Late October; colorful trees, and crunchy leaves, knee high boots and infinity scarves, apple cider doughnuts and pumpkin spice lattes, ghouls, witches, ouijia boards, death, zombies-H.A.L.L.O.W.E.E.N.
What is it about Halloween that thrills some of us?
Is it the eccentric aura, the jump scares, creepy movies, love of dress up, or the candy? Like all things, affiliation with the holiday can also be tied to the neuro-biology of the brain.
Do You Find All things Scary, Thrilling?
Fright factors are often processed as mental threats by the amygdala; the brain's emotional processing unit. When paired with a stimulus the amygdala reacts by releasing the chemical glutamate into the mid-brain, and hypothalamus. When the chemical signal reaches the mid-brain, the body jerks unwillingly (center for involuntary spasms), when the signal reaches the hypothalamus (responsible for producing hormones), the hypothalamus triggers the automatic nervous system.
Once triggered, the body kicks into fight or flight, blood pressure increases, and adrenaline and dopamine (reward hormone) are excessively pumped throughout the body. This is a general explanation as to why scary things tend to make us anxious, or uncomfortable, why then do people find such experiences exhilarating?
Studies have shown that people who are generally more entertained by things that go bump in the night, feel more rewarded due to their brain's inability to stop the flow of dopamine or indulge in a process known as reuptake. As a result, these people experience pleasure when placed in spooky, or risky situations, as opposed to others.
Inside Examination of the Amygdala:
The amygdala is located in the brain's temporal lobe. Though vital for emotional processing, it is unable to distinguish between mental and physical threats. As a result, though it makes logical sense for you to kick into fight or flight if cornered by a coyote, it makes little sense to experience the same condition; sweaty palms, high blood pressure, etc, when faced with the simple task of representing yourself at a job interview. This unfortunate occurrence is the result of your amygdala incorrectly processing a stimulus as a mental threat. Don't worry, your soon-to-be boss won't eat you, and even if you're consciously aware of this, it's hard to convince your amygdala otherwise.
Though annoying at times, life without your amygdala would be boring, and dangerous! As a primitive species this ancient network of the brain served an integral role in recognizing dangerous situations, and more importantly, getting the !@#$ out of the situation itself!
So take a moment to thank your hypersensitive amygdala, the lovely dopamine flowing through you right now, and be sure to have a safe, and spook-tacular Halloween season.
