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In this issue we have chosen on the cover page the Masterpiece by Albrecht Dürer ”Melancholia.” This engraving is dated in 1514 when the artist was 43 years old, the middle and the late middle-age which are among about the most common periods in which depressive states occur. The symbolism of this drawing is clear in the context of the Neuroendocrinology Letters basic philosophy on the indivisible continuity of the human life in its creative process.
In this issue we have articles dealing with the Unconsious Imagery in Painting (Fabricius), the paper on Emotional and Intellectual Knowledge about the Content of the Unconscious (Kafkalides), and the Guest Editorial dealing with the Primary Prevention of Important Diseases by a Prenatal and Early Postnatal Neuro-Endocrine-Immune Prophylaxis (Dörner). All these papers have a common denominator—passage of time [1] and the importance of unconscious phenomena as well as of the subjective reality in experiencing health and disease in connection to and confrontation with the individual’s own life continuum and the surrounding world. The drawing of Dürer for all its melancholy and despair, represents also a period of growing inner light and increasing self-awareness, features jointly expressed by ”Melancholia.” This blend of melancholia and consolatio, the dialectic dynamics [2], is the main reason for publishing this masterpiece. In this issue of the Journal we also have a painting by a Swedish artist, Iris Cederborg-Lindgren, in which she describes the process of creation as a piece of art with all its frustration and lack of raison d’etre when suddenly or without notice the painting starts to paint itself. Lili Maas
Art & Advertising Director REFERENCES
1 Lasch EE. Health in the 21st century—a change in belief systems. Neuroendocrinol Letters 2000; 21:57-58.
2 Fabricius J. Alchemy. The Medieval Alchemists and their Royal Art. London: Aquarian Press, an Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers; 1976. p. 148–150. | 
