From jump scares to scream scenes,there is actually a neuroscientific response going on inside of your brain. 🧠
Horror movies are effective because, on a subconscious level, your brain thinks you’re actually in danger. When you’re watching a scary movie,the motor regions of your brain turn off as your body relaxes. But on a conscious level, your brain is aware that this isn’t real life. Scary movies bypass the conscious parts of the brain to tap directly into the fight or flight response. It begins in the amygdala, which is the part of the brain that responds to anything that looks like a threat,regardless of how real it actually is. The amygdala sounds the alarm to your body, first activating the hypothalamus, which tells your adrenal glands to inject you with a boost of adrenaline. This causes the heart ❤️ to pump faster and faster, delivering more oxygen to the muscles in case you need to fight something or run away. Learn More on ScienceDirect
Watching horror movies releases dopamine and adrenaline 🎢. Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter your body makes. Your nervous system uses it to send messages between nerve cells.These releases can actually trigger someone to faint or have a panic attack. You may wonder why we continue to love horror movies knowing the effect it has on us. Although it may seem strange to keep wanting to subject one self to being scared, there is another scientific reason for this. One possible reason for this is linked to addiction pathways. The adrenaline released from a fear response can cause a viewer to seek out that sensation again and again. Our love of all things horror may also stem from the Arousal Transfer Theory, suggesting that negative 👎 emotions created by scary situations can intensify the positive feelings 👍 experience when the characters make it out alive. Either way, the rush of adrenaline that horror movies makes people come back for more. So what are you waiting for? Let's watch some scary movies! 🍿 🎥
This page was coded by Andrea Lopez💜