On 5 Jan 1995 12:07:09 -0800,
David Brockman Wheeler <dwheeler at leland.Stanford.EDU> wrote:
>In article <53129.caudle at irp.nidr.nih.gov>,
>caudle at irp.nidr.nih.gov <caudle at irp.nidr.nih.gov> wrote:
>>>On 4 Jan 1995 19:06:16 GMT,
>>Tom Salyers <at425 at yfn.ysu.edu> wrote:
>>>> Greetings. I'm trying to write a science fiction story in my spare time,
>>> My central question is this: is the human sense of passing time a factor
>>>of neurochemistry? And if so, would it be possible (given the right level
>>>of knowledge and technology, of course) to manufacture a drug that would
>>>alter that sense--to make two years, for instance, feel like fifty?
>>>IMHO - The passage of time is really a physical event rather than a
>>chemical one.
>>[SNIP]
>>>Information is stored and then the decay is monitored to determine the passage
>>of time.
>>If this is indeed the mechanism then it would have a neurochemical basis...
>or don't you believe that information storage involves chemical messengers?
Transmission of information does involve chemical messengers, but storage is
likely to be either physical (example: changes in synaptic strength) or
statistical (correlations in neuronal firing, etc.). Chemical messengers tend
to diffuse or degrade to rapidly to be of much significance in information
storage.
>>>perceived to have passed can easily be altered by changing the rate at
>>which the stored information is lost. In your clock, you could simply
>>replace the oscilator with one that has a different period. In the brain
>>this sort of change in the rate of information decay appears to occur quite
>>regularly.
>>In addition, I would suggest that external cues are very important in
>modulating any intrinsic timing mechanisms...
Good point!!! We constantly readjust our internal perception of time to some
external clock.
>>>For science fiction, however, it would be intriguing to implant some
>>electronic device in a critical region of the brain, say the locus ceruleus
>>(a region of the brain that interacts with almost all other regions), that
>>could alter time perception.
>>Therefore, I would couple this sort of device with isolation of the individual
>in a highly controllable environment (perhaps within their own mind?) in which
>external timing cues could be manipulated...
Cool!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robert M. Caudle "If I had my life to
NAB, NIDR, NIH live over, I'd be a
Bldg. 49, Rm 1A-11 plumber."
9000 Rockville Pike A. Einstein
Bethesda, MD 20892
Caudle at yoda.nidr.nih.gov
or
Caudle at irp.nidr.nih.gov
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
