File:2003-09-17_Goose_bumps.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
piloerection
Sign in to saveAlso known as goose bumps, horripilation, goosebumps, goose pimples, goose flesh
body causing its hairs to stand on end
Key facts
- Other names
- Goose-pimples (in British English ), goose-skin, goose-flesh, cutis anserina , horripilation, horripilatio
- Specialty
- Dermatology
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
635 papers- Piloerection persists throughout repeated exposure to emotional stimuli.PloS one · 2024
- Recent advances in thermoregulation.Advances in physiology education · 2015
- The physiological study of emotional piloerection: A systematic review and guide for future research.International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology · 2022
- Ictal piloerection is associated with high-grade glioma and autoimmune encephalitis-Results from a systematic review.Seizure · 2019
- Music and the heart.European heart journal · 2015
via PubMed
~8 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Goose bumps (in American English), goose pimples (in British English), goosebumps, or gooseflesh are the bumps on a person's skin at the base of body hairs which may involuntarily develop when a person is tickled, cold or experiencing strong emotions such as fear, euphoria or sexual arousal.
The formation of goose bumps in humans under stress is considered by some to be a vestigial reflex, though visible piloerection is associated with changes in skin temperature in humans. The reflex of producing goose bumps is known as piloerection or the pilomotor reflex, or, more traditionally, horripilation. It occurs in many mammals; a prominent example is porcupines, which raise their quills when threatened, or sea otters when they encounter sharks or other predators.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “piloerection” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.