Spock performs the Vulcan nerve pinch on a Red Shirt during a fight from "And the Children Shall Lead"

As used in the fictional Star Trek universe, the Vulcan nerve pinch is a technique used mainly by Vulcans to render another lifeform unconscious by pinching the base of the victim's neck with all four fingers opposing the thumb. Normally this is done to other humanoids, although in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Spock successfully uses the nerve pinch on a horse-like creature. Image File history File links Vulcannervepinch. ... Image File history File links Vulcannervepinch. ... For other uses, see Spock (disambiguation). ... A redshirt is a stock character, used frequently in science fiction but also other genres, whose sole purpose is to die violently soon after being introduced. ... And the Children Shall Lead is a third season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, and was broadcast October 11, 1968. ... The current Star Trek franchise logo Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment series. ... It has been suggested that Tplana-hath be merged into this article or section. ... A human neck. ... Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (Paramount Pictures, 1989; see also 1989 in film) is the fifth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ...

Origin and use

Leonard Nimoy conceived the maneuver in the early days of the original Star Trek series. The script for The Enemy Within called for Spock to karate chop Captain Kirk's duplicate, but Nimoy felt that such an action would be undignified for a Vulcan — he therefore invented an alternative.^{[citation needed]} In Star Trek's scripts, the pinch is referred to as the FSNP, for Famous Spock Nerve Pinch. Leonard Simon Nimoy (born March 26, 1931) is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. ... The starship Enterprise as it appeared on Star Trek Star Trek is a culturally significant science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s. ... This article is about the Star Trek episode. ... Marines practicing striking A strike (in budo sometimes referred to as atemi, 当て身, body strike[1]) is an attack with an inanimate object, such as a weapon, or with a part of the human body intended to cause harm to an opponent. ... James Tiberius Kirk (2233 - 2293/2371), played by William Shatner, is the leading character in the original Star Trek television series and the films based on it. ...

Since Spock, various other characters in the Star Trek spin-offs use the technique, including non-Vulcans such as the android Data,^[1] the Changeling Odo,^[2] Voyager's holographic Doctor,^[3] and the humans Jean-Luc Picard,^[4] Seven of Nine,^[5] and Jonathan Archer^[6] (though Archer was carrying the katra of the ancient Vulcan Surak at the time). The android Data, portrayed by Brent Spiner, from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation An android is a robot made to resemble a human, usually both in appearance and behavior. ... Data,[1] portrayed by Brent Spiner, is a character in the Star Trek fictional universe. ... Changelings are an alien race from the Star Trek universe. ... Odo is a shapeshifter played by Rene Auberjonois on the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. ... The USS Voyager (NCC-74656) is an Intrepid class starship in the Star Trek fictional universe. ... This article is about the photographic technique. ... Captain Jean-Luc Picard, played by Patrick Stewart, is a character in the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One, or simply Seven, played by Jeri Ryan, is a character in the television series Star Trek: Voyager. ... This article or section may need to be cleaned up and rewritten because it describes a work of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. ... In the fictional Star Trek universe, katra is the immortal, living spirit of a Vulcan. ... Surak is a fictional character of the Star Trek universe. ...

Some humans, however, have been unable to use the nerve pinch. Spock once commented that he tried but failed to teach it to James T. Kirk.^[7] Likewise, when Dr. McCoy was in possession of Spock's katra, he was unable to use the nerve pinch.^[8] Leonard H. McCoy, M.D. (2227-) (nicknamed Bones, as in the old-fashioned colloquialism Sawbones for a doctor or a surgeon), played by DeForest Kelley, is a Starfleet officer in the fictional Star Trek universe. ...

The nerve pinch has been used on Vulcans and the Vulcanoid Romulans several times, showing that neither race is immune to the technique.^[1][3][5][6] Introduction The Romulans, a fictional race in the Star Trek universe, are descended from Vulcans and are characterized as being deceitful, cunning, and treacherous. ...

Physiology

There is no on-screen canon explanation of how the pinch works. Over the years, fans and Expanded Universe writers have made a number of suggestions as to how it works. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that Other storylines in Star Trek be merged into this article or section. ...

