What causes people to have things that ‘go through them’ such as not being able to touch polystyrene or the sound of ice scraping in a freezer?
In: Biology
With respect to sounds, this is called [misophonia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misophonia#Classification).
There’s a small but growing body of research to suggest it’s a psychiatric disorder. [This piece](https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/misophonia-sounds-really-make-crazy-2017042111534) describes two physical findings in the brain:
“The team’s important finding was in a part of the brain that plays a role both in anger and in integrating outside inputs (such as sounds) with inputs from organs such as the heart and lungs: the anterior insular cortex (AIC). Using fMRI scans to measure brain activity, the researchers found that the AIC caused much more activity in other parts of the brain during the trigger sounds for those with misophonia than for the control group. Specifically, the parts of the brain responsible for long-term memories, fear, and other emotions were activated …,
“The researchers also used whole-brain MRI scans to map participants’ brains and found that people with misophonia have higher amounts of myelination. Myelin is a fatty substance that wraps around nerve cells in the brain to provide electrical insulation, like the insulation on a wire. It’s not known if the extra myelin is a cause or an effect of misophonia and its triggering of other brain areas.”
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