Halloween is almost here, and if you like strolling through a haunted house with friends or watching a scary movie with the lights off, you may have experienced that spine tingling sensation as the moment gets tense. Some people experience a similar effect when they listen to music, view art or listen to a story that connects with them on an emotional level.
But what process is behind this spine tingling sensation we sometimes experience when we’re scared or excited? We explain this spine tingling phenomenon in today’s blog.
Spine Tingling When You’re Scared
Let’s start by looking at the spine tingling sensation when you’re scared. This sensation harkens back to our ancestors and their primitive “fight or flight” mode. When your brain feels threatened, even if it’s just by images on a screen, a part of your brain called the amygdala ends up releasing a chemical called glutamate. This chemical affects a couple areas in our brain, including the hypothalamus.
Our hypothalamus produces hormones and triggers our autonomic nervous system, jumpstarting the fight or flight mode in our brain. As our heart rate and blood pressure increase, additional hormones produced by the hypothalamus – mainly adrenaline and dopamine – are pumped throughout our body. Your body is on high alert because your brain is perceiving a threat and producing stress and reward hormones, which can lead to a physical “rush” and this spine tingling sensation in your back and neck.
Another reason why you may experience the chills or a tingling sensation in your spine is due to how blood flow is impacted during moments of high stress. As part of your body’s stress response, blood is channeled to more vital areas, and if certain parts of your body are not getting enough oxygenated blood to function optimally, you can feel a tingling or pins and needles-like sensation in your extremities or even your spine.
Spine Tingling From Excitement
Have you ever turned on the radio, heard your favorite song and felt the chills or gotten goosebumps? Maybe that last song before intermission really resonated with you, and the hairs on the back of your neck stood up. This is a phenomenon known as frisson. Frisson, also sometimes called psychogenic shivers or aesthetic chills, is a psychophysiological response to a rewarding stimulus, like music, movies, stories or art.
This strong emotional response to a stimulus can also lead to the onset of physical symptoms, like piloerection (goosebumps), mydriasis (pupil dilation) and paresthesia (skin tingling sensation or chills). In other words, when a song, movie or story elicits a positive emotional response, you may feel that spine tingling sensation as your body physically reacts to this intense flood of emotions. Oftentimes this spine tingling sensation is much preferred to the one brought on by your body’s fight or flight response!
To learn more about the wonders of your spine, or to talk to a specialist about a back issue that you’re dealing with, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.
