Cortexiphan

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Overview

Cortexiphan is a drug created by Doctor William Bell in 1981.

Re-testing Cortexiphan

According to Nina Sharp (Ability), Bell theorized that at birth, the human mind is infinitely capable, but each force that it encounters (social, physical, intellectual) begins a process he called "limitation" - a diminishing of that potential. Cortexiphan was designed in hopes of limiting this "limitation", preventing the natural shrinking of brainpower, resulting in people with increased mental ability. Due to the fact that Cortexiphan only prevented the limitation of the mind's potential rather than reversing it, it had to be administered to young children (whose potential had not yet been limited) in order to produce any results.

Walter Bishop states (Bad Dreams) that Cortexiphan works by enhancing people's abilities of perception. He explains that reality is the way we perceive the world around us. Therefore, by changing our perception, we change our reality. However, while normal people can only change their perception, Cortexiphan-positives can change other people's perceptions as well, thereby changing reality. Nick Lane is an example of this. When his moods changed, his perception changed, and therefore his reality changed. But he unwittingly also caused a change in perception of those around him. In other words, his moods were contagious, like a reverse-empath. It is also possible this is how Olivia Dunham was able to defuse David Robert Jones's bomb (Ability).

Cortexiphan induces different abilities among test subjects. Olivia developed a psychic link with her test partner Nick Lane. In 1982, a 3-year-old Olivia appears to cause an "incident" in Walter and William Bell's lab causing a large portion of her room to appear charred or burned. According to Walter, this happened because Olivia was triggered when she became upset (Ability). In The Road Not Taken, Cortexiphan subject Susan Pratt grows agitated, then self-immolates when she is unable to control her pyrokinetic abilities. Her identical twin sister Nancy Lewis, who also had been part of the Jacksonville Cortexiphan trials, was triggered by extreme emotions but able to focus her pyrokinetic ability on Sanford Harris with coaching from Olivia Dunham. In Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver., terminally-ill James Heath, who is suffering from cancer, is able to exchange energy with his Cortexiphan-tested peer, just by touching them. This enabled Heath's condition to improve for a short period of time. His sister Julie visited him at the hospital, collapsed and died. After Heath visited Lloyd Becker, Miranda Greene, Alan DeRosa and Timothy Ober, each died within minutes of contact with him from aggressive cancer tumors. Heath was captured after he attempted to contact Olivia.

Cortexiphan-positives must be activated in order to use their abilities. David Robert Jones used the first test of the evaluation system to try and activate Olivia Dunham. Similar test item was found in Nick Lane's drawer (Bad Dreams) and in the room where Nancy Lewis was held as a prisoner (The Road Not Taken). Nick Lane mentioned to Olivia that he was visited by a "strange man with the glasses", who is presumably responsible for activating him. James Heath also claimed that he was visited by an unidentified man, who told him he could learn to control his cancer because of testing done on him as a child in Jacksonville.

At the conclusion of Bad Dreams, Nick Lane is seen in a drug-induced coma in an unidentified facility. James Heath is also seen in a drug induced coma in an unidentified facility at the end of Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.. The coma has arrested the progression of Heath's cancer.

In Over There, Part 1, James Heath, Nick Lane and Sally Clark successfully gain control and repurpose their abilities through the help of Massive Dynamic's series of experiments. Together with Olivia Dunham, their collective psychic energy allowed them to cross over to the alternate universe. This, however, seems to affected the Cortexiphan subjects except for Olivia. They are unable to control their abilities. James Heath dies because of his rapid-onset disease. Later, in an encounter with the Fringe Division of the other side, Nick Lane is shot by Lincoln Lee and Sally Clark uses her pyrokinetic ability, causing herself and Nick Lane to vanish, while leaving Lincoln Lee with third degree burns over most of his body.

