Why We Love to be Scared

For all of their stomach-turning gore, horror films and haunted houses attract people in droves. This ability of the human brain to turn fear on its head could be a key to treating phobias and anxiety disorders, according to scientists.

When people get scared, their bodies automatically triggers the "fight or flight" response—their heart rates increase, they breathe faster, their muscles tense, and their attention focuses for quick and effective responses to threats.

"It's nature's way of protecting us," said clinical psychologist David Rudd at Texas Tech University.

If the brain knows there is no risk of really being harmed, it experiences this adrenaline rush as enjoyable, Rudd explained. The key to enjoying such thrills lies in knowing how to properly gauge the risk of harm.

"Young children may overestimate the risk of harm and experience true 'fear.' When that happens you see the child cling to a parent and cry, convinced there's a very real chance of harm," Rudd told LiveScience. On the other hand, "adults may well scream but quickly follow it with a laugh since they readily recognize there's no chance for real harm."

On a higher level

This phenomenon also explains why people can enjoy skydiving, bungee jumping and extreme sports.

"In these cases, those engaging in high-risk activities will tell you that the risk is lowered by their training and precautions," enabling them to enjoy the experience, Rudd said. The key structure in the brain responsible for this effect is likely the amygdala, he added, which is key to forming and storing memories linked with emotions.

The ability to enjoy fear makes evolutionary sense, said environmental psychologist Frank McAndrew at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill.

"We're motivated to seek out this kind of stimulation to explore new possibilities, to find new sources of food, better places to live and good allies," McAndrew said. "People enjoy deviations from the norm—a change of pace, within limits."

Key to therapy

If exposed repeatedly to a fearsome stimulus, the brain will get used to it and no longer experience it as frightening. This is a key behind cognitive therapies for anxiety dysfunctions such as phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder, where a person's system overreacts to perceive something as threatening when it is not, Rudd said. When such cognitive therapies are combined with medicines, their success rate at improving symptoms "is 80 percent," he added.

Meanwhile, McAndrew is exploring what makes houses feel haunted in the first place.

"We're focusing on what architectural features make houses appear haunted or not," he said. "We're finding they tend to be laid out in a confusing way, so that you're not sure where you are in the house. They're high in 'mystery'—you can't see very far in the house. And there are all kinds of sounds and smells not usually found in a house that can make it seem creepy."

amygdala:
are almond-shaped groups of neurons located deep within the medial temporal lobes of the brain in complex vertebrates, including humans. Shown in research to perform a primary role in the processing and memory of emotional reactions, the amygdalae are considered part of the limbic system.


Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD):
is a term for certain psychological consequences of exposure to, or confrontation with, stressful experiences that the person experiences as highly traumatic. [1] The experience must involve actual or threatened death, serious physical injury, or a threat to physical and/or psychological integrity. It is occasionally called post-traumatic stress reaction to emphasize that it is a routine result of traumatic experience rather than a manifestation of a pre-existing psychological weakness on the part of the patient.

Why all women should exercise

No matter at what age a woman becomes physically active, an ever growing body of research continues to support the notion that the benefits of this increased activity are tremendous, and extremely beneficial throughout a woman's life.

Youth
Until recently, most people believed that children didn't need to worry about getting enough exercise. But with the advent of television, and now computers, a growing generation of sedentary children are becoming the next generation of unhealthy adults. Current research is finding that heart disease begins developing in youth (reference?). Considering that cardiovascular diseases are now the leading cause of death for women as well as men, one could conclude that childhood and adolescence is the appropriate time to develop healthy lifestyle habits that include exercise.

Midlife
During midlife, the most common physical complaint among women is weight gain. This slow, but steady and persistent gain is something the majority of middle aged women experience. Experts disagree on the cause of this weight creep. Some believe it caused in part by hormonal changes; others argue it is most likely due to a decreasing amount of lean muscle tissue, which results in a slower metabolic rate. Research studies by Wayne Wescott, PhD, Fitness Director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Mass., have shown that women who stay active throughout midlife have more lean muscle, greater metabolic rates and less weight gain then their sedentary peers.
Research has also shown that many of the other common ailments of middle aged women can be alleviated or controlled through exercise. Exercise can improve sleep quality and daytime energy levels, and help prevent chronic health problems such as high blood pressure, Type II diabetes, high cholesterol levels, depression and arthritis. One of the most convincing reasons to begin an exercise program in midlife is to ward off the debilitating effects of osteoporosis. It is widely known that a woman's bone density begins to decline even before her midlife years, and bone loss accelerates after menopause. While most types of activity offer some protection against bone loss, weight bearing exercise such as walking, jogging and strength training seem to offer the greatest benefit.

Senior
Physicians who work with the elderly are the fastest growing group of doctors who use exercise to combat injury, illness and disease. Washington Physiatrist Scott Gross, M.D. routinely prescribes exercise programs to his elderly patients. "Decreased muscle strength, flexibility and endurance is central to many of the problems I see in older adults, especially women. In terms of daily living, the typical 75-year-old woman I see rarely has adequate strength to carry groceries up a flight of stairs, and certainly could not pick herself up off the floor after a fall." The good news is that it is never too late to start. The MacArthur Foundation, whose researchers have been studying successful aging for a decade, has found that even those in their 90's who never exercised before can become more physically fit, and can enjoy an improved quality of life, even if they have other health problems.

Start Now
Once you've made the decision to begin exercising, don't wait. By starting today, with something as simple as a walking program you will discover the key to a lifetime of health. For many women, young, old or in the middle, the day they begin an exercise program can be the day they discover the key to improved quality of life.

Study Shows Side Airbags Reduce Crash Deaths

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Airbags that drop from the roof or inflate from the seat to provide head protection in serious side crashes significantly reduce deaths, especially when cars are struck by bigger sport utilities and pickups, according to industry research to be released on Thursday.

Building on previous research, the findings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety could pressure the auto industry and the government to accelerate efforts to incorporate head protection in more vehicles.
The auto industry agreed three years ago to equip all vehicles with side airbags with head protection as a standard feature by 2009. Federal safety regulators proposed in 2004 that automakers provide head protection but did not mandate a technology.

Safety advocates have urged regulators and the industry to make the technology standard as soon as possible.

"Once every passenger vehicle on the road has side airbags that include head protection for the front-seat occupants we can save as many as 2,000 lives per year," said Anne McCartt, the insurance group's research vice president and author of the report.

The institute's work is funded by the insurance industry and its crash test analyses are closely watched by the automakers and safety regulators.

In 2004, 2.7 million passenger vehicles were involved in side-impact crashes, according to police reports cited by the researchers. More than 9,000 people were killed.

Researchers concluded side airbags that protect the torso reduced deaths by 26 percent in side-impact crashes. The same study also found that deaths declined by an estimated 37 percent when the vehicle was also equipped with side airbags that protect the head.

"Head protecting side airbags reduce driver fatality risk when cars are struck by SUVs and pickups, not just other cars," McCartt said.

Side airbags deploy from the ceiling, the seat or the door. The technology is relatively new and is included in about 80 percent of new cars and sport utilities as standard or optional equipment. Fewer than half of all pickups have the feature.

The new research is important for government and industry efforts to address safety concerns that arise when bigger and stiffer vehicles -- mainly SUVs and pickups popular on American roads -- crash into smaller passenger cars.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates nearly 60 percent of those killed in serious side- impact crashes suffer brain injuries.

A NHTSA spokesman had no comment on the insurance group's research.

*TORSO = Torso is an anatomical term for the greater part of the human body without the head and limbs. It is also referred to as the trunk. The torso includes the chest, back, and abdomen.