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Tao D, Leng Y, Huo J, Peng S, Xu J, Deng H. Effects of Core Disgust and Moral Disgust on Moral Judgment: An Event-Related Potential Study. Front Psychol 2022; 13:806784. [PMID: 35783761 PMCID: PMC9242396 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.806784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Core disgust is elicited by physical or chemical stimuli, while moral disgust is evoked by abstract violations of moral norms. Although previous studies have pointed out these two types of disgust can affect behavior and spatial dimensions of moral judgment, less is known about how moral and core disgust affect the temporal neural processing of moral judgment. In addition, whether moral and core disgust are only related to purity-based moral judgment or all kinds of moral judgment is still controversial. This study aimed to explore how core and moral disgust affect the neural processing of purity-based moral judgment by using affective priming and moral judgment tasks. The behavioral results showed that the severity of moral violation of non-purity ones is higher than purity ones. The event-related potentials (ERP) results mainly revealed that earlier P2 and N2 components, which represent the automatic moral processes, can differentiate neutral and two types of disgust rather than differentiating moral domain, while the later N450, frontal, and parietal LPP components, which represent the conflict detection and, later, cognitive processing can differentiate the purity and non-purity ones rather than differentiating priming type. Moreover, core and moral disgust priming mainly differed in the purity-based moral processing indexed by parietal LPP. Our findings confirmed that the disgusting effect on moral judgments can be explained within the framework of dual-process and social intuitionist models, suggesting that emotions, including core and moral disgust, played an essential role in the automatic intuition process. The later parietal LPP results strongly supported that core disgust only affected the purity-based moral judgment, fitting the primary purity hypothesis well. We show how these theories can provide novel insights into the temporal mechanisms of moral judgment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Tao
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- Research Center for Learning Science, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yue Leng
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- Research Center for Learning Science, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jiamin Huo
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- Research Center for Learning Science, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Suhao Peng
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- Research Center for Learning Science, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jing Xu
- Department of Psychology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
| | - Huihua Deng
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- Research Center for Learning Science, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
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Ruiz-Padial E, Mercado F. In exogenous attention, time is the clue: Brain and heart interactions to survive threatening stimuli. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0243117. [PMID: 33979346 PMCID: PMC8115771 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The capture of exogenous attention by negative stimuli has been interpreted as adaptive for survival in a diverse and changing environment. In the present paper, we investigate the neural responses towards two discrete negative emotions with different biological meanings, disgust and fear, and its potential relationships with heart rate variability (HRV) as an index of emotional regulation. With that aim, 30 participants performed a digit categorization task while fear, disgust and neutral distractor pictures were presented. Resting HRV at baseline, behavioral responses, and event-related potentials were recorded. Whereas P1 amplitudes were highest to fear distractors, the disgust stimulation led to augmented P2 amplitudes compared to the rest of distractors. Interestingly, increased N2 amplitudes were also found to disgust distractors, but only in high HRV participants. Neural source estimation data point to the involvement of the insula in this exogenous attentional response to disgust. Additionally, disgust distractors provoked longer reaction times than fear and neutral distractors in the high HRV group. Present findings are interpreted in evolutionary terms suggesting that exogenous attention is captured by negative stimuli following a different time course for fear and disgust. Possible HRV influences on neural mechanisms underlying exogenous attention are discussed considering the potential important role of this variable in emotional regulation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Francisco Mercado
- Psychobiology Unit, Department of Psychology Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
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3
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Bonin P, Thiebaut G, Prokop P, Méot A. “In your head, zombie”: zombies, predation and memory. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2019.1664557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Bonin
- LEAD-CNRS, Univ. Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | | | - Pavol Prokop
- Department of Environmental Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
- Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Alain Méot
- LAPSCO-CNRS, Université Clermont-Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France