Testing of Cortexiphan

Two clinical trials testing the effect of Cortexiphan on humans took place in the mid-1980's, after earlier testing of the effect of the drug on animals. During these trials, children were paired together for companionship. The larger trial was performed on the Wooster Campus of Ohio State University. The smaller trial was held at a daycare facility on/near a military installation in Jacksonville, Florida. Olivia was a test subject in Jacksonville and was paired with Nick Lane. They were subjected to Cortexiphan dosing at very young ages. A spinal tap administered to Olivia by Mitchell Loeb (Bound) identified her Cortexiphan testing to David Jones. Broyles tells Nina (Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.) that nearly a dozen Jacksonville test subjects and thirty Wooster test subjects remain unaccounted for. Olivia allowed Walter to readminister the drug (Jacksonville) to her to determine if she had any residual, or latent, abilities. The Massive Dynamic Experimental Campus (Over There, Part 1) houses many of the known Cortexiphan test subjects that still live. Initial rehabilitation efforts by Massive Dynamic appear successful.

Confirmed Test Subjects

Name

Seen In

Comments

Olivia Dunham

All Episodes

• Listed on the daycare wall (Jacksonville) and in her notes (Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.) as Olive D..
• Abducted, as an adult, and tested for Cortexiphan (Bound) via spinal tap. Results were positive.
• Sees a glimmer around objects from the alternate universe when she gets emotional.
• Generated a pyrokinetic event when she was a young Cortexiphan test subject.
• Uses her Cortexiphan-induced abilities to travel back and forth between local universes

Nancy Lewis

The Road Not Taken

• Listed on the daycare wall (Jacksonville) and in Olivia's notes (Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.).
• Abducted and restrained to test her ability to control her pyrokinetic skills
• Used her Cortexiphan-induced pyrokinetic skills to kill Sanford Harris, saving her and Olivia's life.
• Her twin sister is Susan Pratt.

Susan Pratt

The Road Not Taken

• Listed on the daycare wall (Jacksonville) and in Olivia's notes (Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.) as Susan L (Lewis).
• Died from self-induced combustion from the uncontrollable pyrokinetic skills she developed from Cortexiphan.
• Her twin sister is Nancy Lewis.

Nick Lane

Bad Dreams

Over There, Part 1

• Listed on the daycare wall (Jacksonville) and in Olivia's notes (Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.).
• His pairing with Olivia during Cortexiphan testing created a long lived psychic bond between the two.
• His psychic influence allowed him to live vicariously through the malicious acts he forced others to perform.
• His recovery has left him good-natured and an informal leader among other Cortexiphan recoverees.
• He could not psychically prevent the ambush in the alternate universe.

Sally Clark

Over There, Part 1

• Was not listed as a member of the Jacksonville daycare test group
• Allowed Nick Lane to psychically guide her emotions during a romantic evening together.
• Vanished with the injured Nick Lane after nearly incinerating Lincoln Lee with her pyrokinetic abilities.

James Heath

Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.

Over There, Part 1

• Attempted to abate his aggressive cancer by swapping "energies" with other Cortexiphan children, killing them in the process.
• Failed when he attempted to swap "energy" with Olivia.
• Died almost immediately from cancer after arriving in the alternate universe.
• Brother of Julie Heath, who he inadvertently killed with his Cortexiphan-induced abilities.

Miranda Greene

Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.

• Listed on the daycare wall (Jacksonville) and in Olivia's notes (Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.).
• Located by James Heath to absorb his aggressive cancer, she is now deceased.
• Heath also used her to locate other Cortexiphan test subjects.

Lloyd Becker

Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.

• Listed on the daycare wall (Jacksonville) and in Olivia's notes (Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.).
• Located by James Heath. Absorbed his aggressive cancer, he is now deceased.

Alan DeRosa

Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.
(photo only)

• Located by James Heath to absorb his aggressive cancer, he is now deceased.

Julie Heath

Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.
(photo only)

• Listed on the daycare wall (Jacksonville) and in Olivia's notes (Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.).
• Collapsed and died while visiting her brother, James Heath, while he was being treated for cancer.

Timothy Michael Ober

Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.
(photo only)

• Listed on the daycare wall (Jacksonville) and in Olivia's notes (Olivia. In The Lab. With The Revolver.).
• Located by James Heath to absorb his aggressive cancer, he is now deceased.
• Olivia remembers him after studying photos pinned on the wall.