A Huge Mistake

by Laney Kay

  “Guys, Dr. Littman is an expert on addiction and neuroplasticity, and he’s designed a ton of different programs to help retrain the brain to help break the cycle of addiction. I’m going to let him explain what we’re looking at here.”

  Lola was confused. “Dr. Littman, I thought you helped stroke victims and people with head injuries, I didn’t realize you were also involved with addiction.”

  He nodded. “I’m a neurobiologist by training, and I have always been a specialist in neuroplasticity. Helping stroke victims and those with head injuries were some of the first computer programs that Jerry Jeff and I designed, and we had some great results with those. In fact, a lot of the programs that are still used today are improved versions of the one we originally designed. But my main interest now is utilizing neuroplasticity in addiction treatment.”

  Dr. Littman leaned forward and looked at both of them. “How much do you know about addiction and neuroplasticity to improve recovery?”

  Jake looked at Lola and shrugged. Lola answered for both of them. “We don’t know much, doc, so explain what it is you do and how all this fits together.”

  He settled back in his chair. “Okay, let me give you an overview of how addiction works in the brain and what I think may be going on here. We used to think that the adult brain couldn’t really change or learn, but we learned that wasn’t true. The idea of neuroplasticity is basically the idea that the brain can change and adjust to compensate for injury, to learn new activities, and to respond to new changes or situations in the brain’s environment.” He became more animated as he explained. “Science has shown that repetitive actions can help form and strengthen these neural connections, and if you don’t use these pathways, they’ll eventually shrink or weaken. So let’s say a person has a stroke and the part of the brain that deals with speaking and comprehending spoken language is destroyed. There are computer programs that use repetition to help the brain form new connections that can compensate for the damaged areas and eventually, that person can learn to talk again.”

  Lola and Jake were both nodding, so he continued. “Repetition is the key, which is why the computer programs are so effective. If you do the same thing over and over again, you can form new neural pathways in the brain and basically rewire your brain so these actions become a learned behavior, or a habit. These habits actually change the way your brain works, so once these pathways are established, it’s very difficult to change them.” He looked at them. “Does that make sense?”

  They both nodded, and Jake admitted, “That makes sense so far.”

  “Unfortunately, this is where addiction comes in. Addictive behaviors aren’t any different from any other behaviors. They are simply habits that have become wired into your brain.”

  Jake and Lola were trying to follow the professor, but Lola wasn’t sure she understood. “Wait. So how do addictive behaviors become a problem, as opposed to other behaviors?”

  The professor nodded as he carefully chose his words. “Basically, an addiction becomes a problem when the individual is unable to stop a habit, or behavior, even though the behavior is harmful to the individual.”

  He continued, searching their faces to make sure they understood what he was explaining. “There are two components of addiction. One component is repetition of an action so that an action becomes a habit. The second part of the system is positive reinforcement that reinforces the habit. When it comes to addiction, the positive reinforcement comes from the release of pleasurable brain chemicals. So, for instance, if someone is addicted to sugar, sugar causes the brain to release dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter in the brain that makes the body feel pleasure. That pleasure reinforces the behavior of eating sugar. It’s the same thing for drugs, or alcohol, or gambling, or watching porn. All of these activities release pleasurable chemicals into the brain, which reinforces the habit. Kicking a habit is extremely difficult because the brain misses the pleasurable chemicals, and those neural pathways are still there, waiting to be activated. That’s why it’s so hard to kick a drug problem. Not only are the neural pathways still there, but they can be easily reactivated, and once you do, you’re right back where you started.”

  “Okay, Professor, I get what you’re saying, but I’m still not seeing how any of this really pertains to our situation.” Jake couldn’t see where the professor was going with this. Did they have a problem here, or not? He took a deep breath. “Why is this computer program a problem and why is this drug more of a problem than any other opioid?”