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Rádlová S, Janovcová M, Sedláčková K, Polák J, Nácar D, Peléšková Š, Frynta D, Landová E. Snakes Represent Emotionally Salient Stimuli That May Evoke Both Fear and Disgust. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1085. [PMID: 31143154 PMCID: PMC6521895 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2019] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans perceive snakes as threatening stimuli, resulting in fast emotional and behavioral responses. However, snake species differ in their true level of danger and are highly variable in appearance despite the uniform legless form. Different snakes may evoke fear or disgust in humans, or even both emotions simultaneously. We designed three-step-selection experiments to identify prototypical snake species evoking exclusively fear or disgust. First, two independent groups of respondents evaluated 45 images covering most of the natural variability of snakes and rated responses to either perceived fear (n = 175) or disgust (n = 167). Snakes rated as the most fear-evoking were from the family Viperidae (Crotalinae, Viperinae, and Azemiopinae), while the ones rated as the most disgusting were from the group of blind snakes called Typhlopoidea (Xenotyphlopinae, Typhlopinae, and Anomalepidinae). We then identified the specific traits contributing to the perception of fear (large body size, expressive scales with contrasting patterns, and bright coloration) and disgust (thin body, smooth texture, small eyes, and dull coloration). Second, to create stimuli evoking a discrete emotional response, we developed a picture set consisting of 40 snakes with exclusively fear-eliciting and 40 snakes with disgust-eliciting features. Another set of respondents (n = 172) sorted the set, once according to perceived fear and the second time according to perceived disgust. The results showed that the fear-evoking and disgust-evoking snakes fit mainly into their respective groups. Third, we randomly selected 20 species (10 fear-evoking and 10 disgust-evoking) out of the previous set and had them professionally illustrated. A new set of subjects (n = 104) sorted these snakes and confirmed that the illustrated snakes evoked the same discrete emotions as their photographic counterparts. These illustrations are included in the study and may be freely used as a standardized assessment tool when investigating the role of fear and disgust in human emotional response to snakes.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Rádlová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
| | - M Janovcová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - K Sedláčková
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - J Polák
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - D Nácar
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
| | - Š Peléšková
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia
| | - D Frynta
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - E Landová
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czechia.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
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Pezzulo G, Iodice P, Barca L, Chausse P, Monceau S, Mermillod M. Increased heart rate after exercise facilitates the processing of fearful but not disgusted faces. Sci Rep 2018; 8:398. [PMID: 29321533 PMCID: PMC5762722 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18761-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Embodied theories of emotion assume that emotional processing is grounded in bodily and affective processes. Accordingly, the perception of an emotion re-enacts congruent sensory and affective states; and conversely, bodily states congruent with a specific emotion facilitate emotional processing. This study tests whether the ability to process facial expressions (faces having a neutral expression, expressing fear, or disgust) can be influenced by making the participants’ body state congruent with the expressed emotion (e.g., high heart rate in the case of faces expressing fear). We designed a task requiring participants to categorize pictures of male and female faces that either had a neutral expression (neutral), or expressed emotions whose linkage with high heart rate is strong (fear) or significantly weaker or absent (disgust). Critically, participants were tested in two conditions: with experimentally induced high heart rate (Exercise) and with normal heart rate (Normal). Participants processed fearful faces (but not disgusted or neutral faces) faster when they were in the Exercise condition than in the Normal condition. These results support the idea that an emotionally congruent body state facilitates the automatic processing of emotionally-charged stimuli and this effect is emotion-specific rather than due to generic factors such as arousal.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Pezzulo
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, CNR, Via S. Martino della Battaglia, 44, 00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - P Iodice
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, CNR, Via S. Martino della Battaglia, 44, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - L Barca
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, CNR, Via S. Martino della Battaglia, 44, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - P Chausse
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LAPSCO, F-63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - S Monceau
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LAPSCO, F-63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - M Mermillod
- Université Grenoble Alpes, LPNC, F-38040, Grenoble & CNRS, LPNC UMR 5105, F-38040, Grenoble, France.,Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
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6