The book The Making of Star Trek by Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry offers a simple explanation: the pinch blocks blood and nerve responses from reaching the brain, leading to unconsciousness. In this earliest of Star Trek reference books, the pinch is referred to as the "Spock Pinch".^[9] Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American scriptwriter and producer. ... Human blood smear: a - erythrocytes; b - neutrophil; c - eosinophil; d - lymphocyte. ... Nerves (yellow) Nerves redirects here. ... In animals the brain, or encephalon (Greek for in the head), is the control center of the central nervous system, responsible for thought. ...

One conjecture was that, because of Vulcans' telepathic nature and incredible control over their own bodies, they are able to send a burst of neural energy into another being and overload its nervous system, rendering it unconscious, although the pinch does not work on all species.^{[citation needed]} This was supported by the fact that Dr. McCoy could not use it in Star Trek III, but it has been rendered moot by the fact that many non-telepathic characters have used it in modern incarnations of Trek. In mathematics, a conjecture is a mathematical statement which appears likely to be true, but has not been formally proven to be true under the rules of mathematical logic. ... Telepathy is the communication of messages or thoughts directly from one mind to another. ... The Human Nervous System The nervous system of an animal coordinates the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and also stops input from the senses, and initiates actions. ... Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Paramount Pictures, 1984; see also 1984 in film) is the third feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ...

Another conjecture is that it can be done by applying strong and surgically precise pressure over baroreceptors of the carotid sinus at the base of the humanoid neck. The objective would be to elicit the baroreceptor reflex as the receptors detect an apparent high pressure state due to the externally applied force and causes reflex bradycardia and/or hypotension, leading to decreased blood supply to the brain and syncope. However, this would likely require bilateral pressure.^{[citation needed]} Baroreceptors (or baroceptors) in the human body detect the pressure of blood flowing though them, and can send messages to the central nervous system to increase or decrease total peripheral resistance and cardiac output. ... Arteries of the neck. ... Baroreflex, also called baroreceptor reflex is the system in the body that regulates blood pressure. ... Bradycardia, as applied in adult medicine, is defined as a heart rate of under 60 beats per minute, though it is seldom symptomatic until the rate drops below 50 beat/min [1]. It is also less commonly known as brachycardia. ... In physiology and medicine, hypotension refers to an abnormally low blood pressure. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The elaborate patterns on the wings of butterflies are one example of biological symmetry. ...

Death grip

The Star Trek episode "The Enterprise Incident" makes reference to a Vulcan "death grip", which is supposedly a more powerful and lethal version of the nerve pinch. Spock pretends to use it on Captain Kirk in order to complete a mission. Nurse Christine Chapel later asserts that the death grip is a myth, later confirmed by Kirk still being alive. Spock does, however, do something to Kirk that simulates death to such a degree that Romulan doctors certified him dead. Kirk stated that Spock used a nerve pinch to simulate his death, but what Spock exactly does is not explained. The Enterprise Incident is a third season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, first broadcast September 27, 1968 and repeated December 27, 1968. ... Christine Chapel is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe, played by Majel Barrett, the wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. ... Romulans are a fictional alien species in the Star Trek universe related to Vulcans. ...

As a result, the term "Vulcan Death Grip" has become an ubiquitous synonym for the Vulcan nerve pinch, despite the fact that the nerve pinch is nonlethal and the death grip may not even exist in Star Trek.

Other references

• In an episode of the TV series Soap, Jodie Dallas (played by Billy Crystal) used the neck pinch successfully, to his surprise, in a confrontation with several fighters at a martial arts studio.
• Scott Adams has been known to mention to the nerve pinch in his comic strip Dilbert, where he often refers to it incorrectly as the Vulcan Death Grip.
• Xena on the series Xena Warrior Princess has a lethal Death Pinch.
• The Beastie Boys' song "Intergalactic" says the listener's "knees'll start shaking and your fingers pop / Like a pinch on the neck of Mr. Spock". Note that the lyrics refer to it as a pinch "of" rather than "from" Spock.
• On an episode of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Kwai Chang Caine uses the "Vulcan Nerve Punch" to defeat several enemies.
• In the Mel Brooks comedy Spaceballs, Lone Starr attempts to knock-out a Spaceball guard using the technique, prompting the following dialogue:

Guard: What the hell are you doing?

