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Vol. 2, No.

1 | 2019
Academic Newsletter


Arousal Confusion Syndrome

A A R O N N A Z I F, J . D . | M A R Y M C A L I S T E R , E S Q .

Shakespeare posed this provocative question in 1603: “Is confuse arousal responses. Negative stimuli, such as physical,
there not charms, By which the property of youth and psychological or sexual abuse, or even sexual information or
maidhood, May be abused? Have you not read, Roderigo, of imagery that worries or confuses a youth, sets off “a ripple
some such thing?” (Othello, Act I, Scene I). of hormonal changes that wire the child’s brain to cope
with a malevolent world” (Teicher, 2001). If the child learns
The English Bard was not alone in his interest in psycho-
that an event is coded as sexual, then he or she labels bodily
socio development. Some 300 years later, the famous sci-
responses as sexual.
ﬁ writer H.G. Wells warned, “Preserving the young from
a premature awakening is in the interests of civilization, Early trauma (e.g., forced oral sex) molds the brain to
in positively delaying the period of awakening, retarding be more irritable, impulsive, suspicious, and prone to be
maturity and lengthening the period of growth and swamped by ﬁght-or-ﬂight emotions the rational mind
preparation as much as possible.” often cannot control (Teicher, 2001). Neurological studies
ﬁnd humans hardwired with touch, smell, sight, and sound
Thus, it is not surprising that our research group sought
memories that are associated with multiple other pathways
out whether the erotic “charm” alluded to by Shakespeare
(Ackerman, 1992). This offers tremendous potential for
could invade the domain of “youth and maidhood” to cause
creative endeavors, cognitive problem solving, and survival
a premature, even harmful sexual “awakening” in some
skills when properly processed in a mature brain.
people. What we discovered was provocative and disturbing.
We observed that an Arousal Confusion Syndrome (ACS) was Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) is an accepted harm
likely to occur if a person’s libido, fear, shame, and anxiety measurement used in social services, mental/public health,
were triggered concurrently, causing subjects to identify education, juvenile justice, pediatrics, criminal justice,
confusing emotional and corporeal stimulation as sexual medical research, business, etc. The Centers for Disease
arousal. Tragically, due to sexual abuse or other trauma, Control and Prevention ACE Study (1995 to 1997) followed
anxiety-ﬁlled emotional sexual arousal can often be wired thousands of participants for 15 years. The study established
into the brain-body-mind architecture. increased ACE measures predicting higher medical, mental,
and social problems in adulthood (Stevens, 2012). ACE
In the 1960s, Schachter and Singer identiﬁed a two-factor
calculated how traumatic early life events impact long-
theory of emotion: to wit, a stimulus leads to a physiological
term health and social-emotional well-being. Examples can
response, which the individual interprets and labels as
include physical and sexual abuse, neglect, parent/caregiver
the most probable emotion. Additionally, in an early
loss, abandonment, incarceration, divorce, and exposure to
famous experiment, male subjects were made to cross a
violence and substance abuse (Stevens, 2012).
narrow, rickety bridge over a dangerous river. If a sexually-
demonstrative girl greeted them at the end of the bridge, the Also, increasingly premature exposure to sexual stimuli like
men often felt sexually aroused (Schachter & Singer, 1962). pornography or sex education materials impact one’s lack of
ﬂourishing (Olfman, 2009). Said events can trigger Arousal
ACS can be described as a mechanism used to make
Confusion Syndrome, leading to emotional confusion and
sense of confusing cultural stimuli, at times resulting in
mislabeling of stimuli in developing brains. Even in the
“misattribution of emotion” (White, 1981). The biological
absence of adverse childhood experiences, children exposed
instincts (ﬁght, ﬂight, food, and sex) are signiﬁcantly
to premature erotic stimuli ﬁnd fear, shame, or other
controlled by testosterone, dopamine, and the amygdala, the
anxiety-producing stimuli enhance sexual arousal due to
almond-shaped grouping of neurons deep within the brain
ACS (Barlow, 1983). That in turn can become an ACE criteria,
(Goleman, 2006).
triggering lifelong dysfunctions.
A visual signal ﬁrst goes from the retina to the thalamus
The interrelationship between arousal confusion syndrome
before it is translated into the language of the brain. The
and adverse life (Heimbach, 2002) — in connection with
message then goes to the visual cortex, where it is analyzed
recent ﬁndings addressing the behavioral impact of mirror
and assessed for meaning and appropriate response. If
neurons (Ramachandren, 2000; Giedd, 2914–2016, Fight
that response is emotional, a signal goes to the amygdala
the New Drug, 2019) — points to the need for serious
to activate the emotional centers. But a smaller portion of
reexamination of what type of stimuli (past, present, and
the original signal goes straight from the thalamus to the
future) should be provided to the undeveloped brain.
amygdala in a quicker transmission of an emotional response
before the cortical centers have fully understood what is Dr. Judith Reisman is Research Professor of Psychology with the School
happening (Goleman, 1979). of Behavioral Sciences. She has been a proliﬁc writer and a seasoned
educator at Liberty University School of Law since 2011. Her research
The similarities between these mechanisms and the
interests include legal corruption, human sexuality, sexual science,
multipurpose use of associated brain areas for mixed
Kinsey Institute myths, and political malfeasance regarding the
signals suggests how emotions can be mislabeled and how
pornography industry, child sex abuse, and sex education. For more
individuals, particularly those who are vulnerable, can
information, contact Dr. Reisman at


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