  “In this case, I don’t think the computer program itself is a problem. It basically teaches a form of guided meditation, which has been shown to reduce stress, reduce pain, and help the brain increase levels of serotonin and dopamine. Meditation also can help the brain form new neural pathways, so if you add that to the pain relieving qualities of opioids, and the fact that opioids also help maintain levels of pleasurable brain chemicals, you can see how this program combined with an opioid could be very effective. That’s not the problem.” He ran his fingers through his hair and then straightened up and leaned toward them.

  “I think the problem might be the drug itself.” He took a deep breath and then blew it out in a big huff. “Look, several years ago, I was involved in the development of a new experimental drug. On paper, and in preliminary studies, the drug was amazing. It was designed to decrease recovery time for strokes or other brain injuries by helping the brain rapidly form new neural pathways. It also significantly reduced pain, which is very common after head trauma, because it was chemically similar to other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs.”

  He looked at them. “You’ve heard of drugs like Prozac, or Zoloft?” They both nodded and he continued. “Those are all SSRIs and are used because they’re generally safe and don’t cause a ton of side effects. These drugs work by increasing levels of serotonin, a chemical in the brain that increases pleasurable feelings, and can reduce pain, depression, and anxiety. Our drug did all that, and again, on paper, it seemed like the perfect drug.” He shook his head. “But of course, it turns out there was a serious side effect. Yes, it did a great job of forming neural pathways quickly, and yes, it did a great job of relieving pain, anxiety, and depression. But, it turned out that the reason the drug was so effective at reducing pain was because it flooded the brain with huge amounts of dopamine and serotonin. And, as we discussed before, when you combine forming neural pathways with the positive reinforcement of pleasurable brain chemicals, if you have a person who is prone to addiction, you can have a problem.”

  He dropped back in his seat, shaking his head. “Well, we found out pretty quickly we had a huge problem. Suddenly, anyone who already exhibited any mild potentially addictive behavior developed a major problem. Someone with a slight shopping problem became a compulsive shopper. A comfort eater became a compulsive eater. A casual poker player became a compulsive gambler. We couldn’t figure out what mechanism in the drug caused this huge release of neurotransmitters, so we stopped the study immediately. Fortunately, the study hadn’t been going on long enough for these behaviors to completely rewire these patients’ brains, so we were able to reverse the effects pretty easily for most of the patients.” He winced. “Some did require additional medication and therapy to combat the compulsive behavior, but all were eventually okay.”

  He grabbed a stack of papers that was about two inches thick. “Yesterday, Jerry Jeff and I did a little research. These are the studies submitted to the FDA for approval of the reworked opioid from DeLeon Labs, plus the patent applications to extend the patent. I’ve looked over these study results, and it’s possible that they’ve misrepresented the makeup of this drug. They’re claiming that this drug is a combination of an opioid with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, like Prozac, but there are indications that make me think this may be the experimental drug that we worked on several years ago. I really can’t tell from this incomplete information, but if so, this is incredibly dangerous, especially if c
ombined with an opioid which can be very addictive in, and of itself, and then used in conjunction with the computer program.”

  Lola and Jake looked at each other, and Jake spoke for both of them. “So basically, this drug may be a combination of an opioid and an experimental drug that releases so many brain chemicals that it does a great job of reducing pain and anxiety. But, because of the way this experimental drug works it often results in addiction. Add the program that can help this entire process happen more quickly and effectively to that mix, and you’ve got a perfect storm for anyone with addictive tendencies. So unintentionally or intentionally, you’ll end up with high percentage of patients who will end up addicted to opioids.”

  Dr. Littman nodded. “Basically, yeah.”

  Jake whistled, long and low, then he leaned back in his chair, his mind whirling. He looked at Lola, who slumped in her chair with her head tilted up against the backrest and her eyes closed. He grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers and squeezed. She squeezed back, turned her head, opened her eyes, and smiled at Jake. She winked at him. “Wow. The FDA would not like it if they misrepresented the facts, and a drug like that can make a lot of money for a company. If they think I have information that could screw up their FDA approval I’m pretty screwed, huh?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe a little.” He lifted their clasped hands to his mouth and kissed her hand. “We’ll figure it out, Lola, don’t you worry.”

