Tom Salyers (at425 at yfn.ysu.edu) wrote:
: Greetings. I'm trying to write a science fiction story in my spare time,
: but I can't seem to find the research material I need in the local university
: library.
: 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?
: Any and all advice or pointers to reference material (not *too* technical,
: please--my training's in computer science, not neurology) will be greatly
: appreciated.
: --
: Tom Salyers "Now is the Windows of our disk contents
: IRCnick: Aqualung made glorious SimEarth by this Sun of Zork."
Denver, CO ---Richard v3.0
If you insist, you might want to consider this (but don't quote me
quoting this quote from J.A. Gray and J.N.P. Rawlins:
[quote] It is now well established that the theta rhythm is generated
in at two locations in the hippocampal foormation (in CA1 and
the dentate gyrus[..]) and at another location in the entorhi-
, nal cortex[..], and that these generators are under the con-
trol of pacemaker cells in the medial septal area. The func-
tional significance of theta remains an enigma, however.
[..]
Vinogradova (1975) and O'Keefe have suggested that the func-
tion of theta is to quantize time with respect to the
passage of different items of information through the SHS
(=septohippocampal system, PU).
[..]
An alternative hypothesis is that theta paces the passage
of successive items of information around all the loops
that make up the SHS and the Papez-circuit.
[..]
..there are two types of theta. The first (atropine- resis-
tant) type is associated with movement.[..].The second (atro-
pine sensitive) is not associated with movement, and may be
blocked by systemic anticholinergics, and is of relatively
low frequency
[unquote]
Mind you, the theta rhythm is an electrocortically measurable rhythm
of around 7.7 Hz. Gray and Rawlins do not, however, explicitly asso-
ciate the theta rhythm with time perception. It is up to you to
abuse this kind of information :-)
Gray, J.A., and Rawlins, J.N.P.: Comparator and Buffer Memory. An
Attempt to Integrate two Models of Hippocampal Function. In:
R.L. Isaacson and K.H. Pribram (Eds.): The Hippocampus (Vol.4).
Plenum Press, New York and London.
PS: Send me a copy of your story. I love SF.
Greetings,
Pieter Unema
Institut fuer Arbeitswissenschaft
Technical University of Berlin
.
