‘Candace Pert’ Review: How the Game Was Played

In the late evening of Oct. 22, 1972, a young scientist in a university lab was in the midst of setting up the most important experiment of her life—conducted in secret, using radiation-infused naloxone, which she had procured illegally. But she also had to pick up her son from school. Few fellow scientists, almost all of them men, would have been in such a position: They wouldn’t have been expected to deal with child care, and most dared not perform an experiment with illicit materials while their advisers were out of town. Candace Pert didn’t see problems, however; she saw potential. And nothing—not the law, not a no-kids-in-the-lab rule—was going to stop her.

Long before the 20th century, physicians understood that opium and its derivatives (such as morphine, codeine and heroin) affect the brain, dampening pain and inducing euphoria. But no one knew how. Was there a specific part of the brain that acted as a receiver? If so, could we manipulate it, block it or even cater to it? A race was on to find the receptors, and Pert wanted to be first—but after six months and many failed attempts, she needed a fresh angle. And a radioactive drug.

Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8