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Space-plant if the participant had been the one

to touch the object (Neurocase,
roots gravitate doi.org/cbkm). “To our surprise,
[they] would dictate how the
towards water experimenter’s cleansing ritual
should be performed,” says Jalal.
THE roots of cucumber plants grown “They would say things like, ‘wash
on the International Space Station more on this side’, or ‘pour more
show an unusually strong tendency water between these fingers’.”
to grow towards water. This finding Jalal says the results are very
might help us engineer crops that are preliminary, and should be
more tolerant to droughts on Earth. interpreted cautiously. But if the
On Earth, roots often grow finding is confirmed in larger
downwards under gravity’s influence. placebo-controlled trials, he
But on the ISS, Earth’s gravitational thinks this kind of “vicarious
pull is much less pronounced. exposure” could lead to new
PLAINPICTURE/PHOTOALTO/ODILON DIMIER

To explore how this affects root therapies for OCD. “Watching a

growth, Hideyuki Takahashi of video of someone washing their
Tohoku University in Japan sent hands might be enough to reduce
cucumber seeds into space. the urge to perform the action in
The seeds were grown in a small real life,” he says. “We could put
chamber on the ISS in 2010 with wet these videos into an app.”
filter paper on one side to set up a Exposure therapy is a popular
moisture gradient. –Ah, that feels better– treatment for OCD, and involves
The cucumber roots bent towards people experiencing their
the wet substrate, sometimes by as
much as 60 degrees from the vertical. Seeing others wash their obsessive trigger without being
allowed to perform the behaviour
Unexpectedly, the plant hormones
that encourage cucumber roots to hands brings OCD relief that makes them feel better. Jalal
says that an app may make it
grow downwards on Earth also possible to do this kind of
seemed to encourage them to grow PEOPLE with obsessive- showed each participant treatment virtually, rather than
towards water in space. This suggests compulsive disorder (OCD) may something to make them feel with a therapist in a clinic, making
cucumber roots have a hidden ability get relief simply from watching disgusted – either an open bag of it accessible to more people.
to seek out water – but the power is someone else perform their vomit, a bowl containing blood- At the very least, such an app
masked on Earth because of their compulsive actions – a finding soaked bandages or a bedpan of could be a less harmful substitute
stronger response to gravity (New that could lead to new treatments. faeces and toilet paper. The for compulsions that are bad for
Phytologist, doi.org/cbjk). When we watch someone else participants were unaware that individuals’ health, he says: “For
In the common, lab-grown plant perform an action, the same parts each stimulus was in fact fake. instance, we might be able to give
Arabidopsis, the water-seeking of our brains become active as Then, either the participant or a people who pull their hair out
behaviour of roots operates when we do the action ourselves. researcher touched the bag, bowl obsessively relief from their urge
separately from gravity control, This is called the mirror neuron or bedpan for 15 seconds while by watching a video of themselves
says Takahashi, and individual system, and it is thought to help doing it instead. It might at least
plants with a stronger version of us understand the actions and “We might be able to give act as a kind of benign substitute
the water-seeking behaviour grow feelings of others. people relief from urges that’s used alongside more
better in arid conditions. Baland Jalal at the University using videos of themselves conventional treatments.”
If it is possible to separate the of Cambridge wondered whether doing an action” A trial involving at least
gravity and water-seeking behaviour this system could be used to 50 people with OCD and a credible
of cucumber roots, we might be able to help people with OCD. Working wearing latex gloves. Participants control treatment is needed to
boost those water-seeking properties with his colleague Vilayanur were then asked to rate their really test the efficacy of this idea,
and grow cucumbers – and other Ramachandran at the University disgust, before being allowed to says Jon Abramowitz, a clinical
economically important plants – in of California, San Diego, he wash their hands, or watch the psychologist at the University of
challenging drier conditions too. studied 10 people with OCD researcher do the same. They then North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Hillel Fromm of Tel Aviv University symptoms, who experience rated how relieved they now felt. “Conceptually, my guess would be
in Israel also sees the potential disgust when touching things All 10 people with OCD felt that such an intervention might
benefits for improved plant growth they consider even mildly strong disgust after watching be helpful for some people, but
when water is in short supply. He says contaminated. The resulting other people touch the faked not for others,” he says. “OCD is
a stronger grasp of plant growth in anxiety forces them to wash objects. But they experienced very heterogeneous and people
space could prove beneficial on any their hands compulsively. significant relief just by watching would likely respond differently
off-planet colony. Lakshmi Supriya n First, Jalal and Ramachandran a researcher’s handwashing – even to this.” Helen Thomson n

12 August 2017 | NewScientist | 9