Voodoo death, also called psychogenic or psychosomatic death, is the phenomenon of sudden death brought on by intense emotional shock, most often fear, without any apparent physical cause, a concept first developed by physiologist Walter Bradford Cannon in a 1942 paper. Cannon proposed that overwhelming fear activates the sympathetic nervous system strongly enough to constrict blood vessels and reduce circulating blood volume, causing a fall in blood pressure that damages the heart and can end in fatal shock, especially when combined with dehydration and continued anxiety; later researchers have added that stress hormones such as corticotropin-releasing hormone and catecholamines may also trigger fatal heart rhythm disturbances through the same pathway.
Facts
Partially Attested
First Described YearSince 1942, scientists have discovered mechanisms consistent with Cannon's original account of voodoo death. (w-bbfill-psychology6-0926) Classification
Type of Phenomenon Sources
1. Wikipedia: Voodoo Death
WikipediaWikipedia article text
Since 1942, scientists have discovered mechanisms consistent with Cannon's original account of voodoo death.
lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
The anomaly is recognized as "psychosomatic" in that death is caused by an emotional response-often fear-to some suggested outside force.
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