Vulcan nerve pinch
In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Vulcan nerve pinch is a fictional technique used mainly by Vulcans to render unconsciousness by pinching a pressure point at the base of the victim's neck.
Physiology[edit]
Although entirely fictional, fans and critics of the show have tried to explain how the pinch may work. It has been compared to the "karate chop", which was used implausibly in other 1960s television series to render opponents unconscious.[4]
Nimoy's theory that the pinch may be linked to telepathy is in contrast to when two non-telepathic entities, the android Data[5] and Voyager's holographic Doctor[6] use the pinch in later Star Trek television shows.
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. How this might lead to instantaneous unconsciousness is not explained. In this earliest of Star Trek reference books, the pinch is referred to as the "Spock Pinch."[7]
At least one being, Gary Seven, resists the Vulcan neck pinch during a fight in the episode "Assignment: Earth". Dr. McCoy describes the alien-raised Seven as human, albeit with a perfect body.
In the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Cathexis", the Doctor inspects a crewmember who was found unconscious and observes an extreme trauma to the trapezius neck bundle, "as though her nerve fibers have been ruptured"; and it is later revealed that the person was the victim of a nerve pinch.
Use within the franchise[edit]
Along with Spock, various other characters in the Star Trek franchise have used the technique. Notably, the above-mentioned instances with Data and the holographic Doctor, "DS9"'s Changeling, Odo,[8] "TNG"'s Jean-Luc Picard,[9] "VOY"'s Seven of Nine.[10] "ENT"'s T'Pol,[11] "Discovery"'s Michael Burnham.[12]
However, it is not an easy technique to master. After Spock uses the pinch in the episode "The Omega Glory", Kirk says to Spock, "Pity you can't teach me that", and Spock replies, "I have tried, Captain." In the film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Dr. McCoy was unable to use the nerve pinch despite being in possession of Spock's katra (his "spirit" or "soul").
The nerve pinch has been shown being used on animals. In the Animated Series episode "Yesteryear", Spock uses the nerve pinch on a Le-matya (a mountain lion-like creature) to save the life of his younger self. In the 1989 film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Spock uses the pinch to subdue a horse during a battle.