Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-12-07
What Lies Ahead in Exploration Of the Mind

and spinal cord. We probably
all need some gaba in our
gray matter" for normal func-
tioning. How much is not yet
known; but too much or too
little may produce different be-
havior disorders.
A number of laboratories are
studying the problem in ami
mails and human beings. The
City Of Hope team Of scientists
Is aiming at the target from
the several areas Of physiolo-
gy. physiopharmacology. psy-
hopharmacology, as well as
chemistry.
Where does Be- fit into the
scientific picture2 Experiments
in many laboratories over 80
years have confirmed the rela-
tionship Of convulsive seizures
to a B-6 deficiency. And in
1851, DR.. Roberts reported that
a deficiency of the vitamin, or
interference with its action, de-
creases the level Of brain gaba
and produces seizures similar
to epilepsy. AS he puts It: "A
deficiency of B-6 upsets the
balance in the drugstore Of
the brain"
To greatly simplify q COM
pick biochemical chain Of
events:
Gaba is made in the brain
through the action Of CAD, and
the activity Of CAD apparently
depends on the dietary intake
Of BIS, or looking at 1t another
way, you need some form Of
B-6 to make the CAD In the
brain active: you need active
CAD to make gaba; and you
probably need gaba for normal
activity Of the central nervous
system
Rat Experiment
The California study has
been working with pyridoxine,
a form Of B-6 found in the
natural diet. I'VE fed 1t to rats
deficient in the vitamin," said
DR.. Roberts. land normal CAD
activity was quickly restored.
The lack Of an adequate cir
culating supply Of Be- appar-
emily decreased the activity Of
brain CAD, and this inhibited
the making Of gaba."
There is q dramatic story
from q hospital in Pennsyl-
vania. An infant with B-6 de-
ficiency had q violent convul-
sive seizure; they gave the
baby an intramuscular injec-
ton Of pyridoxine and q few
minutes later the convulsion
stopped. Apparently the pyri-
doxine was rapidly converted
into q related Be- compound
(which has the property of trig-
gering CAD into action, and this
action, in turn, was responsible
for the formation Of gaba.
Apparently" and probably"
are key words of scientific eau
ton. DR.. Roberts comments:
Whether or not there Is q
causal relationship between the
5 restoration of gaba and the
e cessation Of the seizure is the
: $64 question.
9 Pure Gaba No Good
Assuming the relationship Is
established. why not inject the
: gaba itself? 1t doesn't work.
Even when shot into the veins
of mice. the level Of brain
gaba did not increase; the in
jected amino acid could not
penetrate the blood brain bar
rier" which controls the passage
Of substances from the blood
to the brain.
But chemicals have been
found that can raise the gaba
level by slowing the rate at
which 1t is used UP. One of
them is q garden variety" COM
pound, hydroxylamine. The
California study found that the
compound helped prevent cpl
leptic-like states In laboratory
animals, while raising the level
of brain gaba.
So the work goes on. And
DR.. William Malamud, research
director of the National Asso-
citation for Mental Health,
spells out its significance: IF
this study establishes the rela-
tionship Of gaba to behavior,
that would be q tremendous
contribution in itself. But these
scientists are working in an
area Of basic research which
may shed light on some Of the
fundamental mysteries Of men
tai illness-the interaction Of
mind and matter"