title: Damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex reduces interpersonal disgust.
abstract: Disgust for contaminating objects (core disgust), immoral behaviors (moral disgust) and unsavory others (interpersonal disgust), have been assumed to be closely related. It is not clear, however, whether different forms of disgust are mediated by overlapping or specific neural substrates. We report that 10 patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) avoided behaviors that normally elicit interpersonal disgust (e.g. using the scarf of a busker) less frequently than healthy and brain-damaged controls, whereas they avoided core and moral disgust elicitors at normal rates. These results indicate that different forms of disgust are dissociated neurally. We propose that the vmPFC is causally (and selectively) involved in mediating interpersonal disgust, shaping patterns of social avoidance and approach.
authors: Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 5, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
authors: Elisa
authors: E
authors: Ciaramelli
authors: Rebecca G
authors: RG
authors: Sperotto
authors: Flavia
authors: F
authors: Mattioli
authors: Giuseppe
authors: G
authors: di Pellegrino
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009014:Morals; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012938:Social Perception