Posted by Steve on June 17, 2001 at 08:48:50:
In Reply to: Re: STEVE- Meyer-Overton hypothosis posted by MHK on June 15, 2001 at 12:21:34:
"As to the C02, I haven't read anything one way or another with respect to narcosis, and it seems to me that there is enough to worry about respecting a C02 buildup to render any serious discussion and/or research moot..."
IMO and articles I've read on this subject, CO2 works in concerts with N2 to increase the narcotic effect of nitrogen.
Examples:
1) A diver working hard increased SAC rate more CO2 in the blood.
2) Anxiety, fear causing rapid breathing increased CO2 in the blood.
This could help explain why some divers do not feel the effects of narcosis that others seem to suffer from. This could also explain why experienced divers claim to be able adapt to narcosis. If you are calm and comfortable at depth and your SAC rate hasn't increased from when you cruise the shallow reef lets say. The CO2 level in the blood is constant resulting in less narcosis. This is an unproven theory of mine.
Steve