As I began running through different names for the line of brain health supplements and cognitive enhancers I had been thinking about for over two years, I finally landed on "synaptine". I was looking for a name that conveyed the enhancer's effects on the electrical and chemical interchange called the synaptic cleft-- the small region where neurotransmitters are passed from axon to dendrite between neurons. I also needed to come up with a name that was not previously trademarked and preferably one where I could still get the dot com domain extension for marketing purposes. After doing some research on possible candidates for a name, "synaptine" looked like the best choice from all the different angles I was considering. What I found particularly interesting was the use of "synaptine" by sci-fi writers who invariably described an intelligence drug of the future. Below, I have included the instances of "synaptine" in the writings I was able to find. Some of the accounts are especially prescient in how accurate they depict how synaptine works and came about. Excerpted from Einstein's Bridge by John Cramer She removed a felt-tipped pen from the pocket of her white lab coat and scribbled on a pad. “It's a matter of interpretation,” she said. “I have superconducting magnetometer measurements showing a significant increase in electromagnetic brain activity after we gave him synaptine, but there's no way, at present, to relate that to intelligence. His reactions are faster. His basic reaction time is down to about 70% of what it was before his treatments.” Roger nodded and inserted a long cylindrical greenish “monkey chow” pellet into a mesh opening of Elvis's cage. The animal snatched it to his mouth with a lightning-fast motion. “There are also the sequence of learning tests,” said Susan. “Before we started him on synaptine, it took about four repetitions before he learned a new sequence. Now he always gets them after the second repetition and often after the first. Is that a 100 percent increase in IQ? Or a 50 percent increase? Or is it nonsense to apply a one-dimensional measure like IQ to a characteristic with as many independent variables as intelligence seems to have? All I can say is that I'm sure Elvis is much brighter than he was a few weeks ago.” Roger nodded. “How long does a dose of synaptine last? Or is it permanent?” “The protein is metabolized, so it has to be replaced. With Elvis an intramuscular dose lasts about twelve hours. But there's some evidence of residual benefits that last much longer. With rats it's more difficult to tell, because the effect is so much smaller.” “Smaller in rats...” Roger mused, trying to recall what she had said about the tests. “Oh yes, you were doing trials with rats until a few weeks ago, weren't you?” If the increase in intelligence is small in a rat and bigger in a monkey, what would it be for a human? he wondered. She nodded. “That series was disappointing. Synaptine didn't do much for rats, for some reason,” she said. “In low doses it made them meaner, and in large doses it gave them seizures, but the effect of what should be a normal dose was only a slight improvement in their T-maze running performance.” “Any theories as to why?” “We did some autoradiographs of brain tissues with carbon 14-labeled synaptine. The stuff is quite selective. It's active mainly in the prefrontal brain areas of primates, and rats don't have any prefrontal development to speak of. Probably there are different versions of the same basic molecule that operate with different types of neurons.” Roger peered closely at Elvis again. “Any evidence of side effects with this guy?” he asked, walking around to the side of the cage. Untested experimental drugs could be dangerous, he knew. “Nothing obvious, certainly.” Susan answered. “His weight has been a constant six kilos, his appetite is good, and his co-ordination, like his reaction time has improved. Synaptine is a natural protein, if a rare one. Primates already have some quantity of it in their brain tissue, so raising the concentration wouldn't be expected to do unpleasant things, unless the dose was very large. That's the argument we're using to persuade the Food and Drug Administration, so they'll approve our application for preliminary human trials to try small doses on certain retarded children, Alzheimer's patients, and others that show evidence of synaptine deficiency.” Morons and the hopelessly senile, he thought. What a waste. “Is it going to be expensive as a drug?” he asked. Susan grinned. “All the market will bear, as we money-grubbing biotech business folk say.” Then she grew more serious. “In my experience, Roger, you physicists with your big federal grants don't have much appreciation for the realities of commercial research. We have a huge research overhead here”--she gestured at the long racks of electronic and chemical equipment in the laboratory--”which has to be supported from the profits of our relatively few commercially successful products. If we can't do that, we go out of business, and the research stops. Mitocon has made it a successful business so far. We've survived two biotech shakeouts in which many similar companies were liquidated or bought out. Appropriately enough, biotechnology is a very Darwinian business.” “I think it also helps to have an instinct for the jugular,” said Roger, looking at her. It helps in theoretical physics, too, he added silently. “Perhaps,” said Susan. “Since you asked, the actual production costs of synaptine will be fairly low. For a neuroprotein, it isn't very complicated. A good solid-phase synthesizer could sequence a batch of it in a few weeks if necessary, but we have better ways. We've already located the coding sequence in human DNA and inserted