Calling all of my fellow Big Honkin' Chicken Club members and friends. According to a study, it turns out that there may be a genetic reason for our scaredy-cattedness. (How's that for a word?)
This news makes me feel so much better. I remember about five or six years ago being at Universal in LA and we were going through the Mummy. It wasn't a ride but more or less a high tech haunted house. There was music and sounds and things that could go bump in the night. Well, I was screaming and squealing and grabbing the person in front of me about every 2 seconds, even when nothing scary was happening. I made so much noise that a crowd gathered outside the exit door to see who that frightened woman was. (Such a proud moment for me, BTW.)
Here's what the piece about the study says:
The COMT gene weakens the effect of a signaling chemical (dopamine) in the brain linked to emotion. Dr Martin Reuter and his colleagues at the University of Bonn measured the "startle response" of 96 women with different variations of the gene by attaching electrodes to their eye muscles. When a person is startled upon emotional arousal the eyes automatically blink.
The women were shown sets of pictures that were emotionally pleasant (such as animals or babies), neutral (such as an electric plug or hair dryer) or aversive (such as weapons or injured victims at a crime scene). A loud noise was made at random while they watched to startle the volunteers.
Vindicated! Do you hear me, Brandilyn Collins? I am vindicated!
-rlh-
