Tonic Immobility: Differences in Susceptibility of Experimental and Normal Sheep and Goats

Moore, A. Ulric; Amstey, Marvin S.

doi:10.1126/science.135.3505.729

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…We found at least one article for all the branches of the cladogram. Two articles were selected for Arachnida, 31 , 32 Hexapoda, 29 , 33 Crustacea, 34 , 35 Chondrichthyes, 36 , 37 Actinopterygii, 38 , 39 Amphibia, 40 , 41 Bifurcata, 21 , 42 Metatheria, 17 , 43 Artiodactyla, 44 , 45 Canidae, 46 , 47 Rodentia, 23 , 48 Leporidae, 49 , 50 Cercopithecoidea 51 , 52 and Homo sapiens . 25 , 26 Three articles were selected for the Aves class.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 17 , 29 , 31 , 33 , 40 , 43 , 53 , 54 In 17 papers, death-feigning and tonic immobility were evoked through manipulation or restraint of the animal by a study investigator. 21 , 23 , 36–42 , 44 , 47–52 , 56 Finally, in four papers, death-feigning was recorded in reaction to different types of simulated threats, such as air puffs, grasping and touching with a stick. 32 , 34 , 35 , 40 In the species H. sapiens , tonic immobility happened with traumatic events, including sexual assaults, war and torture.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The evolutionary origin of near-death experiences: a systematic investigation

Peinkhofer

Martial

Cassol

et al. 2021

Brain Communications

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Near-death experiences are known from all parts of the world, various times and numerous cultural backgrounds. This universality suggests that near-death experiences may have a biological origin and purpose. Adhering to a preregistered protocol, we investigate the hypothesis that thanatosis aka. death-feigning, a last-resort defense mechanism in animals, is the evolutionary origin of near-death experiences. We first show that thanatosis is a highly preserved survival strategy occurring at all major nodes in a cladogram ranging from insects to humans. We then show that humans under attack by animal, human and “modern” predators can experience both thanatosis and near-death experiences, and we further show that the phenomenology and the effects of the two overlap. In summary, we build a line of evidence suggesting that thanatosis is the evolutionary foundation of near-death experiences and that their shared biological purpose is the benefit of survival. We propose that the acquisition of language enabled humans to transform these events from relatively stereotyped death-feigning under predatory attacks into the rich perceptions that form near-death experiences and extend to non-predatory situations.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolutionary origin of near-death experiences: a systematic investigation

Peinkhofer

Martial

Cassol

et al. 2021

Brain Communications

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“…The different suggestions for a defense cascade model consist of the following components: ''freezing'' in case of a large distance between subject and threat; ''flight'' when the distance is reduced; ''fight'' when the distance is eliminated; and ''immobility'' in case of prolonged elimination of distance (Ogden, Minton, & Pain, 2006). More recently, a model has integrated ''faint'' as another response possibility (Alboni, Alboni, & Bertorelle, 2008;Bracha, 2004;Lang et al, 2000;Moore & Amstey, 1962).…”

Section: Understanding Dissociation Within An Evolutionary-based Frammentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tonic immobility guarantees negative or quiescent behavior even in the presence of massive aversive stimulation (Foley, 1938), a stilled organism that makes no attempt to struggle for freedom or fight. Fear plus the physical prevention of flight seem to bring on the response named catatonic trance, action inhibition, or ''death feigning,'' which appears suddenly (Moore & Amstey, 1962;Pavlov, 1923).…”

Section: Understanding Dissociation Within An Evolutionary-based Fram...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissociation Following Traumatic Stress

Schauer

Elbert

2010

Zeitschrift für Psychologie / Journal of Psychology

315

340

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We postulate that the cascade “Freeze-Flight-Fight-Fright-Flag-Faint” is a coherent sequence of six fear responses that escalate as a function of defense possibilities and proximity to danger during life-threat. The actual sequence of trauma-related response dispositions acted out in an extremely dangerous situation therefore depends on the appraisal of the threat by the organism in relation to her/his own power to act (e.g., age and gender) as well as the perceived characteristics of threat and perpetrator. These reaction patterns provide optimal adaption for particular stages of imminence. Subsequent to the traumatic threats, portions of the experience may be replayed. The actual individual cascade of defense stages a survivor has gone through during the traumatic event will repeat itself every time the fear network, which has evolved peritraumatically, is activated again (i.e., through internal or external triggers or, e.g., during exposure therapy).When a parasympathetically dominated ‘‘shut-down’’ was the prominent peri-traumatic response during the traumatic incident, comparable dissociative responses may dominate responding to subsequently experienced threat and may also reappear when the traumatic memory is reactivated. Repeated experience of traumatic stress forms a fear network that can become pathologically detached from contextual cues such as time and location of the danger, a condition which manifests itself as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Intrusions, for example, can therefore be understood as repetitive displays of fragments of the event, which would then, depending on the dominant physiological response during the threat, elicit a corresponding combination of hyperarousal and dissociation. We suggest that trauma treatment must therefore differentiate between patients on two dimensions: those with peritraumatic sympathetic activation versus those who went down the whole defense cascade, which leads to parasympathetic dominance during the trauma and a corresponding replay of physiological and dissociative responding, when reminded. The differential management of dissociative stages (“fright” and “faint”) has important treatment implications.

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“…Tonic immobility has been documented in a large number of different species from most representative taxonomic groups, such as insects, crustaceans, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and rodents and other mammals. While chickens, rats, and rabbits have been widely used in laboratory studies of TI (Gallup, 1974a), there are documented instances of TI in a variety of other mammals, including pigs (Andersen, Boe, Foerevik, Janczak, & Bakken, 2000), sheep (Gelez, Archer, Chesneau, Lindsay, & Fabre‐Nys, 2004), goats (Moore & Amstey, 1962), dogs (Reese, Newton, & Angel, 1982), and primates (Hennig, 1978).…”

Section: What Is Tonic Immobility?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Tonic immobility as an evolved predator defense: Implications for sexual assault survivors.

Marx¹,

Forsyth²,

Gallup³

et al. 2008

Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice

169

186

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This article reviews research concerning the possible relationship between tonic immobility (TI) and human reactions to sexual assault. This review includes a description of the characteristic features of TI and a discussion of the most widely accepted theoretical explanation for TI. The possibility that humans may exhibit TI is explored and conditions that might elicit TI in humans are identified. In particular, we focus on TI in the context of sexual assault, because this form of trauma often involves elements that are necessary for the induction of TI in nonhuman animals, namely, fear and perceived physical restraint. The important similarities and differences in how TI manifests in humans and nonhuman animals are highlighted, future research directions are offered, and clinical implications are suggested.

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Tonic Immobility: Differences in Susceptibility of Experimental and Normal Sheep and Goats

Cited by 12 publications

References 5 publications

The evolutionary origin of near-death experiences: a systematic investigation

The evolutionary origin of near-death experiences: a systematic investigation

Dissociation Following Traumatic Stress

Tonic immobility as an evolved predator defense: Implications for sexual assault survivors.

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