  He looked over at Dr. Littman. “Doc, I need you to keep this quiet. Not a word to anyone, don’t poke around, don’t look any more into the patent applications, don’t do any more research on this drug. I don’t want anyone to know you have any knowledge of this. So far, Lola is the only person they think is involved, and I’d like to keep it that way.” He looked the professor over. “Do you need me to send you some personal protection for a while? I’ll be happy to send someone to keep watch over your house and lab.”

  Dr. Littman laughed. “Don’t worry about me. This is perfect timing. I’m leaving from here to go to Quantico. I’m teaching a class up at the FBI Academy for the next month, so I’ll be surrounded by hundreds of FBI agents every day. I’m not too worried about my safety.”

  Jake nodded. “My brother, Steve Prince, is with the bureau in New Orleans. I can have him call and give the folks over there a heads up about what’s going on. In the meantime, just be careful and watch your back. I don’t think you’re on anyone’s radar, but I want to keep it that way.”

  They all shook hands and Jake asked Jerry Jeff to escort Professor Littman back to his car and then come to his office. By the time Jerry Jeff rejoined them, Jake had already Skyped Steve, explained about Dr. Littman and his concerns, and had him up on the big TV in his office so they could all brainstorm about what to do next.

  Jerry Jeff turned to Lola. “Lola, have they broken into your house yet, or just your office? Maybe the best thing to do is to take the original corrupted flash drive and put it in a place in your house so they could find it. Not too easy, but something they could find. Once they see that there’s nothing on it, maybe they’ll figure there’s no reason to come after you anymore.”

  Jake thought about it. “That’s definitely a good first step. Jerry Jeff, just make sure they can’t tell that you were able to recover information from the original flash drive.”

  Jerry Jeff rolled his eyes. “Please, Jake. This ain’t my first rodeo. Nobody will be able to tell it’s not the original flash drive in its original form, but I’ll also make sure they won’t be able to reconstruct any of the corrupted information. When they see it, it’ll just be the same vague information we originally saw.”

  “Just making sure, big guy.” Jake turned to his brother and Lola. “So do we keep this quiet and see what falls out, or do we go public?” He grabbed Lola’s hand and squeezed it and Jake saw his brother’s eyebrows shoot up, but he ignored him to talk to Lola. “Lola, once this goes public, there’s no reason to come after you because the damage will already be done. Is that the best way to handle it?”

  Lola thought about it. “That could take care of the problem. The only issue then would be if the DeLeon Labs guy is the vindictive type. Or if he’s already put some stuff in motion that would be hard to call off. Also, I still don’t know if they know who all’s involved. Jake, does he know about you and Jerry Jeff? Does he know I’ve talked to you, Steve? The problem is, we don’t know who or what’s involved so we don’t know if there are really any issues about anyone’s safety. I’m just one person, so it’s not a big deal to protect me, but what if all of you are in danger? That’s a problem.”

  Steve nodded. “That’s all true. Here’s the biggest problem I see at this point. We can’t go public at this point because it’s all speculation right now. Your professor has suspicions, but there’s no proof that he’s right. I mean, he suspects it’s that experimental drug, but he’s not sure. We have nothing solid to work with at this point. So, until we get confirmation of this theory, we can’t go public with it.”

  Lola was perched on the corner of Jake’s desk. “We could hand it to someone in the media and let them do the digging. There are plenty of bulldogs out there who’d love a chance at a story like this.”

  Jake agreed, but he was still hesitant. “That’s true, Lola, but we’re talking a lot of money, here. If that person gets paid off, and the story gets squashed, you’re still a loose end, and I’m not willing to compromise your safety like that.” They smiled at each other and she nodded her thanks.

  Steve was smirking at their exchange, and when Jake saw his self-satisfied expression he questioned him. “What the hell are you smiling at, jackass?”

  “Nothing. Just glad to see that you two are getting along so well.”

