The volitional control of piloerection has been previously reported in a small subset of individuals. Although this ability may be useful to study the mechanism underlying piloerection, there is little existing research on this ability, neither objective evidence at a group-level, nor information about its stability under experimental constraints. The present study aimed to validate existing findings of voluntarily generated piloerection (VGP) and to examine its potential contribution to neuroscientific research based on objective evidence of this ability. In Study 1, to confirm the characteristics of VGP reported in previous studies and identify individuals with VGP capability, an online survey of VGP candidates was conducted. In Study 2, 18 VGP holders participated in a mail-based piloerection measurement experiment, and the nature of VGP was examined based on the objective data obtained by image-based analysis (GooseLab). Study 1 largely confirmed the characteristics of VGP reported in previous studies, and Study 2 demonstrated VGP at a group-level and provided information about the temporal characteristics of this ability, which supports the utility of VGP in neuroscientific research. For some participants, VGP appeared to be emotionally promoted, which suggests that VGP has some relationship with the emotional nature of involuntary piloerection. Although the studies did not tightly control the environment in which VGP was elicited, the findings nonetheless demonstrate the possible contribution of VGP to elucidating the mechanism of involuntary emotional piloerection and the neural basis of piloerection itself.

中文翻译：

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立毛的意志控制：客观证据及其在神经科学研究中的潜在用途


先前曾在一小部分个体中报道过对立毛的意志控制。尽管这种能力可能有助于研究立毛的机制，但现有的关于这种能力的研究很少，既没有群体水平的客观证据，也没有关于其在实验限制下稳定性的信息。本研究旨在验证自愿性立毛（VGP）的现有发现，并根据这种能力的客观证据检验其对神经科学研究的潜在贡献。在研究1中，为了确认先前研究中报告的VGP特征并识别具有VGP能力的个体，对VGP候选者进行了在线调查。在研究2中，18名VGP持有者参与了基于邮件的立毛测量实验，并根据基于图像的分析（GooseLab）获得的客观数据来检查VGP的性质。研究1在很大程度上证实了之前研究中报道的VGP的特征，研究2在群体水平上证明了VGP，并提供了有关这种能力的时间特征的信息，这支持了VGP在神经科学研究中的实用性。对于一些参与者来说，VGP 似乎在情绪上受到促进，这表明 VGP 与不自主立毛的情绪本质有一定关系。尽管这些研究没有严格控制引发 VGP 的环境，但研究结果仍然证明了 VGP 对阐明非自愿情绪性立毛机制和立毛本身的神经基础可能做出的贡献。