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Hi Andy, > I have heard that a diver can acclimatize himself to the effects of > nitrogen narcosis by making progressively deeper dives over a period > of time. Hal Watts discussed this phenomenon at TEK, and Brett > Gilliam talks about it in the new edition of "Deep Diving". > > My question is this: Does nitrous oxide, commonly used as an > anesthetic, work using the same biological mechanism as nitrogen > narcosis? The effects of narcosis and nitrous oxide are certainty > similar in feeling. > > Now, if the two work on the same mechanism, would it be possible to > breath a moderate dosage of nitrous oxide, for say, 30 minutes a day > for a week, while performing a task? Something like assembling a > puzzle, playing tic-tac-toe or simple math problems? Even typing on a > keyboard would be a good task. > > After a period of time, would you get better at dexterity and > straight-thinking? And if so, would it allow you to better cope with > the effects of nitrogen narcosis? A number of us believe that it doesn't even necessarily have to be the same physiological mechanism in order to acclimatize to narcosis (yes, acclimatization is *REAL* In fact, there is a short-term component, and a long-term component, but I won't go into that now...). At least part of the acclimatization seems to be a "learned ability to deal with a screwed-up brain" There's lots of anecdotal stuff to support this. However, there may also be a true physiological acclimation to narcosis, this based on some things Sheck Exley told me about his experiences with HPNS. I spoke with Jim Bowden about it at Tek95, and he said he wasn't so sure about the HPNS correlation. We'll probably never really work all of this stuff out for certain. Aloha, Rich deepreef@bi*.bi*.ha*.or*
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