We knew thearachnophobia(fear of spiders), aviophobia (the afraid to fly) and even triskaïdékaphobia (the fear of the number 13), here is now … trypophobia, that is to say the fearHoles.
This is not a joke. Honeycombs, pipes, breadcrumbs, corals, donuts … Trypophobes panic when they cross the path of one or more holes, regardless of the size. Described for the first time in 2005, this strange disease is still not recognized by the international medical profession. However, a new study coordinated by Emory University (in the United States) decided to take a closer look. “Some people are so intensely disturbed by these pictures of holes that they cannot even look at them or be in the same room as them. We believe that trypophobia is more common than one thinks”, explains Stella Lourenco. , main author of the article.
Protect yourself against mold and disease
The American researchers worked with a group of volunteers, to whom they submitted images of holes, threatening animals (snakes, spiders) and neutral images. Using eye-tracking technology, they were then able to determine what mechanisms were involved in people with trypophobes. “Unlike images of threatening animals (which elicit reactions of fear andanxiety related to the sympathetic nervous system), the images of holes, they rather involved the parasympathetic nervous system : we have especially observed reactions of disgust “explain the researchers, whose work has been published in the specialized journal PeerJ.
American specialists therefore assume that trypophobia could be linked to an evolving defense mechanism: this phobia could allow some people to recognize the moldy food or rotten, diseased skin and tissue … sometimes characterized by holes. CQFD!
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