That makes a certain amount of sense, because music is emotional. But when we hooked volunteers up to skin monitors and played music for them, we were able to objectively monitor when and how often people were getting goosebumps. This was different from previous studies, where volunteers self-reported how often they were experiencing them.
What we found was that people who were ranked high on openness to ideas were actually more likely to get goosebumps. While this is related to emotional openness, this trait is more associated with imagination and curiosity.
I believe that active listening and engaging intellectually with the music — such as predicting what will happen next in a song or imagining the imagery it evokes — is the key to experiencing goosebumps, not just letting the music wash over you emotionally.
Michael W. Richardson Michael W. Richardson is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York, covering topics ranging from the brain and behavior to the environment.
Colver, M. Getting aesthetic chills from music: The connection be-tween openness to experience and frisson. Psychology of Music, 44 3 , — Craig, D. Musicae Scientiae, 9 2 , — Tihanyi, B. The neuropsychophysiology of tingling.
Consciousness and Cognition, 58 , 97— Every month, we choose one reader question and get an answer from a top neuroscientist. Always been curious about something? Disclaimer: BrainFacts. It is not intended to give specific medical or other advice to patients.
Visitors interested in medical advice should consult with a physician. More ». July 28, Even though humans have evolved to have relatively little body hair, we still produce goosebumps when cold. For animals with thick fur, this response helps keep them warm.
Researchers led by Drs. Previous research identified a trio of cell types that work together to create goosebumps: arrector pili muscles, sympathetic nerves, and the hair follicles.
Results were published on July 15, , in Cell. The team first used drugs and genetic models to remove sympathetic nerves from the skin. In response, hair follicle stem cells were slow to activate and new hair production was delayed. Further experiments showed that removing sympathetic nerves reduced the amount of a chemical called norepinephrine in the skin.
Norepinephrine is a type of neurotransmitter—a substance that nerve cells use to communicate. When the team produced mice with hair follicle stem cells that lacked the receptor for norepinephrine, activation of the stem cells was delayed, similar to when sympathetic nerves were removed. The researchers next used electron microscopy to generate extremely high-resolution pictures of the hair follicles. Other medical terms for goosebumps are horripilation, piloerection, or the pilomotor reflex.
Each of these terms describes a temporary change in the skin from smooth to bumpy, most commonly developing after exposure to cold. Many people associate goosebumps with fear, or perhaps more accurately, with horror. Stine published in the s was called Goosebumps. Ever wonder why you get them? Do they serve a purpose?
Goosebumps are the result of tiny muscles flexing in the skin, making hair follicles rise up a bit. This causes hairs to stand up. Goosebumps are an involuntary reaction: nerves from the sympathetic nervous system — the nerves that control the fight or flight response — control these skin muscles. In the animal kingdom, a threatened animal has a similar reaction, causing fur to be puffed out a bit. This makes the animal appear bigger and more dangerous.
Perhaps the most dramatic example is the porcupine, which puffs out its quills when sensing danger. This can make a threatening adversary think twice before attacking. That may explain why the sympathetic nervous system controls goosebumps — the reflex is tied into the fight or flight response. Researchers studying mice recently linked goosebumps to the regeneration of hair and hair follicles.
It seems that the nerves connected to the tiny muscles responsible for goosebumps also connect to hair follicle stem cells, which are the cells responsible for hair growth. So, in response to cold, the nerve tells the tiny muscles in the skin to contract causing goosebumps and the same nerve activates hair follicle stem cells for new hair growth.
They may do this in several ways. Each of these might be more important for furry animals than for humans. Goosebumps may be one of those leftovers from our evolutionary ancestors like the coccyx, or tailbone that serve no important purpose. The new discovery linking goosebumps with hair follicle stem cells might be explained as a longer-term response to cold, at least for animals with fur: they get goosebumps or the animal equivalent in the short run to conserve heat, and thicker fur to keep warmer in the long term.
Most people associate goosebumps with unpleasant situations, such as feeling particularly cold or feeling afraid. Yet there is more to it than that.
0コメント