Connect
Voluntarily Generated Piloerection
To my understanding, voluntarily generated piloerection (VGP), the ability to produce goosebumps at will with no particular external stimulation present, has been scarcely studied, and no true biological mechanisms have been presented as the possible explanation for why this is possible. I am posing this as an open ended question, feel free to contribute with any level of formality/knowledge whatsoever:
What do you think are the mechanisms behind VGP, and what are potential implications of its existence for the patient and/or for science?
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Brain & Nervous System Support Group.
Connect
Hello @aaronandamy - I combined your discussion with another discussion titled, "Voluntarily Generated Piloerection" - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/voluntarily-generated-piloerection/.
@abrahamdgreat, @adrianrcastro and @yoldone also talked about having voluntary generated piloerection. And may be able to share some of what they have learned experienced.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 ReactionsThank you so much!!😊
Absolutely not. 100% not because my man here Aaron has hardly any body hair whatsoever. He has like 6 hairs on his entire chest. And he is almost 46 years old. He only shaves two times a week for work purposes because he is a field technician that deals with H2 emissions and control of those emissions. He needs a whole 30 days before he has somewhat of a scruff. Lol
I can do it by crossing my eyes inward closed or open it stimulates the inside of my brain causing electrical shivers and goose bumps it feels realy pleasant to do but doing it over and over again makes it harder to activate taking a break makes me able to do it easy again
Hello, I am hoping to learn more about voluntary pilo erection experienced by others and potentially participate in related study. I also can control pilo erection as well as interfere with the hart beats and rush of blood to my head. Over the decades I discovered practical use for this. I use it during strenuous workouts or extreme physical activity as energy/motivation boost. It manifests as a strong emotional jolt of some sort producing almost damaging levels of energy letting me run extra mile, lift heavier or keep going after all is still. I hope I am not hurting myself somehow by practicing this.
I’m 49 and have been doing this as long as I can remember. A few years ago I became interested in finding others with this ability after reading James Heather’s study.
The experiences of those with VPG are remarkably similar. 1. Could do this since childhood. 2. The process to trigger the goosebump response is more mechanical than mental. It involves a physically controlled manipulation of something deep within the head or neck area. 3. The response starts down the back of the neck and spreads in waves toward the extremities. 4. The response becomes fatigued after several repeated triggers.
In studying my own experience, it feels like I am using eye muscles deep within my head to press against gland or something to trigger the response. When I activate VGP repeatedly, my eyes become fatigued and strained.
I personally have VGP and use it almost everyday. I initially was intrigued because I was getting into meditation, and control of my subconscious functions seemed practical. I was lucid dreaming a lot but wanted to have wakeful control as well. I am a very open person and my hair is said to be very lush but I feel like this VGP can be used in the spiritual sense.
I was pretty good at lucid dreaming and even produced a few Astral Projections but my VGP took me farther than I expected. I would try this technique called WILD (wake induced lucid dream). You essentially meditate on bed and trick your body into believing you are sleeping and it starts producing dreams. You slip into a lucid dream without ever loosing consciousness. While attempting this type of meditation I was in this state where you loose sensation of your body and maintain mental awareness (while not having thoughts). Being aware without a thought was the hardest concept and skill by far for me to learn. But while attempting this I started to produce these goosebumps. I maintained the VGP for an hour or so and then the unimaginable happened.
I slipped out of my body, but not like an astral projection. I went into pure darkness but my mind seemed to open up to the knowledge of the universe. I was floating in a true void while I seemingly knew everything. I know it sounds weird but this was my experience. I can't really tell anyone because they all think I've lost my mind and try to explain it off as a dream. I was fairly adept at dreams and knew what I was experiencing. It felt like I stepped outside the veil of the physical world to experience the mental plain of existence. There's more to the story but perhaps another platform.
-Max Pendl