Batgirl #5
Jan. 11th, 2012 05:32 pm![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aeka posting in ![[community profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
scans_dailyThe secret to Barbara's cure revealed.
I'd properly comment on the questionable accuracy of a simple neural transplant being the solution to completely curing Babs' paralysis (since this is my area of expertise) if I wasn't so exhausted. But let me begin by saying that action potential is a hell of a lot more complicated than that. And even if story wise, nerves were used to "bypass" the damaged part of the spinal cord and "rewire the neural circuitry" to bring action potential back to the rest of the nerves below the damaged portion of the spinal cord, the impulse wouldn't still be strong enough to send strong enough signals from the efferent neurones to induce motor response, or at least NOT to the degree of being able to be fully walk again as though no injury ever took place like Babs is doing in the story, not even after a year of physical therapy.
Long story short, think of this in terms of repairing the cord to your head phones so that you can listen to music again. Think of the mp3 player as the "brain" that transmits the electrical signal that allows you to hear the sound at the end of your headphones. Everyone knows that when you take a pair of scissors and you cut the cord in half, the mp3 player still transmits the signal but it stops that the cut and the other end no longer receives the signal. But when you put the two ends together again, it is *possible* to still get sound again, but you will no longer get the same clear sound you had before, and would hear more static instead. That's pretty much how spinal injuries induce paralysis and influence the extent of recovery. So, even if you do regain some neural function, it will not be to the same degree as before.
The injury itself "blocks" the electrical signal from brain to the affected rest of the body following the injury and action potential doesn't happen. Now depending on the gravity of the injury to the spinal cord, it is still possible to retain some somatic sensory function and lose motor function, and vice versa. However, in The Killing Joke--storywise--had the Joker doctor a bullet that would completely shatter her spine, and by that note Babs' should have lost function in both her afferent and efferent neurones (the neurones responsible for sensory and motor function respectively) of the affected spinal area because they would no longer be able to receive or transmit any signal to and from the brain.
I'd go into more details, but I'd probably confuse everyone.
I'd properly comment on the questionable accuracy of a simple neural transplant being the solution to completely curing Babs' paralysis (since this is my area of expertise) if I wasn't so exhausted. But let me begin by saying that action potential is a hell of a lot more complicated than that. And even if story wise, nerves were used to "bypass" the damaged part of the spinal cord and "rewire the neural circuitry" to bring action potential back to the rest of the nerves below the damaged portion of the spinal cord, the impulse wouldn't still be strong enough to send strong enough signals from the efferent neurones to induce motor response, or at least NOT to the degree of being able to be fully walk again as though no injury ever took place like Babs is doing in the story, not even after a year of physical therapy.
Long story short, think of this in terms of repairing the cord to your head phones so that you can listen to music again. Think of the mp3 player as the "brain" that transmits the electrical signal that allows you to hear the sound at the end of your headphones. Everyone knows that when you take a pair of scissors and you cut the cord in half, the mp3 player still transmits the signal but it stops that the cut and the other end no longer receives the signal. But when you put the two ends together again, it is *possible* to still get sound again, but you will no longer get the same clear sound you had before, and would hear more static instead. That's pretty much how spinal injuries induce paralysis and influence the extent of recovery. So, even if you do regain some neural function, it will not be to the same degree as before.
The injury itself "blocks" the electrical signal from brain to the affected rest of the body following the injury and action potential doesn't happen. Now depending on the gravity of the injury to the spinal cord, it is still possible to retain some somatic sensory function and lose motor function, and vice versa. However, in The Killing Joke--storywise--had the Joker doctor a bullet that would completely shatter her spine, and by that note Babs' should have lost function in both her afferent and efferent neurones (the neurones responsible for sensory and motor function respectively) of the affected spinal area because they would no longer be able to receive or transmit any signal to and from the brain.
I'd go into more details, but I'd probably confuse everyone.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-12 01:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-12 02:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-12 02:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-12 02:39 am (UTC)Simone: Well, there's an unexpected date, some new neighbors of interest, including one who wants to be Batgirl, new villains, the return of an old one, the answers to the Oracle question, the back-story about her return to mobility, Batman, Bruce Wayne, Arkham, mom, a really unfortunate date, a BOP friend, pirates, a JLA guest star, the worst family reunion ever, muffins, the secret of her martial arts training, the answer to what really happened immediately after she was shot in the Killing Joke. And we're just getting warmed up.
so there is more that we as readers still do not know. We know that the implant is the key to her being able to walk again. But we don't know what ELSE is. that's my point.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-12 02:55 am (UTC)Still, I stand by what I said to the posters above. Also given the condensed five year timeline, three years paralysis, and going back to fighting crime a year after her cure doesn't sound like a realistic timeline to me for the full recovery Barbara got. I don't fault Simone on the condensed timeline since that's an editorial decision not hers, but I'm not holding my breath that the explanation will be anymore realistic.
I'll do more research on the topic of nerve regeneration, but from what I know of the neuroscience research thus far, results on the nerve regenerating implant is still pending and still in the experimental stage.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-12 05:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-12 06:52 am (UTC)In theory (and this is the basis for a lot research done on spinal cord injury) if scientists can find a way to regenerate damaged neurons, it *is* possible to restore mobility and sensory function in affected patients. Now as to whether or not a neural implant can actually fully *cure* para/quadriplegia, that's another story entirely, cause like I said it's not that simple depending on the extent of the injury. This is also not even getting into other health problems that arise a result of of SCI.
At best, the best proof that stimulating unstimulated nerves can cure something that was originally incurable is the cochlear implant, which is essentially an "artificial ear" that bypasses the middle ear and stimulates the cochlea directly, thus effectively curing deafness. Other research on neural regeneration has also included being able to restore sight to a mouse whose blindness resulted from damage to the optic nerve. However, considering that the CNS is the control centre of the entire nervous system and of all bodily function, it's understandably trickier to treat. A lot of times, not even doctors can fully predict the extent of a person's recovery following a spinal cord injury for that reason. Some patients are lucky enough to regain mobility following even a cervical spinal injury (albeit often with assistance of a cane or a walker) and others are not so lucky.
I'll be able to properly comment on the accuracy of Barbara's cure once we learn more of the details of her recovery, but given the timeline and what is known so far, it's already bordering on "magic science" as someone else already pointed out. I did read your article on Tumblr a while back and I actually thought it was very inspiring that Barbara was a positive influence in your life for dealing with depression. I do agree as someone who suffers from it as well that it can severely impair functioning in everyday tasks, and even research supports that a psychiatric disorder like depression can lead to other physiological disorders as well.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-12 09:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-12 04:49 am (UTC)And, yes, I do know that people who work in certain fields -- especially medical/scientific ones -- find it difficult to read or watch certain forms of media because of how often their work is depicted incorrectly. One of my favorite blogs on the matter is Polite Dissent, wherein a medical doctor (working in a Family Practice) reviews assorted medical depictions in comics, and where they go wrong (and sometimes where they go right).
no subject
Date: 2012-01-12 05:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-12 08:53 am (UTC)