Thanks! Axon regeneration sounds interesting, I only know a small bit about that; if I'm remembering correctly, axons regenerate more easily in the PNS compared to the CNS. In the CNS scar tissue generally hinders the regeneration? And this is somewhat due to the neurons themselves, but also has to do with the environment they are operating in (ie. take a PNS neuron and put in in CNS conditions and it will regenerate more like a CNS neuron). That's my recollection without breaking out my cellular neuro book. Why are you using an optic nerve as a model, is it particularly suited for the research somehow? Psychedelic research is really interesting. I hope after some marijuana legalization in the U.S. that there is a subsequent movement for psychedelic usage in the medical field (and, eventually, some decriminalization of psychedelics for recreational use as well). MAPS is a very promising program, but rather limited by funding right now [ http://www.maps.org/ ] . I'm currently picking up some clinic hours and a few classes at a community college before I apply for a Physician's Assistant program. I've been encouraged a few times to try for an MD/PhD program, but I'm afraid I don't have the wherewithal for another 6+ years of school and training to become a doctor. And in a research aspect, while I found lab work interesting and generally rewarding, it is very draining. Thus far, I expect clinical work to be more my speed, and a PA program will have me in the workforce in ~3 years from today.
Your knowledge about axon regeneration is similar to mine when I started 2 months ago :) There are several differences. The scar tissue (glial scar) is the first. We have axon repellents in the CNS that we have to overcome, to do that we have to look for dis inhibitory effects when gathering pathways, which is also part of our work. Typically this is done by playing cells on myelin for example. Another problem we face is the growth comes of regenerating axons. Their dynamics in forming actin filaments differed in PNS vs CNS. This might be due to upstream signaling differences. Lack of specific proteins that are only expressed in PNS neurons. This brings me to the third difference, the regenerative capacity of CNS neurons is "lost" during development. This is due to blockage of regenerative signaling pathways. In the past 10 years a lot of studies have examined the pathways that change during development in neurons and got to some pathways that seems to play an import role like the PI3K->Akt->mTOR/GSK3 pathways which is the focus of our studies. The optic nerve is interesting because it's part of the CNS and it's easy to examine. Through performing a crush right behind the eye (beginning of the optic nerve) and subsequent excision of the whole nerve and staining the axons we can assess how well the axons regenerated after specific treatments. Funding is the main problem with psychedelic research. It is still a "taboo" subject and people still don't believe in those substances as medicine or good tools for research. Hopefully it will change with time... Research is indeed a draining work, specially when things do not turn out as you wanted. On the other side, you keep learning. It never gets boring :) I wish you the best of much with your plans. Applications sent yet?