In the journal “Medical Hypotheses,” Swedish scientist Jarl Flensmark claims that “Heeled footwear… led to the occurrence of the first cases of schizophrenia.” He adds, “The oldest depiction of a heeled shoe comes from Mesopotamia, and in this part of the world we also find the first institutions making provisions for mental disorders … In the beginning, schizophrenia appears to be more common in the upper classes.” His explanation?

“During walking, synchronised stimuli from mechanoreceptors in the lower extremities increase activity in cerebellothalamo-cortico-cerebellar loops through their action on NMDA-receptors. Using heeled shoes leads to weaker stimulation of the loops. Reduced cortical activity changes dopaminergic function, which involves the basal gangliathalamo-cortical-nigro-basal ganglia loops.”

If that sounds like Swedish to you, The Worldwide Scoop has provided a quickie translation: Walking in heels causes your calves to tense in an unusual way. This prevents the neuroreceptors in your calves from releasing the hormone dopamine at normal levels. Dopamine regulates brain activity, and has been linked to schizophrenia in some patients.

Flensmark does NOT mention that the body also produces dopamine in response to sexual activity. And research conducted by our Woldwide Scoopers reveals that women in high heels tend to be more sexually active than women in, say, flats. Does that contribute to Flensmark’s theory or contradict it? We invite our readers to conduct research on their own — and to keep us posted.