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Meuret AE, Simon E, Bhaskara L, Ritz T. Ultra-brief behavioral skills trainings for blood injection injury phobia. Depress Anxiety 2017; 34:1096-1105. [PMID: 28294471 DOI: 10.1002/da.22616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2016] [Revised: 02/16/2017] [Accepted: 02/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Blood injection injury (BII) phobia is common, with debilitating consequences to the health and well being of many of its sufferers. BII phobia presents with a unique fear response that can involve drops in blood pressure and ultimately fainting. The aim of this study was to provide proof of concept for a line of brief, easy to implement, video-based interventions for reducing phobic avoidance and fears in BII sufferers. One of the interventions was a novel Hypoventilation Respiratory Training (HRT) aimed at reducing the exaggerated ventilation response (hyperventilation) seen in BII phobia. The response has been linked to cerebral vasoconstriction and fainting symptoms. METHOD Sixty BII patients were randomly assigned to one of three 12-min video-guided trainings: Symptom-Associated Tension (SAT) training, Relaxation Skills Training (RST), or HRT. Experiential and cardiorespiratory activity to phobic stimuli was assessed before and after training. RESULTS Both SAT and HRT resulted in overall greater reductions of phobic fears and symptoms than RST. SAT significantly increased heart rate during exposure, and HRT led to significantly reduced ventilation, increases in PCO2 , and elevated blood pressure throughout exposure and recovery. Treatment expectancy was rated equally high across conditions, whereas credibility ratings were highest for HRT. CONCLUSIONS Brief, video-based instructions in muscle tension and normocapnic breathing are effective in reducing BII symptom severity and require minimal time and expertise. HRT may be particularly helpful in reducing fainting caused by cerebral vasoconstriction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia E Meuret
- Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Erica Simon
- Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research, Palo Alto, CA, USA.,National Center for PTSD-Dissemination and Training Division, Palo Alto VA Healthcare System, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - Lavanya Bhaskara
- Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Thomas Ritz
- Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA
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7
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Diehl RR. The target of vasovagal syncope is hemostasis and not heart protection. Clin Auton Res 2017; 27:215-217. [PMID: 28699049 DOI: 10.1007/s10286-017-0450-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Accepted: 07/04/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Rolf R Diehl
- Department of Neurology, Alfried Krupp Krankenhaus, Alfried-Krupp-Straße 21, 45131, Essen, Germany.
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8
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Simon E, Meuret AE, Ritz T. Sympathetic and parasympathetic cardiac responses to phobia-relevant and disgust-specific emotion provocation in blood-injection-injury phobia with and without fainting history. Psychophysiology 2017; 54:1512-1527. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2016] [Revised: 03/09/2017] [Accepted: 03/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Erica Simon
- Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research; Palo Alto California USA
- National Center for PTSD-Dissemination and Training Division; Menlo Park California USA
| | - Alicia E. Meuret
- Department of Psychology; Southern Methodist University; Dallas Texas USA
| | - Thomas Ritz
- Department of Psychology; Southern Methodist University; Dallas Texas USA
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9
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Harrison JM, Gilchrist PT, Corovic TS, Bogetti C, Song Y, Bacon SL, Ditto B. Respiratory and hemodynamic contributions to emotion-related pre-syncopal vasovagal symptoms. Biol Psychol 2017; 127:46-52. [PMID: 28456564 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2015] [Revised: 04/10/2017] [Accepted: 04/22/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Vasovagal reactions are conventionally understood as resulting from systemic changes in cardiovascular activity; however, there exists a complementary perspective focused on specific changes in cerebral vasoconstriction associated with hyperventilation-induced hypocapnia. The present study investigated the role of cardiovascular and respiratory activity in self-reported pre-syncopal vasovagal reactions to a surgery video in a sample of 49 healthy women. Participants who indicated more previous real-life episodes of dizziness reported experiencing significantly more symptoms in the laboratory consistent with a vasovagal response. They also showed lower total peripheral resistance and higher pre-ejection period in general, suggesting lower sympathetic nervous system activity. Significant decreases in end-tidal carbon dioxide (PETCO2) occurred during the surgery video among susceptible participants, without significant increases in respiration rate. Further, participants who experienced reductions from the neutral video in PETCO2, systolic blood pressure, or both, reported vasovagal symptoms during the surgery video. The results suggest that patterns of respiration associated with decreases in PETCO2 may contribute to vasovagal symptoms reported in non-clinical groups as well as those with blood-injection-injury phobia and are associated with susceptibility to dizziness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna M Harrison
- Laboratory for Cardiovascular Psychophysiology, Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Ave. Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1B1, Canada.
| | - Philippe T Gilchrist
- Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 9BB, United Kingdom; MRC/BHF Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Strangeways Research Laboratory, 2 Wort's Causeway, Cambridge, CB1 8RN, United Kingdom
| | - Tiana S Corovic
- Laboratory for Cardiovascular Psychophysiology, Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Ave. Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Curtis Bogetti
- Laboratory for Cardiovascular Psychophysiology, Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Ave. Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Yuqing Song
- Laboratory for Cardiovascular Psychophysiology, Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Ave. Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Simon L Bacon
- Department of Exercise Science, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, Quebec, H4 B 1R6, Canada
| | - Blaine Ditto
- Laboratory for Cardiovascular Psychophysiology, Department of Psychology, McGill University, 1205 Ave. Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1B1, Canada
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