How does nerve gas work?

Nerve gas works by blocking the normal functioning of chemicals at nerve endings. This causes the body to go into overload which will cause paralysis and death.

References:
Here's why nerve agents are some of the most deadly chemicals on Earth

Health Effects of Nerve Agents 1063

What are Nerve Agents and how do they work?

[RyanMcBethProgramming]

Nerve gas works by blocking the normal functioning of chemicals at nerve endings. This causes the body to go into overload which will cause paralysis and death.

References:
Here's why nerve agents are some of the most deadly chemicals on Earth

Health Effects of Nerve Agents 1063

What are Nerve Agents and how do they work?

[Fred]

This man is an IT technician, an anti-tank infantryman, an expert in guerrilla tactics and now a neuroscientist, in the event of apocalypse I want him on my team.

[bnewman]

more or less accurate description. albeit a very VERY simplified explanation. As someone that works in medicine I just wanted to provide a tiny bit more detail for anyone thats interested. (I think its important for everyone to understand how our own bodies work.) ...and by the way, Ryan, I love your videos!! they have been so informative for me in helping to understand what is happening on the ground militarily. so thank you! and please keep them coming my curiosity to learn more about military tactics, tanks and your interesting life story has been totally sparked.

So, just to elaborate, for those interested, instead of calling everything a "molecule". Acetylcholine is a Neurotransmitter. and Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that get diffused across the synapses of nerve endings (the space between one Neuron and another Neuron). These Neurotransmitters (depending on the type) illicit an electrical current called an action potential, which travels down the axon of the neuron until it reaches the next synapse and the whole process repeats itself as more Neurotransmitters are released. This process happens millions of times rapidly and in nanoseconds these electrical currents travel (nerve impulses) travel through our nervous system until they reach their desired effect/destination. These nerve impulses result in a chain reaction that allows our brain to send chemical messages throughout the body more or less instructing our bodies what to do. These nerve impulses control everything from muscle movements, to how we speak, how we breathe, how fast or slow our heart beats, how we digest our food, whether we pee or not, and the function of all of our internal organs!! The Nervous system, in addition to sending messages out, also receives messages coming in. All of the stimuli we are exposed to gets transmitted as a nerve impulse and sent to our brains. Every part of your senses, your entire perception of the outside world, everything you see, hear, touch, feel, smell, taste, etc. they are all sent to your brain as chemical messages traveling across your neurons until they reach your brain and you brain processes them into our perceived reality. All of this happens in nanoseconds (truly remarkable!!). In a simplified explanation, the Nervous system can be divided into 2 parts: the Sympathetic N.S. (which controls our "fight or flight" response), and the Parasympathetic N.S. (which controls our "Rest and Digest" response). Some examples of Parasympathetic N.S. responses would be Reduced HR, stimulation of the salivary glands, constriction of the pupils, stimulation of the reproductive organs (male erection), constriction of the Bronchioles (small passageways through which air travels into our lungs and CO2 travels out). and stimulation of the digestive tract, etc... its important to note that Acetylcholine is THE main neurotransmitter responsible for stimulation of the parasympathetic N.S. After Acetylcholine binds to the receptor sites on the distal end of the synapse, it is then broken down (catalyzed) by the enzyme Acetylcholinesterase. This breaks the neurotransmitter in half into the separate esters Acetyl and Choline. These separate pieces then get reabsorbed back into the synapse where they will be recycled to eventually reform into Acetylcholine again. NOW, here's where things get interesting and scary. Let's discuss the pathophysiology of Nerve agents such as Saran gas. When a nerve agent such as Sarin gas gets into the bloodstream of a victim, it quickly heads to the nerve synapses (hence the name "Nerve Agent"). Once inside the Synapses the chemical will "Block" the binding site on the enzyme Acetylcholinesterase. This prevents the neurotransmitters of Acetylcholine from breaking down. Without the ability to break apart, the Acetylcholine will remain bound to the Receptor sites on the synapse causing powerful Parasympathetic N.S. stimulation. Let's review what some of those symptoms of Parasympathetic N.S. stimulation look like and how they present as symptoms of nerve agent toxicity: stimulation of the salivary glands/increased saliva production (foaming and frothing at the mouth), slowing of HR, constriction of Bronchioles in the Lungs, contraction of smooth muscle fibers, etc.. the victim of Nerve agent toxicity will literally become paralyzed. they cant move their muscles which remain contracted, they cant breathe! and their heart rate slows. This will eventually lead to death. one of the most fucked up parts is that the victim will not be sedated they are cognizant while this happens. Eventually this will led to possible psychosis and hallucinations but overall its a horrible horrible way to die! It's truly a cruel and evil weapon. All weapons are, but this is exceptionally fucked up. Saran gas is colorless and odorless.

