Do you find yourself closing your eyes when the movies get too scary? You know how that never really works, unless you close your ears as well? There’s a reason for that.Neuroscientists at Tel Aviv Sourasky medical center in Israel led new brain imaging research that got to the heart of the matter. They scanned the brains of volunteers listening to film scores (“Hitchcock-like movies”) as well as less emotive keyboard tunes, with eyes open or shut.
Unsurprisingly, the volunteers rated the eerie-sounding music as more emotional than the elevator-style muzak. And the response to the muzak was the same whether eyes were open or closed.
But the scary music received a much greater response in the amygdala (the brain centre involved in sensing emotion and fear) when eyes were closed. Not only that, but the visual prefrontal cortex – which helps control emotions – was much more active with eyes shut as well.
Moviemakers, of course, knew it all along. Take that, scientists!
So next time you watch a scary movie and you’re tempted to close your ears, don’t. It’s probably a better idea just to switch over to something else entirely – maybe some nice elevator muzak…
Source: New Scientist