  Jerry Jeff agreed. “Right? I told him I thought they’d make a great couple. I told Jake it’s about time he quit dating married lesbians and found himself his own woman, but…”

  Lola laughed out loud as Jake cut him off. He looked mortified. “Holy shit. Enough from both of you. Can we stick to the topic here, please?” He mouthed “sorry” to Lola and rolled his eyes at his brother and Jerry Jeff’s antics. “What do we do now?”

  Steve instantly sobered up. “Here’s what I suggest. Lola, I would put Jerry Jeff’s ‘original’ in your condo and let’s see if they take it. If they do, hopefully you’ll be able to get an ID on these guys so we can figure out who, and what, we’re dealing with. And I guess we’ll go from there, but everyone needs to be careful, and Lola, you don’t need to be staying at your house.”

  She snorted. “Please. I’m not an idiot. I’m staying at your brother’s until further notice.”

  Steve couldn’t stop smiling at that, but Jake completely ignored him, so Steve continued. “That’s great. He’s got great security and he’ll make sure you stay safe. In the meantime, I’m going to get one of my personal buddies in our lab to poke around with the patent application and the FDA information to see if we’re really talking about the experimental drug the professor described. I’m also going to check with the FDA guys I know to see if we can get a sample of the drug to test. Once we have those two things confirmed, we’ll actually have an idea how to proceed.”

  Jake nodded. “That all sounds great. In the meantime, Lola and I are going to do some deep research on DeLeon Labs and see what’s going on over there. Jerry Jeff and I are doing the final testing on Big Al, so we’ll give it a workout and see what we can find out.”

  Steve nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Jake, I’ll be in touch.” He smiled at Lola and winked. “Lola, stay safe and keep thinking about the best way to deal with these guys. You’re a lawyer, for God’s sake, and I’m sure you can figure out the best way to manipulate this situation to our benefit.”

  Lola winked back. “You got it. Thanks for all your help.”

  He smiled and gave a macho chin lift to Jake. “Keep on your toes, little brother. I’m out. ” Jake waved as Steve ended the transmission.

  Jake stood up, sti
ll holding Lola’s hand. He absently kissed the back of it before letting it go. “Jerry Jeff, we’re going to get started with the research on DeLeon Labs. If you would get us the flash drive, we’ll take it over to Lola’s this afternoon and put it in her condo.” Jerry Jeff nodded and left.

  Jake grabbed an extra chair and rolled it next to his at his desk. As soon as Lola sat down, he turned to her. “Look, I’m really sorry about all that. Apparently, my idiot brother and Jerry Jeff have made it their personal mission in life to get me married off, and they’re not exactly discreet.”

  Lola just laughed. “Not a problem. You may not have realized this, yet, but I’m not exactly shy and I’m a big girl. I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. You’re a big, sexy, fun, guy Jake, and if I’m going to be chased by bad guys, at least I’m getting some hot, recreational sex to keep me distracted, so it’s no biggie.” She turned to the computer. “Now let’s see how this amazing program of yours and Jerry Jeff’s works.”

  Jake obligingly started up the program, but as he entered his passwords and went through the layers of security, he got more annoyed. He finally stopped what he was doing and turned to Lola. “Lola, I told you, I don’t see this as purely recreational. You’re not just beautiful and a lot of fun, but you’re smart and sarcastic and funny, and I think you’ll agree the sex is off the chain. Once all this is over, I’d like us to keep seeing each other and see where this ends up.”

  Lola laughed and patted his cheek. “We’ll see what happens, Jake. This could be one of those intense things that, once it’s over, we’ll probably be tired of each other and that’ll be it. Let’s just get through all this and then we can worry about all that.”

  Jake stared at her like he was trying to figure her out, but Lola just avoided his eyes. He was pretty sure that the problem wasn’t a lack of interest on her part, it was that she was scared of being in a real relationship. He wondered what had happened to make her so wary of men, but he also realized that now was not the time to get into it, so he nodded and went back to his keyboard. “Fine. We’ll discuss things after this is all over.” He finished entering the commands. As he waited for the system to boot up, he stared at Lola, willing her to look at him, but she continued to ignore him and stared at the computer.