producing more N4WBP5 than usual,

Protein Prevents a dramatically higher number of cells

Neuron Death
Researchers have discovered a protein
that might prevent neurons from dying
after traumatic brain injuries such
as those caused by severe car accidents.
Seong-Seng Tan of the Howard Florey
Institute in Australia and his colleagues
tested the activity of 18,000 genes
in surviving neurons (right) that surround-
ed an injury site in the brains of mice.
All but one gene — responsible for gener-
ating the protein N4WBP5 — drastically
B Y Q I A N S A N G E T A L . I N T H E J O U R N A L O F N E U R O S C I E N C E , V O L . 2 6 ; J U LY 5 , 2 0 0 6 . © 2 0 0 6 , T H E S O C I E T Y F O R N E U R O S C I E N C E ( t o p ) ; DA N G U R AV I C H ( b o t t o m )
Protein kept these neurons alive.
survived.
The Australian team is currently trying
to delineate the precise mechanisms
that underlie the N4WBP5 action. Knowing
how the protein may prevent cell death
could lead to drugs that can simulate its
function, says Andrew Ottens, an outside
expert and professor of psychiatry
and neuroscience at the University of
Florida. He cautions, however, that further
studies are needed, including tests that
determine whether N4WBP5 performs its
function for more than 24 hours, because

reduced their protein production during the 24 hours after in many cases “neurons continue to die for days after
injury. When Tan manipulated stressed brain cells into traumatic injury.” — Nicole Branan
F R O M “ N E D D 4 - W W D O M A I N - B I N D I N G P R O T E I N 5 ( N D F I P 1) I S A S S O C I AT E D W I T H N E U R O N A L S U R V I VA L A F T E R AC U T E C O R T I C A L B R A I N I N J U R Y,”

Visions for Psychedelics mental illness or psychedelic drug use. Each volunteer
received eight hours of preparation. Their trip took place in a
A single dose of psilocybin, the active ingredient in the in- living room setting with two monitors present. Half received
famous psychedelic mushrooms indigenous to Mexico, trig- the real drug, and the others were given an amphetamine or
gered long-lasting mystical experiences in several dozen a placebo. According to Griffiths, the subjects who received
middle-aged volunteers enrolled in an unusual study at psilocybin said they “had a sense of pure awareness. They
Johns Hopkins University. described feeling infinite love, tenderness and peace.
Roland Griffiths and his colleagues brought 36 people Everything was experienced in the present; the past and
into the laboratory for an eight-hour session during which future had no meaning.” Nevertheless, a third of these
they experienced their first psychedelic high. Two thirds of volunteers felt significant fears afterward, and some
them said that the trip was among the most profound experienced paranoia. “These drugs should not be used
spiritual events in their life, Griffiths reports. A third rated it recreationally,” Griffiths notes. —Jamie Talan
as their number-one
awakening, and their family
and co-workers said they
seemed happier in the
months after the experiment,
according to a follow-up
study just concluded.
Griffiths says he
embarked on the
controversial experiment
because psychedelics
constitute “a whole class of
drugs we know very little
about.” Research came to a
halt after investigators such
as Harvard University’s
Timothy Leary in the heady
1960s swallowed their own
research pills in the name of
science. Griffiths says the
findings suggest these
drugs, or safer versions of
them, could be used to treat
addictions, because many
recovery programs are based
on models of spirituality. The
drugs could also help
overcome depression.
Johns Hopkins recruited
people with no history of

w w w. s c i a m m i n d . c o m SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND 7