Lone Starr: The, uh, Vulcan Neck Pinch...

Guard: No, no, stupid. You've got it much too high. It's down here where the shoulder meets the neck.

Lone Starr: Like this?

Guard: Yeah! (Faints)

• In the film Look Who's Talking Now, Kirstie Alley's character loses her job and takes a temp job playing an elf in Santa's Workshop in a mall. A bratty child asks scornfully if she is an elf. She replies "No, I'm a Vulcan. How would you like a little death grip?", in reference to Alley's role as Saavik in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
• Pulp hero Doc Savage uses a similar technique.^{[citation needed]}
• "Vulcan nerve pinch" is also hacker slang for a key board combination used to reboot or otherwise interrupt a computer. A common example of this is Control-Alt-Delete for IBM PC compatible computers (see also three-finger salute).
• The book The Action Hero's Handbook gives instructions for performing a nerve pinch.
• In The Simpsons episode "Mayored to the Mob," Homer uses the Vulcan Nerve Pinch or as Marge thinks, a sleeper hold to knock out his children. He is then scolded by Marge and promptly repeats the technique on her also. Realizing there is 30 minutes left until supper he applies it to himself.
• In the Futurama episode, Where No Fan Has Gone Before, the Planet Express crew are forced into a fight to the death with the cast of the original series. When Nimoy is fighting Bender he tries to "see if this actually works" and attempts one on Bender, which could never work, since he is a robot.

Soap was a successful American sitcom that ran on ABC from 1977 to 1981. ... Billy Crystal (born Israel William Krisstalsterne on March 14, 1947 in Long Beach, New York) is a Jewish American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. ... Scott Raymond Adams (born June 8, 1957) is the creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several business commentaries, social satires, and experimental philosophy books. ... Dilbert (first published April 16, 1989) is an American comic strip written and drawn by Scott Adams. ... For the dwarf planet formerly nicknamed Xena see Eris (dwarf planet). ... Xena. ... The Beastie Boys are a group from the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky on May 9, 1926) is an Academy Award-winning American actor, writer, director and producer best known as a creator of broad film farces and comedy parodies. ... This article is about a motion picture. ... Look Whos Talking Now is the third and final film in the triology that started out with Look Whos Talking in 1989. ... Kirstie Louise Alley (born January 12, 1951 in Wichita, Kansas) is an American actress best known for her role in the TV show Cheers. ... A small forest elf (älva) rescuing an egg, from Solägget (1932), by Elsa Beskow An elf is a mythical creature of Germanic mythology and Germanic paganism which still survives in northern European folklore. ... A typical depiction of Santa Claus. ... Lieutenant Saavik is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. ... Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Paramount Pictures, 1982; see also 1982 in film) is the second feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Doc Savage is a fictional character, one of the most enduring pulp heroes of the 1930s and 1940s, created by Lester Dent. ... Hacker is a term applied often to computer software or computer hardware programmers, designers and administrators, and especially those who are perceived as experts or highly accomplished. ... Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ... A computer keyboard is a peripheral partially modeled after the typewriter keyboard. ... ReBoot was a Canadian CGI animated series that was produced by Mainframe Entertainment, created by Gavin Blair, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell and John Grace, with the striking visuals created by Brendan McCarthy after an initial attempt by Ian Gibson. ... A BlueGene supercomputer cabinet. ... This article is about Control-Alt-Delete, the keyboard shortcut. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In computing, the three-finger salute is a jocular term for the keyboard combination that forces a soft reboot, brings up the process manager (on Windows, BeOS or Mac OS X) or a jump to ROM monitor. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Mayored to the Mob is the ninth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. ... Futurama is an Emmy Award-winning animated sitcom created by Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons) and David X. Cohen for the Fox network, and will resume airing in 2008 on Comedy Central. ... Where No Fan Has Gone Before is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the animated series Futurama. ... This article or section on a Television-related subject may need to be cleaned up and rewritten because it describes a work of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. ...

References