What Causes Hiccups?
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=what-causes-hiccups&print=true
Summary
There are many scientific explanations for why hiccups occur but the truth is none of them had been proved to be the correct solution. One explanation is that the stomach expands causing the acid in the stomach to go up into the esophagus. Another explanation is that the nerve that connects to the diaphragm gets irritated. Neurological lesions of the brain stem can also cause hiccups. Finally, a disease of the thorax could be to blame.
The treatments of persistent annoying hiccups is treatments for acid reflux of the stomach.
A hiccup is a complex series of actions made by several body parts. The diaphragm and other neck muscles contract. Then the glottis or vocal chords close shut. The roof of the mouth and tongue raise just before the diaphragm and neck muscles contract.
William A. Whitelaw, the author of this article, suggests that these findings point to a CPG which stands for "Central Pattern Generator", that is specifically dedicated to hiccups. There are similar CPG's for normal everyday things we do such as walking, and breathing.
The author suggests that since many animals and babies in the womb experience hiccups the generator has been left over from an earlier form of evolution. Most animals don't have the same type of hiccups that humans experience. He also suggests that the tadpole, with the ability to breath air and also by using its gills, has the most similar action as a human hiccup.
Response:
This article is very informative about hiccups. Hiccups have always been mysterious. I've wondered where hiccups come from and why they occur. I've never thought that stomach acid could be a cause of hiccups. Also I didn't know that the actual action of a hiccup is more complex than just a diaphragm spasm as I had previously thought. I'm intrigued to hear further about the causes of hiccups. I do not agree with the author's point of view that the CPG for hiccups is left over from previous forms of evolution. I think that his evidence is poor and that since animals have similar "hiccup experiences" does not prove that humans received this CPG from previous evolutionary forms. Overall I think this clears of some of the mystery surrounding the phenomena of hiccups.
posted by JoJoForever @ 6:12 PM
3 Comments:
I find this article quite interesting because I have never actually thought about why and how hiccups occur. It seems almost impossible that it could be from a disease but seems quite possible for any of the other things to cause it.
Good article, if I could talk to the people who studied this I'd ask:If a hiccup could be caused by a disease, does that mean everyone has it, just less hidden than others? Makes me wonder..could a hiccup also be caused by taking in too much air, like inhaling in an odd way?
I think that the idea of hiccups resulting from a diease of the thorax is a little to strange to sound true, to me. But I have always wondered what casues hiccups and that made this article very interesting to me, with all the different theories it talks about.
Post a Comment
<< Home