"A Goiß, a Kuah, a Kend". Die Bedeutung alternativer Projekte für den ländlichen Raum

Die Landkommune - Keimzelle einer neuen gesellschaftlichen Entwicklung? Die Alternativbewegung zieht aufs Land. Doch Illusion und Wirklichkeit klaffen wieder einmal auseinander. Die Projekte der alternativen Ökonomie sind auf dem Lande gar nicht so zahlreich, wie häufig erwartet wird. Und die Erfolge der Allernativprojekte, politische Veränderungen in ihrem dörflichen Umfeld anzuregen, nehmen sich bislang recht mager aus. Dennoch - wir brauchen keine Entwicklungspädagogen aus der Stadt für das Land, die die Dörfer infiltrieren; die Ansätze einer ländlichen Selbstorganisation lassen in der "rückständigen Provinz" Vorreiter einer autozentrierten Entwicklung erkennen. Diese Perspektive zeichnet der Autor in seinem Beitrag. Die Thesen gründen auf seiner umfassenden persönlichen Kenntnis der Alternativbewegung im süddeutschen Raum, die er im Rahmen seiner Diplomarbeit zum Thema "Geographische Analyse der Alternativbewegung" unter die Lupe nahm. (DIPF/Orig.

Homosexual Women Have Less Grey Matter in Perirhinal Cortex than Heterosexual Women

Is sexual orientation associated with structural differences in the brain? To address this question, 80 homosexual and heterosexual men and women (16 homosexual men and 15 homosexual women) underwent structural MRI. We used voxel-based morphometry to test for differences in grey matter concentration associated with gender and sexual orientation. Compared with heterosexual women, homosexual women displayed less grey matter bilaterally in the temporo-basal cortex, ventral cerebellum, and left ventral premotor cortex. The relative decrease in grey matter was most prominent in the left perirhinal cortex. The left perirhinal area also showed less grey matter in heterosexual men than in heterosexual women. Thus, in homosexual women, the perirhinal cortex grey matter displayed a more male-like structural pattern. This is in accordance with previous research that revealed signs of sex-atypical prenatal androgenization in homosexual women, but not in homosexual men. The relevance of the perirhinal area for high order multimodal (olfactory and visual) object, social, and sexual processing is discussed

Zwischen Handlungslogiken und Strukturwandel: " Was ist heute 'international'?

Albert M, Brock L. Zwischen Handlungslogiken und Strukturwandel: " Was ist heute 'international'? In: Hummel H, Loges B, eds. Gestaltungen der Globalisierung. Festschrift für Ulrich Menzel. Opladen: Budrich University Press; 2009: 51-72

Interhemispheric motor networks are abnormal in patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome

Brain imaging has shown altered corpus callosum (CC) morphology in patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS). Yet it is unclear whether these morphological changes are associated with altered interhemispheric interactions. Here, we combined transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI) to explore functional and structural interhemispheric connections between the left and right motor hand areas. We studied 14 unmedicated GTS patients without psychiatric comorbidity (2 women, mean age 35.5 years) and 15 healthy volunteers (3 women, mean age 35 years). Left-to-right and right-to-left interhemispheric inhibitions (IHIs) were measured in hand muscles with TMS. In 13 GTS patients and all healthy controls, we measured fractional anisotropy (FA) with DTI to examine the relation between functional measures of interhemispheric connectivity as derived by TMS and structural properties of the CC region that carries fibers interconnecting both motor cortices. In GTS patients, left-to-right IHI was weaker than right-to-left IHI. Left-to-right IHI in GTS patients was also reduced compared with healthy controls. Voxel-based morphometric analysis revealed that FA in the motor region of the CC did not differ between groups. However, there was a significant interaction between groups and the relation between regional FA and left-to-right IHI in the motor region of the CC. A negative linear relation between FA and left-to-right IHI was present in control subjects but not in patients. Our combined TMS-DTI approach demonstrates abnormal functional interhemispheric connectivity in GTS accompanied by an altered structure-function relationship in the motor CC