Can you increase the velocity of the electrical signals in the nervous system?

Question

I was watching a documentary about martial arts and the physics behind them. They dealt with reflex speed and proved that a punch (Wushu martial arts) was 4x the speed of snake strike. They also said that the speed of the signal running from the brain to the fists was 225m/s. Other than Gatorade (electroltyes), can you take a drug to increase reflex speed?

The show was "Fighting Science", a National Geographic Documentary.

Answer 1

Reflex moves are controlled by the ganglia in the spine. The nerve impulses move much faster than having to go to the brain. The impulses travel by what is called saltatory conduction, that is they jump along the nerve, seemingly skipping large lengths at a time. Unfortunately, reflex actions tend to be simple and defensive in nature, as in touching something hot, or raising your arm to block a blow. Attacking blows, by definition, require some judgement as to placement and timing, so the brain is unavoidably involved.
Gatorade will only make sure you are correctly hydrated and your electrolytes are normal, something that should be taken care of by adequate diet and fluid intake anyway, it will not make you faster.
Drugs will not make you faster, they will give you the delusion of being faster, quite useless in a tournament, when you need to judge your real speed.

Answer 2

I too saw this documentary and I do not believe their figures. This was very biased and contained no safeguards to ensure that there was no "false start" to the punch.

No drug can increase reflex speed (as far as I know) but you can increase your response time to a stimulus slightly by practise (yes, that deliberately has an "s" in it!) - thought to be due to an increased growth in the neural connections.

btw - from what I've read, the fastest reflex in the human body is the blinking of the eye!

Answer 3

nerve impulses are made of chemicals not electricty, so it is electrical in nature but not like a current in a computer, it is a cascading depolarisation. the fastest nerves are ones with large diameters found in squids. in humans the fastest nerves are the motor neurons which are myleinated, covered in a fatty substance.
You cannot change the nerves, but you can increase the effeincy of your brain by practicing the move you want to make fast, but you have to practice it fast, so you don't practice the move until it slows down, you stop when you think it will be slower, that way your brain only does it at the top speed, will get better and faster.