York, NY Comprehensive
Silvnno Arieti. 1976, 448 pages,
The Magic Synthesis.
New York:
Basic Books,
$6.95
This volume is the latest in a series on ‘Modern Problems of Pharmacopsychiatry’ edited by T.A. Ban, F.A. Freyhan, P. Pichot and W. Poldinger. The series has been excellent; a group of internationally known experts contributing articles on a single topic in pharmacopsychiatry. Recent volumes have been on The Role of Endorphins in Neuropsychiatry, Multicenter Trials and Drug Treatment of Sexual Dysfunctions. This volume encompasses the newer second or third generation antidepressants other than the tricyclics and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Heinz Lehmann has selected the topics and authors well, and the result is a very readable and informative work. This is not the assembled publications of a meeting, but an organized review of the topic as proposed in the title. The chapters are grouped in five sections: Neurotransmitter Modifiers, Ion Transport Modulators, Neuropeptides, Stimulants and Tranquilizers. In the first chapter Thomas Ban reviews the new generation of monoamine uptake inhibitors, most of which are unfamiliar to the American clinician. This is followed by a review of the pharmacology and clinical experience with maprotiline and trazodone, newer entries of the American formulary. Mianserin and Iprindole covered in the next chapters are only available abroad. Herman van Praag discusses the significance of serotonin precursors as antidepressants. Perhaps the most novel paper is by Fieve and Jamison on rubidium. They review the history and biology of this close cousin of lithium. The final chapter by John Feighner is on the reported antidepressant effects of alprazolam, the new triazolo benzodiazepine, a drug which is causing considerable interest. The volume is worthwhile as a review of the increasingly complex subject of the new antidepressants, and will serve as a good reference.
94
Creativity:
As the title suggests, Dr. Arieti has addressed limitless exIt is indeed a monumental task to Iploration. grapple with one of the most ancient of mankind’s activities. This volume has such a broad range of approaches that it will find interested readers from virtually all areas, both lay and professional. The book is well organized into six parts which demonstrate the authors psychoanalytic and holistic attitudes. In Part One, introductory remarks are made about the creative process, and the major theories of creativity are reviewed. Psychological components of creativity are explored under the headings of Imagery, Cognition and Conception in Part Two. There is a wide range of commentary and exploration of variations of the creative product in Part Three. The author is at his best when he uses psychoanalytic tools to explore creative process. There is a gliding quality in this section which reviews wit, poetry, painting, religion and mysticism, science, philosophy and general systems theory. A lack of depth is apparent here, but any of the topics could generate several volumes. Part Four attempts to integrate the sociocultural environment into what has up to this point been focused on the individual. The entire book is dedicated to Dr. Arieti’s friend, Ludwig Von Bertalanffy, who conceived general systems theory, and it seems that the author is applying this systematic paradigm to understand the creative phenomenon. Part Five is about the individual and the cultivation of creativity. In these pages there is a good deal of speculation, much of it quite creative in itself. Dr. Arieti’s own creative pro-
Ihimself to a topic of potentially
cess emerges as he further explores
creativity
in the larger contexts of neurology, biology, general systems theory, and the spirit of man. His own experience as a psychiatrist, a student of brain and mind, and a creative thinker are evident as he applies sensitive and probing questions to problems which seem to have no final answer. Although the psychoanalytic theme runs deep in this volume, the impact in the general public
Psychiatry, Vol. 24, No. 1 (January/February),
1983
Non-Tricyclic and Non-Monoamine Oxidaw Inhibitors. H.E. Lehmann (ed). Karger: Base1
and New York, 1982, 212 pages, $69.00
Ralph A. O’Connell, M.D. New York, NY Comprehensive
Silvnno Arieti. 1976, 448 pages,
The Magic Synthesis.
New York:
Basic Books,
$6.95
This volume is the latest in a series on ‘Modern Problems of Pharmacopsychiatry’ edited by T.A. Ban, F.A. Freyhan, P. Pichot and W. Poldinger. The series has been excellent; a group of internationally known experts contributing articles on a single topic in pharmacopsychiatry. Recent volumes have been on The Role of Endorphins in Neuropsychiatry, Multicenter Trials and Drug Treatment of Sexual Dysfunctions. This volume encompasses the newer second or third generation antidepressants other than the tricyclics and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Heinz Lehmann has selected the topics and authors well, and the result is a very readable and informative work. This is not the assembled publications of a meeting, but an organized review of the topic as proposed in the title. The chapters are grouped in five sections: Neurotransmitter Modifiers, Ion Transport Modulators, Neuropeptides, Stimulants and Tranquilizers. In the first chapter Thomas Ban reviews the new generation of monoamine uptake inhibitors, most of which are unfamiliar to the American clinician. This is followed by a review of the pharmacology and clinical experience with maprotiline and trazodone, newer entries of the American formulary. Mianserin and Iprindole covered in the next chapters are only available abroad. Herman van Praag discusses the significance of serotonin precursors as antidepressants. Perhaps the most novel paper is by Fieve and Jamison on rubidium. They review the history and biology of this close cousin of lithium. The final chapter by John Feighner is on the reported antidepressant effects of alprazolam, the new triazolo benzodiazepine, a drug which is causing considerable interest. The volume is worthwhile as a review of the increasingly complex subject of the new antidepressants, and will serve as a good reference.
94
Creativity:
As the title suggests, Dr. Arieti has addressed limitless exIt is indeed a monumental task to Iploration. grapple with one of the most ancient of mankind’s activities. This volume has such a broad range of approaches that it will find interested readers from virtually all areas, both lay and professional. The book is well organized into six parts which demonstrate the authors psychoanalytic and holistic attitudes. In Part One, introductory remarks are made about the creative process, and the major theories of creativity are reviewed. Psychological components of creativity are explored under the headings of Imagery, Cognition and Conception in Part Two. There is a wide range of commentary and exploration of variations of the creative product in Part Three. The author is at his best when he uses psychoanalytic tools to explore creative process. There is a gliding quality in this section which reviews wit, poetry, painting, religion and mysticism, science, philosophy and general systems theory. A lack of depth is apparent here, but any of the topics could generate several volumes. Part Four attempts to integrate the sociocultural environment into what has up to this point been focused on the individual. The entire book is dedicated to Dr. Arieti’s friend, Ludwig Von Bertalanffy, who conceived general systems theory, and it seems that the author is applying this systematic paradigm to understand the creative phenomenon. Part Five is about the individual and the cultivation of creativity. In these pages there is a good deal of speculation, much of it quite creative in itself. Dr. Arieti’s own creative pro-
Ihimself to a topic of potentially
cess emerges as he further explores
creativity
in the larger contexts of neurology, biology, general systems theory, and the spirit of man. His own experience as a psychiatrist, a student of brain and mind, and a creative thinker are evident as he applies sensitive and probing questions to problems which seem to have no final answer. Although the psychoanalytic theme runs deep in this volume, the impact in the general public
Psychiatry, Vol. 24, No. 1 (January/February),
1983