{"id":44996,"date":"2013-11-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-11-13T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2013\/11\/13\/the-physiology-of-fright-2\/"},"modified":"2022-08-29T14:40:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T19:40:00","slug":"the-physiology-of-fright-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2013\/11\/13\/the-physiology-of-fright-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The physiology of fright"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"panel body-content\"><div class=\"panel__container\"><p>\n<em>By Michael Huckabee, Ph.D., professor and director of the University of Nebraska Medical Center physician assistant program. Dr. Huckabee writes a blog for the Omaha World-Herald&rsquo;s LiveWell Nebraska website.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\nLike to be spooked? You can thank your amygdala.<\/p>\n<p>\nThat feeling of being scared stems from our natural &ldquo;fight or flight&rdquo; response.<\/p>\n<p>\nThink caveman, confronted by a saber-toothed tiger. Our primeval response is to either attack with fury or flee like the wind. The human body is designed to be prepared physiologically for either option.<\/p>\n<p>\nThe amygdala, a small almond-shaped collection of cells nestled deep inside the brain, controls the cascade of changes that happen in seconds when we are scared.<\/p>\n<p>\nAbout 30 different hormones are released to prepare us for action:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\nWe breathe rapidly to put more oxygen into our lungs.<\/li>\n<li>\nOur hearts beat faster to move that extra oxygen to our brain and muscles.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>\nInsulin production is slowed to raise our blood sugar, providing more energy.<\/li>\n<li>\nBlood pressure rises to push blood into the vital areas needed for survival.<\/li>\n<li>\nBeads of sweat form to help cool off the body in case we&rsquo;re overheated.<\/li>\n<li>\nBlood vessels dilate so more blood can flow to major muscles of the arms and legs, leaving our skin cool, pale and clammy.<\/li>\n<li>\nPupils dilate for better eye sight, especially if the lights are low.<\/li>\n<li>\nBlood is drained from our digestive organs and shunted to the muscles. That may make us nauseated.<\/li>\n<li>\nEmbarrassingly, we may lose bladder or bowel control, but that&rsquo;s to empty out anything that would distract us from action (remember, the caveman didn&#039;t worry about soiled clothes). Some argue that this also sets up a diversion of scents that may befuddle our attacker.<\/li>\n<li>\nWe uncontrollably shriek to threaten the enemy with our own scare tactic.<\/li>\n<li>\nEndorphins are released to heighten our awareness. This is often accompanied by the feeling of pleasure which explains why we like to be scared.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\nWith our bodies on full alert, whether predator or prey, we&#039;re ready.<\/p>\n<p>\nAll of this is controlled within the amazing nut-sized amygdala, but that&#039;s only half the fun.<\/p>\n<p>\nThere&#039;s two pathways for information traveling through the organ; one quickly signals the fight or flight response. The other pathway, triggered simultaneously, more slowly provides feedback to the brain about the origin of the disturbance.<\/p>\n<p>\n&nbsp;While we immediately prepare for action, this second pathway may soon counteract our fears, reminding us &ldquo;it&rsquo;s only a movie&rdquo; and calling off the alarms.<\/p>\n<p>\nThe plot thickens regarding theories on differences between the right and left side of the amygdala. Studies suggest the right side triggers taking action, and the left side conducts more thoughtful responses.<\/p>\n<p>\nWhen scared, men are more likely to function from the right, responding physically to the stress. Women more often respond from the left side, still scared but less physical.<\/p>\n<p>\nWe&rsquo;re learning that many psychiatric disorders may have their origins in the amygdala. People with anxiety disorders have a smaller left amygdala, and individuals with depression may have a larger, or at least an overactive, left amygdala.<\/p>\n<p>\nWith Halloween behind us for this year, just remember&hellip;when it comes to dealing with scary situations, it&rsquo;s all about the amygdala.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Like to be spooked? You can thank your amygdala.<\/p>\n<p>That feeling of being scared stems from our natural &#8220;fight or flight&#8221; response.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":44299,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","department-intercom"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The physiology of fright<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Like to be spooked? 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That feeling of being scared stems from our natural &quot;fight or flight&quot; response.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2013\/11\/13\/the-physiology-of-fright-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unmcedu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-11-13T06:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-29T19:40:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Huckabee.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"288\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sophia Ibrahimi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@unmc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@unmc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sophia Ibrahimi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/13\\\/the-physiology-of-fright-2\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/13\\\/the-physiology-of-fright-2\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sophia Ibrahimi\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ffa79de27be07d38bf5d216a7f955684\"},\"headline\":\"The physiology of fright\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-13T06:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-29T19:40:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/13\\\/the-physiology-of-fright-2\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":551,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/13\\\/the-physiology-of-fright-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/09\\\/Huckabee.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/13\\\/the-physiology-of-fright-2\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/13\\\/the-physiology-of-fright-2\\\/\",\"name\":\"The physiology of fright\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/13\\\/the-physiology-of-fright-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/13\\\/the-physiology-of-fright-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unmc.edu\\\/newsroom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/09\\\/Huckabee.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-13T06:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-29T19:40:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Like to be spooked? 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