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| Goosebumps / Goose pimples | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Goose-pimples (inBritish English), goose-skin, goose-flesh,cutis anserina, horripilation,horripilatio |
 | |
| Goose-bumps on a human arm | |
| Specialty | Dermatology |
Goose bumps (inAmerican English),goose pimples (inBritish English), orgoosebumps[1] are the bumps on a person's skin at the base of body hairs which may involuntarily develop when a person istickled,cold or experiencing strong emotions such asfear,euphoria orsexual arousal.[2][3]
The formation of goose bumps in humans understress is considered by some to be avestigial reflex,[4] though visible piloerection is associated with changes in skin temperature in humans.[3] The reflex of producing goose bumps is known aspiloerection or thepilomotor reflex, or, more traditionally,[5]horripilation. It occurs in manymammals; a prominent example isporcupines,[6] which raise their quills when threatened, or sea otters when they encounter sharks or other predators.
Goose bumps are created when tiny muscles at the base of each hair, known asarrector pili muscles, contract and pull the hair straight up. The reflex is started by thesympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for manyfight-or-flight responses. The muscle cells connected to the hair follicle have been visualized by actin immunofluorescence.[7]
Arrector pili muscle
Arrector pili muscles (APM) are smooth muscles which connect the basement membrane to the hair follicle. When these muscles contract, they increase the trapping of air on the surface of the skin and in turn, causesthermoregulation to the body. It used to be believed that each APM was connected to an individualhair follicle. More recent studies have disproved this and now explain that there can be multiple hair follicles connected to a single APM. In between the hair follicle and the APM there are lobules which form an angular shape. These lobules aresebaceous gland lobules which are supported by the APM.[8]
Hair follicle
Hair follicles have four parts. There is the bulb, supra bulbar area, isthmus and infundibulum. The bulb is to be known as the part that is responsible for the growth of the rest of the hair follicle.[9]
In animals covered with fur or hair, the erect hairs trap air to create a layer ofinsulation. Goose bumps can also be a response to anger or fear: the erect hairs make the animal appear larger, in order to intimidate enemies. This can be observed in the intimidation displays of chimpanzees,[10] someNew World monkeys like thecotton-top tamarin,[11] in stressed mice[12] and rats, and in frightened cats.
In humans, goose bumps can even extend to piloerection as a reaction to hearing nails scratch on a chalkboard, or feeling or remembering strong and positive emotions (e.g., after winning a sports event), or while watching ahorror film.[13]
Some people can deliberately evoke goose bumps in themselves without any external trigger. This is called "voluntarily generated piloerection." Further research is needed to discover more on such people.
Goose bumps are accompanied by a specific physiological response pattern that is thought to indicate the emotional state of being moved.[14]
In humans, goose bumps occur everywhere on the body, including the legs, neck, and other areas of the skin that have hair. In some people, they even occur in the face or on the head. In humans, goose bumps tends to occur across the whole body, especially when elicited by thermal or emotional stimuli, and only locally when elicited via tactile stimuli.[3]
Piloerection is also a classic symptom of some diseases, such astemporal lobe epilepsy, somebrain tumors, andautonomic hyperreflexia. Goose bumps can also be caused by withdrawal fromopiates such asheroin. A skin condition that mimics goose bumps in appearance iskeratosis pilaris.
Goose bumps can be experienced in the presence of flash-cold temperatures, for example being in a cold environment, and the skin being able to re-balance its surface temperature quickly. The stimulus of cold surroundings causes the tiny muscles (arrector pili muscle) attached to eachhair follicle to contract. This contraction causes the hair strands to stand straight, the purpose of which is to aid in quicker drying via evaporation of water clinging to the hair which is moved upward and away from the skin.[citation needed]
The emotional correlates of piloerection in humans are not well understood.[2] People often say they feel their "hair standing on end" when they are frightened or in awe. Research has shown that the self-reported feeling of goosebumps does not always correlate with a physiological piloerection.[15]
Music can also be a cause of piloerection. Most research using musical stimuli has focused on self-reported "chills" which is a subjective experience, unlike piloerection which is an objectively quantifiable physiological reaction. However, research has shown that self-reported piloerection does not correspond to observed piloerection.[citation needed] Thus, research on self-reported chills should not be considered to extend to the physiological phenomena of piloerection.
Medications and herbal supplements that affect body temperature and blood flow may cause piloerection. For example, one of the common reported side effects of the intake ofyohimbine is piloerection.[16][17]
Piloerection is one of the signs ofopioid withdrawal.[18][19] The term "cold turkey" meaning abrupt withdrawal from a drug, may derive from the goose bumps that occur during abrupt withdrawal fromopioids; this resembles the skin of arefrigerated plucked turkey.[20][21]
An unknown proportion of people may consciously initiate the sensation and physiological signs of piloerection.[22] The phenomenon is discovered spontaneously, appearing to be innate, and is not known to be possible to learn or acquire. Those with the ability frequently are unaware that it is not possible for everyone. The ability appears to correlate with personality traits associated withopenness to experience.[23]
The term "goose bumps" derives from the phenomenon's association with goose skin. Goose feathers grow from pores in the epidermis that resemble humanhair follicles. When a goose's feathers are plucked, its skin has protrusions where the feathers were, and these bumps are what the human phenomenon resembles.[24]
It is not clear why the particular fowl, goose, was chosen in English (and German, Greek, Icelandic, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Polish and Czech)[25] as most other birds share this same anatomical feature. Other languages may use a different species. For example, the hen or chicken is used in Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Cantonese, Finnish, Dutch, Luxembourgish, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, and Galician; Irish uses both;[citation needed] Hebrew, the duck; the ants (referred to as "murashki", alluding to the feeling of ants crawling on one's skin) in Ukrainian and Russian;[25] and a variety of synonyms in Mandarin.[26]
Some authors have applied "goose bumps" to the symptoms ofsexually transmitted diseases.[27] "Bitten by a Winchester goose" was a common euphemism for having contractedsyphilis[28] in the 16th century.[29] "Winchester geese" was the nickname for the prostitutes of Southern London,[30] licensed by theBishop of Winchester inthe area around hisLondon palace.
Media related toGoose bumps at Wikimedia Commons
