Musical thrills and chills

The Chills and Thrills of Whole Genome Sequencing

In recent years, whole genome sequencing (WGS) evolved from a futuristic-sounding research project to an increasingly affordable technology for determining complete genome sequences of complex organisms, including humans. This prompts a wide range of revolutionary applications, as WGS is a promising means for improving modern healthcare and providing a better understanding of the human genome, ...

Thrills, chills, frissons, and skin orgasms: toward an integrative model of transcendent psychophysiological experiences in music

Music has a unique power to elicit moments of intense emotional and psychophysiological response. These moments - termed "chills," "thrills", "frissons," etc. - are subjects of introspection and philosophical debate, as well as scientific study in music perception and cognition. The present article integrates the existing multidisciplinary literature in an attempt to define a comprehensive, tes...

Adventure Thrills are Addictive

Behavioral addictions may have social as well as endocrine components, and may include antisocial activities such as crime and gambling, relatively neutral activities such as videogames and internet use, and positive addictions such as sport and exercise (Lichtenstein et al., 2014). Here I argue that participants in many forms of adventure recreation also experience particularly powerful behavi...

Knowledge, curiosity, and aesthetic chills

Chills are amuscular phenomenon best described as the sensation of coldness created by a rhythmic oscillating tremor of skeletal muscles. In humans, chills are sometimes associated with a positive hedonic process. In the present article, we shall refer to such an event as aesthetic chills. Aesthetic chills appear to be a universal emotional experience (see e.g., McCrae, 2007). In laboratory, th...

Light gives molecules the chills.