You know your adrenaline has just “kicked in” when you suddenly feel “all tingly” with “chills running down your spine” while watching a horror movie.  But what you may not know is the reason behind it.  Experts will give you a “hundred and one reasons” to explain why you react the way you do when you’re “scared out of your wits”.  I for one am a fan of movies with a tinge of “the supernatural”.

Take “The Grudge” for eg.  The original Asian version (Japanese, I believe) was absolutely terrifying.  So, it took a while before I had the courage to view the American version.  Now, thinking that since I already knew the plot, it wouldn’t scare me as much as the original did.  Boy, was I wrong!  You see, when I purchased DVDs of the American version (sequels and all – The Grudge 1, 2 and 3), I decided that if I watched them continuously (one after another) in broad daylight, it wouldn’t be so scary.  Wrong again!!  For days, the feeling persisted, especially when I was shampooing my hair.  Yunno, when you’re in a confined space with your eyes shut and your imagination is in “full swing”.  Yes, you try that…

Anyway, the reason for this article is that I came across an interesting theory expounded by one, Joseph E. LeDoux, Ph.d in one of the movie DVDs.  It was an extra bonus content of sorts.  Here, he explains his views on the workings of the “brain” and its association with “fear”.  Well, not in so many words, but you get the point.

Anyway, for those less “intellectual” (like “yours truly”), Dr Joseph LeDoux is a neuroscientist.  More accurately, he is the Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at New York University as well as the Director of the Center for the Neuroscience of Fear and Anxiety in New York City.  It was reported that his research mainly focussed
on the “biological underpinnings of memory and emotion, especially the mechanisms of fear”.  Two noteworthy titles, “The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings Of Emotional Life” and “Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We are” come into mind.

Like I always say, to understand the true concept of “Creative Thinking”, one has to travel back to its origin, which is the “brain”, obviously.  We have to try to understand what “makes it tick” and to comprehend its inner workings, and still, after we do (understand, that is), however much we come to the conclusion that we now know more than we did before, there’s always a lot more that we don’t know.  It is after all, a never-ending process, the learning that is.

But, back to this article.  What I discovered is that on the one hand, Dr LeDoux is a “man of science”, but on the other hand, he is also a man of the “arts”.  You see, he is also a singer and guitarist in the science-themed rock band, “The Amygdaloids, a band made up of neuroscientists.  How quaint is that!!

So, the brain can possess the “best of both worlds”, yes??  And to prove this point, check out the following videoclip.  The first part is a short narration by the “man scientist”, followed by the “man artiste”.

I think he’s proven a point, don’t you?  He’s a fine example of “creativity in opposite and opposing fields”, yes??