Scientists from the Emory University School of Medicine published research Sept. 13 on what they are calling the “Homer Simpson Gene.”
The article, which appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, details how researchers deactivated a gene known as RGS14 in a sample of mice (humans also have RGS14) and then tested their mental abilities.
The mice with the deactivated gene were significantly better at solving mazes with visual cues and remembering objects compared to their normal littermates. So in essence, the deactivation of the gene removed the “Homer Simpson” in them.
This research raises several interesting questions. What else does deactivating this gene affect? Why would we evolve a gene that hamstrings our memory? How do I get my RGS14 gene deactivated?
Dr. John Hepler and his team have been unable to recognize any changes in the modified mice other than their increased brain power.
When asked why a gene like this would evolve at all, Dr. Hepler said he thinks “we are not really seeing the full picture,” according to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“RGS14 may be a key control gene in a part of the brain that, when missing or disabled, knocks brain signals important for learning and memory out of balance,” Hepler said.
I tend to agree with Hepler. So little is known about this gene that it likely affects other neural functions not readily apparent in mice.
But before we rush out to get our ‘Homer Simpson’ genes deactivated, we should consider the story of Solomon Shereshevskii, as told by WYNC’s Radiolab.
Shereshevskii was working at a local newspaper and got in trouble with his boss for never taking notes in meetings.
One day his boss confronted him, basically asking him if he was lazy or just stupid.
Shereshevskii replied he never writes anything down because he just remembers it all.
He then proceeded to repeat every assignment his editor had given him and his co-workers for the past several weeks — word for word.
His editor was stunned, and he contacted neuroscientist Alexander Luria. Luria began studying Shereshevskii through assigning memorization tasks.
These started with long strings of numbers on a blackboard, which Shereshevskii was able to look at for a few seconds and then recall perfectly.
Later, Shereshevskii memorized Dante’s Inferno in its entirety, in the original Italian even though Shereshevskii could not speak Italian.
Luria eventually concluded there was no apparent limit to the power of this man’s memory, even though his scores on intelligence tests were completely average.
Shereshevskii’s amazing memory was a result of his severe synesthesia, a condition which causes the stimulation of one sense to create a reaction in another. For example, Shereshevskii would read a number and instantly see a person, or see colors when listening to music.
These seemingly random connections allowed him to remember everything around him in exact detail.
At first he saw his ability to remember as a gift, but later in life he realized his inability to forget was a curse.
His brain became so full of connections and past observations he couldn’t look at a man without remembering every similar man he had seen in his entire life, or listen to someone speak without recalling every similar conversation he had ever heard.
It’s easy to take forgetting for granted in the modern world, but if we remembered every person we ever saw, no one would be special to us.
We couldn’t hold on to a few treasured memories because we would hold on to everything.
We all wish for a better memory from time to time, but before we rush out to get our genomes spliced we should remember our brains evolved the way they did for a reason.
Deactivating RGS14 probably didn’t give the mice synesthesia, but if my Homer Simpson gene gives me the ability to forget, and hold onto the memories I care most about, I’ll hold onto it for now.
Andrew Shockey is a 20-year-old biological engineering sophomore from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_Ashockey.
 
 
 
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Contact Andrew Shockey at [email protected]