SPOOKY SEASON: WHY WE LOVE BEING SCARED

Tis the season to be… terrified?! With Halloween here, many people will be engaging in a weekend filled with frightful fun. Haunted houses, scary movies, and trick-or-treating are all on the menu, but why is it that some of us seem to enjoy being scared? “When you go into these scary situations, the part of the brain that becomes active is the same part that would be as if you were in a truly dangerous situation,” says Professor Tim Jarome of the School of Animal Sciences at Virginia Tech. “But another part of the brain will then start to assess the environment and since it’s a safe environment it starts to dampen the activity of that initial brain region and you get this release of endorphins and dopamine that actually creates this rewarding feeling.” For some people, the experience can actually even be compared to extreme activities like riding a roller coaster. “For other people they might really like riding roller coasters, they might like bungee jumping, and at the same point they’re going to get that same release,” says Dr. Jarome. “They’re going to get these endorphins and this dopamine release that’s going to feel very rewarding to them.” Correspondent Michael Yoshida has all the details on the science behind the scare in a 3:30pET PKG.