The brain protein keeping you from enlightenment

Neuroplasticity is a plausible—some might say obvious—hypothesis for the mechanism by which humans develop spiritually. For instance, the relatively slow speed of neurogenesis would account for the time required under development protocols such as meditation.

Now, Harvard scientists have identified a brain protein that may be responsible for the lack of plasticity in the adult brain—at least in rodents. Mutant mice lacking the protein, even after reaching adulthood, migrated eye function in the brain when the poor animals had one of their eyes sewn shut and light shined into the other, something heretofore seen only in young mice.

As reported in Science Express, the researchers found that mutant mice lacking a protein called PirB have more robust “cortical ocular dominance (OD) plasticity” at all ages. They note that “PirB is also expressed in many other regions of the CNS, suggesting that it may function broadly to stabilize neural circuits.”

Perhaps promotion of neuroplasticity will be one focus of future development of neurotheopharmaceuticals.

See also the press release, and Techorati links .

Image: neurons grown in culture and labeled to measure plasticity in a living system (courtesy of Liu Laboratory, MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences)

3 Responses to “The brain protein keeping you from enlightenment”

  1. Ettsem Says:

    Quote: Perhaps promotion of neuroplasticity will be one focus of future development of neurotheopharmaceuticals.

    That sounds good, though it seems to me that too much neuroplasticity would be dangerous. If my brain rewires itself too easily I’ll end up believing everything I hear!

  2. Mark Waldman Says:

    Neuroplasticity in the frontal lobes may be what is responsible for all forms of imaginative and creative thinking, and I believe that religious beliefs in particular are a product of the imaginative frontal lobes.

  3. rajiv Says:

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    rajiv

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