it into e coli bacteria. If necessary we could produce it by the ton. Synaptine is very stable at room temperature and doesn't need to be refrigerated. There are none of the usual storage problems, which lowers the cost.” She picked up a vial of bright yellow liquid from a nearby rack half-filled with similar ones and held it up to the light. “Now I'm going to give Elvis his booster shot.” Roger walked over to the rack. There were many vials there. “By the way, Roger,” Susan said. “Would you count those vials for me? A new batch arrived just before quitting time, and apparently the carton had been dropped in shipment. A number of the vials were smashed. My technician cleaned up the mess, but he didn't have time to do a new inventory before he had to leave. Just write the count here.” She indicated a clipboard on the table, pointing to a blank line on a printed form. “Glad to,” said Roger. As she worked, he moved between her and the long stack of synaptine vials. “And you discovered synaptine? Yourself? I'd wager there's a good story there,” he said. His index finger moved along the rack as he counted. She smiled. “Perhaps, she said. “I owe it all to your fellow countryman Francis Crick, actually. I'm sure you must know about neural networks. Uh, the electronic kind, I mean.” She removed a very thin disposable syringe from a drawer, stripped off the sterile wrapper, attached a needle, and inserted it in the top seal of the synaptine vial. The development of the drug synaptine in the novel is pure make-believe (not anymore). The objections of Francis Crick to the name used for neural networks is real, but I somewhat distorted his arguments for my own purposes. There has been a group within the mega-vitamin and life-extension movement that has been experimenting with various over-the-counter and prescription drugs as a way of boosting intelligence. There is already an emerging folklore centering on which drugs, vitamins, and dietary supplements do and don't work in achieving the goals of boosted intelligence and memory improvement. I am confident that in the next decade or so developments in molecular biology and protein synthesis will produce real and effective intelligence-enhancing drugs, with or without the unpleasant side-effects described in the novel. When this happens, the impact on theoretical physics will be somewhat like the impact of metabolic steroids on athletic records. It is quite true, as Roger observed, that even a small gain in human intelligence will go a very long way when one is working at the cutting edge of a field which uses intelligence as its principal tool. And the impact on society in general will also be very profound. The present world desperately needs more intelligence and needs to have the available intelligence used more effectively. The Mystery of Synaptine and Project Cerberus- Author Unknown There is a small group of buildings on the outskirts of San Diego which is home to the Donning Institute. This secretive, privately funded medical facility purports to be carrying out research into neurological problems, but an astute observer might note that the level of security seems unusually excessive. The truth behind this bright, airy complex is as hellish as any the Parallax Club have ever encountered. Penny was escaping from the Donning Institute when she was first found by the Club. It is home to some of the most ruthless and amoral scientists on the planet, engaged in the study and development of parapsychology and psychic phenomena, especially in children. Penny has no memory of how she came to be at the Institute, but what is known is that she was 'Lot One' of an experiment that involved the stimulation of neural and psychic activity in children through injections of a brain-altering chemical called Synaptine. An experiment called Project Cerberus. It is believed that the other 'Lots' in Project Cerberus perished, but Penny found her burgeoning psychic powers massively increased in potency. It was all too bad for the scientists involved, but since then agents of Project Cerberus and the Institute have tried to retrieve Penny on numerous occasions. Not only do they wish to study her phenomenal mind, but it is believed that the secret of Synaptine died with the Institute's founder during Penny's escape. The exact chemical makeup of Synaptine remains elusive despite the best efforts of both the Institute and the Parallax Club. What is known is that it stimulates the chemical signals, the synapses, that transfer the electrical signals from one neuron to another in the human brain. The synaptic response speed of a normal brain is 2,200 mph, but with Synaptine this is multiplied a thousandfold. The chemical thus opens up access to the 83% of the brain that is unused by the majority of humanity. It is unknown who exactly is behind Project Cerberus. It could be governmental, or another McAllister scheme, or even something else. Whoever they are, they have access to vast resources and some highly-trained paramilitary retrieval teams. The Institute has lost a number of these teams and its research staff through their tangles with the Parallax Club, but there seems to be a never-ending supply of goons, amoral doctors and uncaring scientists willing to work on their inhuman projects. Recently, Penny has begun to display a vastly increased level of intellectual development even as her psychic powers continue to grow. Tests by Becky Martin have shown that the young girl's pituitary gland has been genetically altered, presumably by the original experiment, and is now producing small levels of Synaptine on its own. This is undoubtedly the cause of Penny's increased neurological activity, but it also poses a number of disturbing questions about her future. |