Ants as Metaphor for Nervous System

Cognitive Development

In “A Conversation with Robert Sapolsky,” the interviewee discusses the role that stress hormones play on neurons in the brain, and how they might affect the onset of Alzheimer’s or stress patients. His first goal in research is to understand this connection, and in his own words he states, “I am trying to understand, on a cellular level, how one class of hormones released during stress can damage neurons, and what that has to do with which of us have lots of brain damage after a stroke or seizure, or who succumbs to Alzheimer’s” (Brain Connection, n.d.). His focus is on that part of the brain used in learning and memory, and his aim is to see how stress impacts the nervous system.

Once understanding that relationship between stress hormones and neurons in the brain, Sapolsky wants to focus on saving the neurons from damage due to stress-related factors. One way he is attempting to see if he can save neurons is through gene therapy. Specifically, he states that “we are attempting to deliver genes into neurons around the time of crisis to see if we can actually save a neuron” (Brain Connection, n.d.). His hope is that this experimentation will yield positive results in the field. He notes that he wishes there were a way to conduct gene therapy that was less invasive because then he could begin clinical trials—but unfortunately there is no way to implement gene therapy that is non-invasive at the moment.

The fieldwork he is conducting is in the area of baboons in the wild. He is looking at how baboons are affected by stress and what rank and personality might have to do with stress-related diseases. He wants to better understand why some are affected by stress more than others, and so he states: “I am looking at neuronal stress related disease, and not just in the brain, but stress damage in virtually any organ of the body. And I am looking at an overwhelmingly important fact: some of us are a lot more vulnerable to stress related disease than others” (Brain Connection, n.d.). His point of focus is that some people are more susceptible to stress-related damage than others and he wants to understand why this is.

One of the goals of Sapolsky is to have his research impact the way clinicians treat patients: he wants to see less prescriptions for cortico-steroids because they can negatively impact neurons. I agree with his cautious stance, here, because there is a tendency in health care to over-prescribe: physicians feel they aren’t treating the patient unless a prescription is given, and patients feel they are not being treated unless they are given a prescription. Yet there are other ways to treat health issues without going this route.

Sapolsky is an interesting researcher because he explains that, of course, science cannot explain everything—and he seems to have an appreciation for the mystery in life that researchers like himself try simply to understand a little bit more. He likens the work of ants to the mysterious work of the central nervous system, and he notes that a colleague of his argues that a colony of ants makes total sense when you look at it but that a single ant by itself makes no sense—and Sapolsky states that the same can be said about the nervous system. He comes across as a very down to earth researcher, particularly when he describes his family and his love of the piano—although he has no time to play anymore. There is a sensitivity about him that is quite intriguing and human, and it is his humanity perhaps that makes him so appreciative of the intriguing mysteries of nature. I agree with his outlook on the world and the role that research can play in medicine.