Imagine swimming in a lake on a hot summer day. The water is quite warm, but the wind is strong and the moment you leave the water you feel chilly and get "goosebumps. You make a nice cup of tea, get under a blanket and switch on the radio. Suddenly, you hear a song from a long time ago, the song your grandmother used to sing to you when you were a child. Again, you feel a chill on your back and again, you get goosebumps.
Why do such seemingly unrelated events elicit the same body reaction? The reason for this is the physiology of emotions. Goosebumps are a physiological phenomenon inherited from our animal ancestors, which was useful to them but are not of much help to us.
Goosebumps are tiny elevations of the skin that resemble the skin of poultry after the feathers have been plucked. Therefore we could as well call them "turkeybumps" or "duckbumps. Q: Why do you get goosebumps? Related Articles. Heart Racing? How Anxiety Causes Heart Palpitations. Trending Topics. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Why Do We Get Goosebumps? How they develop Causes Other conditions Overview Everyone experiences goosebumps from time to time.
How do goosebumps develop? What are the possible causes of goosebumps? Are goosebumps ever a symptom of a medical condition? Read this next. Medically reviewed by Ann Marie Griff, O. Medically reviewed by Elaine K.
Luo, M. Medically reviewed by Timothy J. I guess the similarity in texture is just too close to goose skin to ignore. 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.
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