Goose bumps are often triggered by emotions

Goose bumps require a surprisingly complex series of steps

Watch an anatomical breakdown of how goose bumps work—featuring real skin from a human cadaver, a segmented brain, and a detailed anatomical model of the skin—to learn about all the jargon behind goose bump science. (Warning: Includes graphic footage of cadaver skin.)

The anatomy of our hair follicles explains goose bumps

The arrector pili muscle contracts when we’re cold or scared, causing hairs to stand up and the skin to form the bumps known as goose bumps. This reaction is typically involuntary.

There’s a lot we still don’t know about goose bumps in humans

Though goose bumps can be associated with changes in skin temperature, the biggest gaps in our understanding are around measuring goose bumps from nonthreatening exposures. These bumps can often occur without our detection, and we have trouble correctly identifying them. The relationship between emotionally induced chills and goose bumps can also be tenuous.

Goose bumps may play a role in hair growth

Research in mice suggests that the same muscles that contract to create goose bumps act as the bridge for the sympathetic nervous system’s connection to hair follicle stem cells. This raises questions about how this knowledge could be used to reactivate the sympathetic nerves in hair follicles to boost hair growth in people.

Scientists have unraveled new details about which nerve cells control goose bumps

Research in 2016 revealed that at least eight different types of neurons are associated with the sympathetic nervous system. One finding revealed that goose bumps and nipple erection are caused by neurons specialized to regulate these specific functions by controlling the erectile muscles in those tissues.

Humans accurately detect their goose bumps only about one-third of the time

Though people do experience goose bumps frequently, goose bump research suggests that humans think they’re experiencing goose bumps in response to emotional cues more often than they truly are.

Some of us can control our goose bumps

A small 2018 study examined the rare ability to control goose bumps. Researchers found some intriguing associations between having a particularly open and curious personality type and the ability to trigger this sensation—a link that they hope will be explored further in the future.

Long-term goose bumps are something to flag to your doctor

Although rarely a cause for concern, persistent goose bumps with no known cause could be a symptom of something to discuss with your doctor, including anxiety, a hair follicle blockage, or conditions that arise from an overreaction of the autonomic nervous system.

The brains of people who experience frisson have unique neural pathways

A small 2016 study aimed to investigate the behavioral and neural differences between 10 individuals who experience goose bumps when listening to music and 10 who typically don’t. Scientists reported that individuals experiencing musical chills had greater white matter connectivity in specific auditory, emotional, and social processing areas of the brain.

Audio and visual cues from "Titanic," Pink Floyd, and more can provoke goose bumps

These audio and visual snippets have been used in research studies to elicit goose bumps.

Music may give some of us the chills and goose bumps—perhaps because it shocks us

The science is still unsettled about why music can trigger a chill down your spine, formally known as frisson, but one theory is that anything surprising to the nervous system—including sudden beat drops or unexpected harmonies—stimulates a type of alarm response that gives rise to this feeling.

Artificial goose bumps could theoretically be used for information storage

Inspired by how fine hairs stand on the skin with goose bumps, researchers have recently created artificial skin that raises artificial goose bumps when exposed to a laser. This type of precise, localized, and controllable system could potentially fuel later development of programmable machines that could be used for information storage.

Charles Darwin studied goose bumps by scaring zoo animals in London with a stuffed snake

Read the famous naturalist’s work from the late 1800s, detailing how he sought to draw comparisons between how animals and humans respond to fear. As part of that work, he exposed monkeys and a peccary to a stuffed snake and noted the animals’ hair-raising fear response.

Fearology, or the study of fear, explores the difference between stress and fear

Our brains involuntarily respond to our environment and signal alarm when that isn’t always needed, triggering responses that include goose bumps. But understanding fear and how to talk our brains into calming down can improve daily life.

Stress-induced adrenaline can trigger a 'hysterical strength' response

The stress response is a powerful ancient mechanism designed to maximize human survival—it can even result in superhuman strength. The adrenal glands are located just above the kidneys, and stress-induced adrenaline release causes more blood (and therefore more oxygen) to flow to your muscles, increasing performance.

Fear (and stress) can be contagious via pheromones secreted by the body

While seeing someone else in a panicked state may induce a stress response, researchers have found stress can be literally contagious—chemicals contained in sweat and other secretions can trigger stress hormone release in others. Theories suggest this feature is an evolutionary adaptation to protect groups from danger.

Why do you shiver when cold?

Humans are warm-blooded creatures, so our bodies like to maintain internal temperatures separate from and typically above those in their environment. This is made possible by a process known as thermoregulation. When the brain's hypothalamus senses a drop in the body's core temperature, skeletal muscles may be ordered to shiver, sending out waves of muscle contractions and exothermic biochemical reactions whose byproduct includes heat and energy.

The science of spring fever

Researchers have confirmed what people have sensed for ages: Our emotions during the springtime can go a little wild. This piece breaks down the impact of the seasonal transition on our bodies and prescribes a few ways to mitigate the effects.

Why so many people love roller coasters even though they’re scary

When a threat arises, it triggers our bodies to go into fight-or-flight mode and prepare for danger. However, when no obvious threat to our safety is present, this natural high can become enjoyable. Some people are more likely to enjoy these thrills based on factors like individual brain chemistry or physical health.

Touch deprivation can heighten anxiety and depression

Pacinian Corpuscles are pressure receptors just under the skin that send signals to the vagus nerve in the brain—that's the cranial nerve which regulates involuntary actions like breathing, heart rate, and the general "fight or flight" response. Activating those receptors can slow the heart, decrease blood pressure, and lead to the release of oxytocin and cortisol. The absence of touch, conversely, can promote negative feelings.

Itching is caused by stimulated nerve cells in the skin

Scratching produces low-level pain signals to the brain, distracting from the itch. Scratching also releases serotonin, a neurotransmitter that creates a happy sensation, which resets the itch signal. This can cause a cyclical itch-scratch cycle.

Complex molecular reactions in our tissues cause muscle contraction

When we want to move a muscle, a signal travels from the brain and into the muscle cells in question, sparking a chemical reaction that causes the muscle's smallest contractile units—sarcomeres—to shorten, forcing the muscle to contract.

The body's response to cardiac arrest has been linked to near-death experiences

Most people who report near‑death experiences experience events like out‑of‑body sensations, altered cognition, emotional and spiritual shifts, or even supernatural phenomena, particularly during cardiac arrest. Research suggests many such experiences may be linked to brain-generated sensory distortions that can be experimentally replicated, suggesting a physiological rather than mystical cause.

Retrieval cues trigger memories and emotions from long-term storage

Retrieval cues can activate specific cells in a neural network, creating a cascade of neurons that collectively make up a memory. Specific cues help regulate emotions during stress by activating positive memories.

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

A primer on human tears

Tears are one of the many behaviors that differentiate humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. Why do we cry? This comprehensive and well-written essay explores various theories about why we cry, observes tear fluid as the only one that does not elicit disgust, and attempts to interpret the meaning of tears in different circumstances. See what all the fuss is about here.

Fear or disgust related to clusters of holes and cracks, called trypophobia, may stem from evolutionary processes to help us avoid pathogens.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

Watch how viruses like Ebola can spill over from animals to humans—and vice-versa.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

Poison ivy can cause rashes year-round since all parts of the plant contain urushiol, the oil that triggers our allergic response.

In recent years a child anxiety expert has created and tested a novel phobia and anxiety treatment approach for children, focused on changing how parents respond to the fears.

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.