EXHIBIT 32.1

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO

SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

In connection with the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Targacept, Inc. (the “Company”) for the year ended December 31, 2011 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, J. Donald deBethizy, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, hereby certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to my knowledge:

(1) The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and

(2) The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

Date: March 6, 2012	By:	/s/    J. DONALD DEBETHIZY
		J. Donald deBethizy
		President and Chief Executive Officer
		(Principal Executive Officer)