PIMPLE POPPING PLEASURE EXPLAINED
five psychologists put 80 women in a brain scanner & showed them videos of other people popping pimples. half found it enjoyable, half disgusting. the brain's frontal lobe seems to be responsible
original article: Wabnegger et al., 2021 (Behavioural Brain Research),
this story was in episode 7 #pimple #disgust #enjoyment #pleasure
the error bar says
if you have wondered why neuroscientists have never discovered the neural mechanisms underlying peoples' enjoyment of watching videos of other people popping pimples, you are not alone
wonder no more. Wabnegger and colleagues at the Institute of Psychology in Graz, Austria, developed a questionnaire to assess 'pimple popping enjoyment' & from 538 respondents they selected 38 who enjoyed watching the most & 42 the least
the study reveals the neural mechanisms of pimple-popping voyeurism in the frontopolar cortex - that's an important part of the brain involved in watching people pop pimples. this brain area was more active for pimple popping compared to control videos & this difference was greater in those who enjoyed the videos
seriously?
yep
the good news is that the study seems to have been done well and to have found clear effects. at least no-one ever has to do this study again