The case of Alex Honnold is, in itself, one of the most enigmatic cases of neuroscience, it is the exception to a rule. One of the fears with which we have all come into the world is the fear of falling, so even newborns are afraid if they feel thrown into the void.
It’s instinctive fear. Come with us in the genetic package, falls put our integrity and our lives at risk, so biology intervenes and makes fear a warning sign of the risk of falls.
- The strange thing about Alex Honnold is that he is not afraid to fall.
- He is a 32-year-old climber.
- Born in the Etts-Unis.
- Became famous because it scales without any protection or security measures.
- In fact scale alone.
- Those who practice this practice know that doing so alone puts them in a state of extreme vulnerability.
- It is almost suicidal.
However, for Alex Honnold it is the most normal thing in the world, when he climbs a stone wall, without more help than his hands, he feels that he is having a coffee, he feels no fear or nervousness of any kind. This led to his brain being studied by neurologists.
Don’t be afraid of prison, poverty or death. Be afraid of fear?. -Giacomo Leopard-
Every ascent of Alex Honnold is a death challenge, he likes almost vertical surfaces. Wear basic sportswear, just wear a bag full of magnesium around your waist to rub your hands when it’s wet, climb with the sole help of your hands and feet.
Honnold already holds several world records. Its modality is individual free climbing, it is not the only one in the world that does it, but it is the only one that does it at high altitudes, with a high level of difficulty.
His appearance is that of a normal child. His attitude reflects that he doesn’t feel different or special, he laughs a lot and he’s very calm. He knows his activity is dangerous, several of his friends died trying to climb like him, when asked if he’s not afraid, he says he simply accepted the idea of death better than the others.
His mother says he was a difficult child to raise, but he denies it. From a young time, he climbed everywhere. At the age of 10 he began practicing on a rock climber, soon began making short trips to the mountain, at the age of 19 he left everything and began climbing full-time, lives in a van and says he has a minimalist ethic.
This young man’s exploits have caught so much attention that a group of researchers has decided to study his brain. It all started when neurologist Jane E. Joseph heard Alex Honnold’s testimony. From what he said and the way he did it, he thought there might be something wrong with his brain. Especially in your amygdala, what is the center of fear?in the brain.
The University of South Carolina School of Medicine decided to examine Alex Honnold’s brain. Scan your brain with an MRI. The first thing the researchers did was verify that the boy had a tonsil and that he had no injuries.
The next thing was to introduce you to a series of very impressive images and evaluate your reaction, then they realized that Honnold’s amygdala was practically toothless, hasn’t even changed. It was as if the dangerous situations presented to him did not have an emotional impact on him.
The researchers were able to show that, in fact, Alex Honnold is not fundamentally afraid, however, these conclusions led them to make interesting assumptions.
According to his assessments, Alex’s brain is likely to have adapted so much to the uns supported climbing that he has become accustomed to these stimuli, so for others it is a risky environment is a completely normal situation for him.
This conclusion opens up new possibilities for research around fear, basically the thesis was formulated that addiction is a way of eliminating fear, if someone is gradually and systematically exposed to a dangerous stimulus, can end up being considered completely harmless. In the case, therapeutic alternatives to treat fears would be widely expanded.