Many people spontaneously use the word (or sound) “Um” in conversation, a phenomenon which has prompted a considerable volume of academic attention (some of which we discussed recently). A question arises though, can someone be induced to say “Um” by chemical means – say with the use of a powerful anaesthetic? Like, for example Ketamine? [Note: Ketamine is often used as a veterinary tranquilliser, and as an illicit recreational drug under monikers like ‘Special K’ and ‘Cat Valium’]
Notes:
[1] Authors James Semple and John Brown were representing the pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline which ‘supported’ the study.
[2] The “high dose” (0.27 mg/kg) was significantly less than the usual ‘anaesthetic dose’ (1 – 4.5 mg/kg) – presumably it had to be, otherwise the subjects might have had considerable difficulty in saying anything.
[3] Please comment below if you know of any other studies in which substances have been shown to influence the number of “ums” a person produces – e.g. cannabis, Dry Martini, dark bitter-chocolate truffles, etc etc.