Fear of mice

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Fear of mice and rats is one of the most common specific phobias. It is sometimes referred to as musophobia (From Latin mus for "mouse") or murophobia (a coinage from the adjective "murine" for the Muridae family that encompasses mice and rats).

Fear of mice has traditionally been depicted as a stereotypical trait of women, with numerous books, cartoons, television shows, and films depicting them screaming and jumping atop chairs upon seeing a mouse, but reactions to mice vary in a wide spectrum of emotions by both men and women alike, from sentiments of attraction to irrational disgust. In many cases fear of mice is a socially induced conditioned response, combined with (and originated in) the startle response (a response to an unexpected stimulus) common in many animals, including humans, rather than a real disorder. At the same time, as it is common with specific phobias, an occasional fright may give rise to abnormal anxiety that requires treatment. Fear of mice may be treated by any standard treatment for specific phobias.

[edit] Trivia

Irrational fear of rats is an element of the plot of the Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.

In 2002 the National Geographic Channel aired the program Phobia: Musophobia, as part of a TV series about various phobias.

There are quite a few things titled Of Mice and Women, an alteration of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.

In the Code Lyoko episode, Plagued, the school psychologist admitted that he had a fear of mice and rats, due to an experience with a rat and a dark closet.