...anyways if anyone bothered to read this it will make me happy knowing I could teach even 1 person about the Nervous System. our bodies are so fascinating and remarkable in what they're capable of doing.. its such a shame and a tragedy that they get wasted on meaningless death during these awful wars. I pray to god that these evil chemical weapons never get used during this war!!! it will have horrible effects on civilians, not just soldiers.

[TheAuRatio]

My grandfather helped discover the function of cholinesterase way back with the US military. This is almost exactly how he described nerve agents to me as a teenager. Very well done my friend

[mikedion]

That is an evil weapon, hopefully, there is a special place in hell for whoever uses these weapons.

[frankalexander]

I was the Course Director for a U.S. ARMY medical training course on medical defense against chemical and biological agents (I am a doctor). The course was provided to nurses, enlisted medics, medical officers, dental officers and medical service corps officers. Your YT video is ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. 👍👍👍

[MMuraseofSandvich]

It takes a rare talent to be able to deliver useful and accurate information in this short format.

[kateryna]

Thanks for your videos and support. I'm in Kyiv, Ukraine right now. The bad guys are retreating, but you can never trust them. The thing I'm most afraid of is them using chemical weapons. Could you please make survival guides like this, about how to avoid or at least survive and ease effects of chemical weapons, or maybe even radiation? Thanks again, your videos are great and you are always reassuring and positive, no matter the topic. Take care!❤️

[VioIetShift]

Neuroscientist here - you explained difficult concepts from my field to the layman very quickly in under a minute, very effectively.

You're a great teacher.

Of course, praying that the Russians aren't evil enough to use this shit, but that didn't stop Assad in Syria :/

I am hoping that we've been supplying Ukraine with atropine and protective gear as a just in case.

[thewildcard]

This guy makes the content I've always wanted

[ChronicBronchitis-mzvn]

Wow, this explanation makes nerve gas so much more devious. I had no clue this is how it worked internally.

[FranciscoGonzalez-yxmk]

Your videos are awesome, I don't know if is the getting smarter or the way you narrate or just how close to the friend we all have you are but got hooked and watched every video and liked all at once. Haven't done that since Game of Thrones so kudos

[gatorloki]

Ryan. You're teaching people. You're amazing man. keep it up.

[alexanderyagiela]

You are the wise papi that all of us sit around to listen. A modern day Mr. Rogers for the adults if you will

[thomasbessis]

As a pharmacist working in neuroscience, thanks for sharing the beauty/horror of pharmacology, I never thought I'd hear about it on this channel !

[mrkiplingreallywasanexceed]

An excellent treatise on physiology and pharmacology!

[fanatic]

Thank you for posting these shorts here! I hope your channel gets more exposure. I especially liked your analysis of if tanks are obsolete. I don't understand computers well, but I'm also glad you post about programming too. You have a gift for breaking down complex ideas and presenting them in a direct manner, just like Feynman said the best teachers do :-)

[justindunlap]

Thanks for making such high quality content. I kinda understood how nerve agents work but your explanation made it even more terrifying.

[jeremytaylor]

Absolutely the best presis of this topic.

[cytopathic]

Weirdly I'm a medic and just gave a lesson on nerve agents to my team.
I'm more impressed by your pronunciation than anything took me a good five or six repeats to spit out ACH esterase