Hjärnan, via stress eller känslomässigt trauma, kan orsaka att vissa sjukdomar uppträder som inte har någon annan medicinsk orsak. Det kallas psykosomatiska sjukdomar:
psychosomatic [si″ko-so-mat´ik]
pertaining to the interrelations of mind and body; having bodily symptoms of psychic, emotional, or mental origin.
psychosomatic disorder (psychosomatic illness) a disorder in which the physical symptoms are caused or exacerbated by psychological factors, such as migraine headache, lower back pain, or irritable bowel syndrome; see also somatoform disorders. It is now recognized that emotional factors play a role in the development of nearly all organic illnesses and that the physical symptoms experienced by the patient are related to many interdependent factors, including psychological and cultural. The physical manifestations of an illness, unless caused by mechanical trauma, cannot be divorced from a person's emotional life. Each person responds in a unique way to stress; emotions affect one's sensitivity to trauma and to irritating elements in the environment, susceptibility to infection, and ability to recover from the effects of illness. Physical conditions to which psychological factors are shown to be contributory are currently classified as psychological factors affecting medical condition. Any physical condition can be so classified, but the most frequently included are asthma, peptic ulcer, bowel disorders, cardiovascular disorders, arthritis, allergy, headache, and certain endocrine disorders. In recent years there has been some success in using behavior therapy to treat these and other illnesses whose symptoms are related to the autonomic nervous system. Clients are taught new ways of coping with stress and new patterns of behavior. Among the techniques used are biofeedback, relaxation training, classical conditioning, and operant conditioning using social and material reinforcement.
-Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc.
Psykosomatiska reaktioner kan vara ganska omfattande, men för det mesta kommer de inte att orsaka blödning, nedskärningar eller annat fysiskt trauma. Med det sagt, psykosomatiska anfall kan vara svårt att orsaka blåmärken, självtillförda muskelspasmer eller orsaka att personen träffar ett föremål eller en vägg. Detta är inte sällsynt vid epileptiska anfall, men det är inte heller vanligt.
Ett annat sätt att beskriva det är omvandlingsstörning, somatisk symtomstörning eller funktionell neurologisk störning.
Psykosomatiska reaktioner har varit kända för att orsaka organsvikt eller plötslig död. Det har gjorts som
Voodoo Death :
Voodoo death, a term coined by Walter Cannon in 1942 also known as psychogenic death or psychosomatic death, is the phenomenon of sudden death as brought about by a strong emotional shock, such as fear. The anomaly is recognized as "psychosomatic" in that death is caused by an emotional response—often fear—to some suggested outside force. Voodoo death is particularly noted in native societies, and concentration- or prisoner of war camps, but the condition is not specific to any particular culture.
Som vi ser i filmen, klämmer Neo kraftigt i upplänksstolen, som svar på vad hans hjärna uppfattar. Det våldsamma anfallet skulle förklara något som att bita sin egen läpp eller tunga som orsakar blod. Mer av en slump att han slogs i ansiktet. Den plötsliga dödsfallet för människor som dödats i matrisen är mer exakt än bloddelen.