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The reflex of producing goose bumps is known as piloerection or the pilomotor reflex, or, more traditionally, [6] horripilation. It occurs in many mammals ; a prominent example is porcupines , [ 7 ] which raise their quills when threatened, or sea otters when they encounter sharks or other predators.
Each arrector pili is composed of a bundle of smooth muscle fibres which attach to several follicles (a follicular unit). [4] Each is innervated by the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. [4]
Piloerection (goose bumps), the physical part of frisson. Frisson (UK: / ˈ f r iː s ɒ n / FREE-son, US: / f r iː ˈ s oʊ n / free-SOHN [1] [2] French:; French for "shiver"), also known as aesthetic chills or psychogenic shivers, is a psychophysiological response to rewarding stimuli (including music, films, stories, people, photos, and rituals [3]) that often induces a pleasurable or ...
Piloerection and pale, cool skin occur below the lesion due to the prevailing sympathetic outflow. [ 10 ] The most common causes include bladder or bowel over-distension from urinary retention and fecal compaction. [ 11 ]
The term is also attributed to piloerection or "goose bumps" that occurs with abrupt withdrawal from opioids, which resembles the skin of a plucked refrigerated turkey. [ 3 ] [ 10 ] The similar term "kick the habit" alludes to the muscle spasms that occur in addition to goosebumps in some cases.
Herald moths are the first recorded insect to use the piloerection mechanism for thermoregulation. Piloerection helps the moth to save energy by decreasing heat loss and shortening the duration of the warm-up, while "laying the hairs down" may provide fast decreasing of the body temperature and reduction of energy expenditure.
For example, the sympathetic nervous system can accelerate heart rate; widen bronchial passages; decrease motility (movement) of the large intestine; constrict blood vessels; increase peristalsis in the oesophagus; cause pupillary dilation, piloerection (goose bumps) and perspiration ; and raise blood pressure. One exception is with certain ...
During piloerection, the guard hairs on the back are raised and the skin folds spread, thus releasing scent. [21] The precaudal scent glands may play a role in expressing aggression, as combative wolves raise the base of their tails whilst drooping the tip, thus positioning the scent glands at the highest point. [16]