I'd be disinclined to consider it a psionic based maneuver if for no other reason than the fact that Data did it and I don't think there's ever been any evidence that Data had psionic ability.
Originally posted by pesterfield Something else to consider concerning VNP power, Spock once made a horse go down pretty fast using it.
Basically it's just blocking air and blood flow to the brain, a human can do it at the right point as well. Just the Vulcans have figured out a method to do it instantly instead of needing a long pressure.
No, blocking bloodflow (which carries air to the brain) would not have an instantaneous effect. If bloodflow blockage were the operating principle, a recipient of the VNP wouldn't black out until his or her oxygen reserves already in his or her brain were depleted. On humans, the average time before black out is 4 minutes with the upper limit being about 10 minutes. (The world record holder for holding his breath underwater, I think, is 12 minutes.)
Vulcans, with their greater stamina and tolerance to a thinner atmosphere, probably can withstand oxygen deprivation much longer. Remember, in Star Trek IV, Spock held his breath long enough to mind meld with a whale and didn't get out of the pool until Kirk and Gillian Taylor noticed Spock and ran up a couple flights of stairs to poolside.
Presumably, the VNP was designed by Vulcans to be used on other Vulcans. So, it wouldn't be much use if a combatant had to wait 10 minutes before it took effect. Therefore, I maintain that the VNP disrupts neurological functions much like the nerve strikes of modern Earthly martial arts. Its just that Spock, being the great repository of knowledge he is, also understood the nervous systems of numerous life forms. . . including horses.
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