title: Sympathetic and parasympathetic responses to a core disgust video clip as a function of disgust propensity and disgust sensitivity.
abstract: It is generally assumed that disgust is accompanied by increased activation of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). However, empirical support for the role of PNS in disgust is scarce. This study tested whether (i) activation of the PNS is indeed involved in disgust and (ii) disgust-induced autonomic activation is especially pronounced in individuals with high disgust propensity or enhanced disgust sensitivity. Participants (N=60) viewed a 5 min disgust-inducing video clip. Participants showed increased parasympathetic activity of both the cardiac and the digestive components of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), together with increased sympathetic activation of the cardiac system. ANS responses were independent of subjective disgust and individuals' habitual disgust propensity or sensitivity. Results support the hypothesis that PNS activation is involved in disgust. The absence of a relationship between subjective and physiological indices of disgust indicates that both types of responses reflect independent phenomena.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands. p.j.de.jong@rug.nl
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: de Jong
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Overveld
authors.forename: Madelon L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Peters
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology; D004562:Electrocardiography; D004576:Electromyography; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005152:Facial Muscles / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010275:Parasympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult