1
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Priolo G, D’Alessandro M, Bizzego A, Franchin L, Bonini N. Normatively irrelevant disgust interferes with decision under uncertainty: Insights from the Iowa gambling task. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0306689. [PMID: 39088485 PMCID: PMC11293706 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 08/03/2024] Open
Abstract
This study investigates whether a not informative, irrelevant emotional reaction of disgust interferes with decision-making under uncertainty. We manipulate the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) by associating a disgust-eliciting image with selections from Disadvantageous/Bad decks (Congruent condition) or Advantageous/Good decks (Incongruent condition). A Control condition without manipulations is also included. Results indicate an increased probability of selecting from a Good deck as the task unfolds in all conditions. However, this effect is modulated by the experimental manipulation. Specifically, we detect a detrimental effect (i.e., a significant decrease in the intercept) of the disgust-eliciting image in Incongruent condition (vs. Control), but this effect is limited to the early stages of the task (i.e., first twenty trials). No differences in performance trends are detected between Congruent and Control conditions. Anticipatory Skin Conductance Response, heart rate, and pupil dilation are also assessed as indexes of anticipatory autonomic activation following the Somatic Marker Hypothesis, but no effects are shown for the first two indexes in any of the conditions. Only a decreasing trend is detected for pupil dilation as the task unfolds in Control and Incongruent conditions. Results are discussed in line with the "risk as feelings" framework, the Somatic Marker Hypothesis, and IGT literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Priolo
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | | | - Andrea Bizzego
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Laura Franchin
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Nicolao Bonini
- Department of Economics and Management, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
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2
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Lamond E, Saluja S, Hislop C, J. Stevenson R. Differential involvement of the senses in disgust memories. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:231156. [PMID: 38550756 PMCID: PMC10977387 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
One prediction derived from the disease avoidance account of disgust is that proximal disgust cues (smells, tastes and touches) should elicit this emotion more intensely than distal disgust cues (sights and sounds). If correct, then memories of disgusting experiences should involve smelling, tasting or touching to a greater degree than seeing or hearing. Two surveys were conducted on university students to test this idea, drawing upon their naturalistic experiences. Survey 1 (N = 127) asked participants to detail their most memorable disgusting, fear-provoking, morally repulsive and yucky/gross experience, with each recollection self-rated for sensory involvement. Survey 2 (N = 89) employed the same task, but this time, participants recollected their most common disgusting, fear-provoking, morally repulsive and yucky/gross experience in the preceding week. The majority of disgusting experiences were core disgusts-i.e. related to disease/pathogen presence or stimuli. The proximal and distal sensory cues contributed equally to individuals' most memorable core disgust experiences, but the proximal senses were more involved than the distal senses in individuals' most common core disgust experiences. Further, the proximal sensory cues, as compared with the distal sensory cues, were signficantly more involved in core disgust experiences than in morally repulsive and fear-provoking experiences. The implications of these findings for a disease avoidance account of disgust, for multi-sensory disgust research, and core disgust's classification as an emotion or a drive, are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elliott Lamond
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales2109, Australia
| | - Supreet Saluja
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales2109, Australia
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Universitet, Stockholm171 76, Sweden
| | - Chloe Hislop
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales2109, Australia
| | - Richard J. Stevenson
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales2109, Australia
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3
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Croy I, Bierling A. Smells as Communication Pathways - why Emotions Pass through the Nose. Laryngorhinootologie 2023; 102:S93-S100. [PMID: 37130533 DOI: 10.1055/a-1935-3214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
For many species, the sense of smell is the most important sensory system for interacting with the environment and conspecifics. In contrast, the role of perception and communication of chemosensory information in humans has long been underestimated. The human sense of smell was considered less reliable, so that it was given less importance compared to visual and auditory sensory impressions. For some time now, a growing branch of research has been dealing with the role of the sense of sell in emotion and social communication, which is often only perceived subconsciously. This connection will be examine in more detail in this article. First, he basics regarding the structure and function of our olfactory system will be described for better understanding and classification. Then, with this background knowledge, the significance of olfaction for interpersonal communication and emotions will be discussed. Finally, we conclude that people suffering from olfactory disorders have specific impairments in their quality of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilona Croy
- Institut für Klinische Psychologie, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
- Klinik für Psychotherapie und Psychosomatik, Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus Dresden
| | - Antonie Bierling
- Institut für Klinische Psychologie, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
- Klinik für Psychotherapie und Psychosomatik, Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus Dresden
- Institut für Materialwissenschaft und Nanotechnik, Technische Universität Dresden
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4
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Behavioral and physiological sensitivity to natural sick faces. Brain Behav Immun 2023; 110:195-211. [PMID: 36893923 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The capacity to rapidly detect and avoid sick people may be adaptive. Given that faces are reliably available, as well as rapidly detected and processed, they may provide health information that influences social interaction. Prior studies used faces that were manipulated to appear sick (e.g., editing photos, inducing inflammatory response); however, responses to naturally sick faces remain largely unexplored. We tested whether adults detected subtle cues of genuine, acute, potentially contagious illness in face photos compared to the same individuals when healthy. We tracked illness symptoms and severity with the Sickness Questionnaire and Common Cold Questionnaire. We also checked that sick and healthy photos were matched on low-level features. We found that participants (N = 109) rated sick faces, compared to healthy faces, as sicker, more dangerous, and eliciting more unpleasant feelings. Participants (N = 90) rated sick faces as more likely to be avoided, more tired, and more negative in expression than healthy faces. In a passive-viewing eye-tracking task, participants (N = 50) looked longer at healthy than sick faces, especially the eye region, suggesting people may be more drawn to healthy conspecifics. When making approach-avoidance decisions, participants (N = 112) had greater pupil dilation to sick than healthy faces, and more pupil dilation was associated with greater avoidance, suggesting elevated arousal to threat. Across all experiments, participants' behaviors correlated with the degree of sickness, as reported by the face donors, suggesting a nuanced, fine-tuned sensitivity. Together, these findings suggest that humans may detect subtle threats of contagion from sick faces, which may facilitate illness avoidance. By better understanding how humans naturally avoid illness in conspecifics, we may identify what information is used and ultimately improve public health.
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5
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Ammann J, Egolf A, Nuessli Guth J, Siegrist M. Experimental validation of the Food Disgust Scale using olfactory stimuli. Food Qual Prefer 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2023.104851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/22/2023]
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6
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Anja Juran S, Tognetti A, Lundström JN, Kumar L, Stevenson RJ, Lekander M, Olsson MJ. Disgusting odors trigger the oral immune system. Evol Med Public Health 2022; 11:8-17. [PMID: 36789013 PMCID: PMC9912705 DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoac042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2022] [Revised: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent research has characterized the behavioral defense against disease. In particular the detection of sickness cues, the adaptive reactions (e.g. avoidance) to these cues and the mediating role of disgust have been the focus. A presumably important but less investigated part of a behavioral defense is the immune system response of the observer of sickness cues. Odors are intimately connected to disease and disgust, and research has shown how olfaction conveys sickness cues in both animals and humans. This study aims to test whether odorous sickness cues (i.e. disgusting odors) can trigger a preparatory immune response in humans. We show that subjective and objective disgust measures, as well as TNFα levels in saliva increased immediately after exposure to disgusting odors in a sample of 36 individuals. Altogether, these results suggest a collaboration between behavioral mechanisms of pathogen avoidance in olfaction, mediated by the emotion of disgust, and mechanisms of pathogen elimination facilitated by inflammatory mediators. Disgusting stimuli are associated with an increased risk of infection. We here test whether disgusting odors, can trigger an immune response in the oral cavity. The results indicate an increase level of TNFα in the saliva. This supports that disease cues can trigger a preparatory response in the oral cavity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Arnaud Tognetti
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan N Lundström
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lalit Kumar
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Mats Lekander
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden,Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden,Osher Center for Integrative Health, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mats J Olsson
- Corresponding author: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm SE 17177, Sweden. Tel: +46 707 135205; E-mail:
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Wicks LAM, Baldwin DR, Richesin MT. Disgust-Eliciting Pathogen Threats and Salivary Immune Responses. J PSYCHOPHYSIOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1027/0269-8803/a000316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Abstract. This study aimed to examine the effects of different sensory modality presentations of disgusting stimuli on aspects of immunity (behavioral and physiological) and affect in men and women. Sixty-four college students participated, and all participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups based on sensory modality stimuli type (visual or olfactory) and manipulation (experimental or control). Results indicated that olfactory stimuli were rated as more disgusting than visual stimuli. When collapsed across sensory modality, females tended to self-report greater disgust sensitivity than males. Overall, there was a significant negative association between disgust ratings and changes in resting heart rate (HR). Baseline salivary immunoglobulin A (SIgA) concentration was significantly positively correlated with disgust ratings in men. Our findings suggest that the behavioral and physiological immune systems are indeed coordinated, but future studies are needed to examine the extent to which multisensory disgusting cues influence immune system responses as a function of gender.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lahai A. M. Wicks
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Debora R. Baldwin
- Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
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8
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Saluja S, Chan K, Lynch T, Stevenson RJ. What's in a name? Role of verbal context in touch. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:221147. [PMID: 36465676 PMCID: PMC9709561 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.221147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Can a name (i.e. verbal context) change how we react to and perceive an object? This question has been addressed several times for chemosensory objects, but appears unanswered for touch. To address this, two studies were run. In each, we allocated participants to a Positive, Neutral or Negative Group, and asked them to touch the same four objects, twice-first, named by the experimenter according to their Group-name, and second, named by the participant. Participants were timed as they touched and rated the objects on pleasantness and disgust. Negative-named objects were touched for shorter durations, and rated more negatively, than neutral-named objects, and positive-named objects were touched for the longest and rated most positively. In the second presentation, most objects (greater than 90%) were named by participants in accordance with their assigned Group-names. The similarity of these findings to chemosensory verbal context effects and their mechanistic basis is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Supreet Saluja
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Karina Chan
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Tully Lynch
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
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9
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Gruhl A, Saluja S, Stevenson R, Croy I. Effects of sickness manipulation on disgust and pleasantness in interpersonal touch. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2022; 87:1454-1465. [PMID: 36127471 PMCID: PMC9489268 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-022-01742-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The theory of the behavioral immune system (BIS) describes a set of behaviors that protect the individual from infectious diseases and that are motivated by disgust and the perceived vulnerability to disease. As interpersonal touch is one of the most common situations of potential transmission of infectious diseases in our everyday life, it seems likely that being touched by an apparently sick individual activates disgust. Our aim was to determine if risk of contamination from interpersonal touch alters the pleasantness of interpersonal touch and modulates facially expressed emotions. In total, 64 participants received interpersonal stroking by either a healthy or by sick-appearing experimenter. Half the strokes were performed at a slow velocity of 3 cm/s and half at a faster velocity of 30 cm/s, to modulate the degree of C-tactile fiber activation in the touch perceiver. While the experimental sickness manipulation did not influence the reported touch pleasantness, there was a tendency for a diminished expression of happiness in the slow stroking condition. In addition, the desire to clean the arm after stroking correlated positively to disgust sensitivity and to germ aversion, which is a subscale of the perceived vulnerability to disease. Contrary to previous studies, participants did not prefer the slow over the fast stroking velocity, irrespective of sickness induction. Our results lead us to assume that disgust in interpersonal touch depends especially on the touch receiver and we speculate that a rather conservative reactivity of the BIS allows for an adaptive behavioral balance in interpersonal relations. This balance may be needed to weight the risks of contamination against the benefits of interpersonal touch for social interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Gruhl
- Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Supreet Saluja
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | | | - Ilona Croy
- Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany.
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10
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Gudziol H, Pohlmeier C, Guntinas-Lichius O, Bitter T. Gesunde erhöhen unter Fischgeruch die Herzfrequenz nur schwach und nur einen Variabilitätsparameter. Laryngorhinootologie 2022; 101:574-584. [DOI: 10.1055/a-1730-5653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Zusammenfassung
Einleitung Kardiale Riechreizfolgereaktionen könnten die Palette objektivierender Testmethoden zur Überprüfung des Riechvermögens erweitern. In einer Pilotstudie wurde untersucht, ob und wie durch angenehme und unangenehme Gerüche die Herzfrequenz (HR) und deren Variabilität verändert werden.
Methodik 32 Gesunde mit normalem Riechvermögen atmeten nasal 7 Minuten den Duft von 4 Sniffin’ Sticks (Banane, Fisch, Knoblauch und Rose) im Wechsel mit Leer-Reizen ein. Gleichzeitig wurden das EKG registriert und offline die NN-Intervalle (Abstand der R-Zacken) und 6 Parameter der Herzfrequenzvariabilität bestimmt und mit den Werten einer Leer-Reizung mittels generalisierter Schätzgleichungen (GEE) verglichen. Zusätzlich wurden die Werte der subjektiven Einschätzung von Intensität und hedonischer Valenz der 4 Gerüche mit der Herzfrequenz korreliert.
Ergebnisse Der unangenehme Fischgeruch steigerte in der ersten Reiz-Minute gering, aber signifikant die Herzfrequenz (HR). Außerdem vergrößerte er während des Dauerreizes lediglich einen Variabilitätsparameter (LF/HF) und zeigte in der ersten Reiz-Minute eine signifikante moderate Korrelation zwischen der HR und der Skalierung von Intensität bzw. der Hedonik. Die angenehmen Gerüche und der Knoblauchgeruch hatten keinen Einfluss auf die analysierten kardialen Parameter.
Schlussfolgerungen Olfaktorisch ausgelöste HR-kardiale Riechreizfolgereaktionen sind es wert, als Indikator für die Intaktheit des Riechvermögens weiter untersucht zu werden. Am erfolgversprechendsten und zeit- und kostengünstigsten ist dabei wahrscheinlich eine 1-minütige Reizung mit dem unangenehmen Fischgeruch aus dem Identifikationsset der Sniffin’ Sticks bei gleichzeitiger EKG-Ableitung.
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11
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Stefanczyk MM, Lizak K, Kowal M, Sorokowska A. “May I present you: my disgust!” – Declared disgust sensitivity in the presence of attractive models. Br J Psychol 2022; 113:739-757. [DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Katarzyna Lizak
- Faculty of Medical Sciences Medical University of Silesia Zabrze Poland
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12
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Saluja S, Stevenson RJ. Tactile disgust: Post-contact can be more disgusting than contact. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 75:652-665. [PMID: 34428979 DOI: 10.1177/17470218211043688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Several studies have examined if disgust can be evoked by contacting an object-yet none have examined if reported disgust changes when the hand leaves the object. This is surprising given that post-contact tactile disgust is probably a driver of hand hygiene. We examined contact and post-contact tactile disgust and its sensory origins. Participants were asked to touch several objects, making sensory, disgust, and desire-to-handwash evaluations. These ratings were made at three stages-of-contact: object-contact (just touch), post-contact (just touch), and visual post-contact (touch, vision). Disgust was typically highest at post-contact (when the hand left the object). Stickiness and wetness were uniquely predictive of object-contact disgust. Only stickiness drove post-contact disgust, and only wetness visual post-contact disgust. Hand-washing desire was primarily driven by quantity of residue perceived on the hand. These findings suggest that tactile disgust is a multisensory and iterative process relating to object- and residue-adhesiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Supreet Saluja
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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13
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Kupfer TR, Fessler DMT, Wu B, Hwang T, Sparks AM, Alas S, Samore T, Lal V, Sakhamuru TP, Holbrook C. The skin crawls, the stomach turns: ectoparasites and pathogens elicit distinct defensive responses in humans. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210376. [PMID: 34315263 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Disgust has long been viewed as a primary motivator of defensive responses to threats posed by both microscopic pathogens and macroscopic ectoparasites. Although disgust can defend effectively against pathogens encountered through ingestion or incidental contact, it offers limited protection against ectoparasites, which actively pursue a host and attach to its surface. Humans might, therefore, possess a distinct ectoparasite defence system-including cutaneous sensory mechanisms and grooming behaviours-functionally suited to guard the body's surface. In two US studies and one in China, participants (N = 1079) viewed a range of ectoparasite- and pathogen-relevant video stimuli and reported their feelings, physiological sensations, and behavioural motivations. Participants reported more surface-guarding responses towards ectoparasite stimuli than towards pathogen stimuli, and more ingestion/contamination-reduction responses towards pathogen stimuli than towards ectoparasite stimuli. Like other species, humans appear to possess evolved psychobehavioural ectoparasite defence mechanisms that are distinct from pathogen defence mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom R Kupfer
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham NG1 4FQ, UK.,Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Daniel M T Fessler
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.,UCLA Center for Behavior, Evolution and Culture, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA.,UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Bozhi Wu
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Tiffany Hwang
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.,Center for Data Sciences, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Adam Maxwell Sparks
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.,UCLA Center for Behavior, Evolution and Culture, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Sonia Alas
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Theodore Samore
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.,UCLA Center for Behavior, Evolution and Culture, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA
| | - Vedika Lal
- Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Tanvi P Sakhamuru
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.,University of California, Davis School of Law
| | - Colin Holbrook
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA
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14
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Tonacci A, Billeci L, Di Mambro I, Marangoni R, Sanmartin C, Venturi F. Wearable Sensors for Assessing the Role of Olfactory Training on the Autonomic Response to Olfactory Stimulation. SENSORS 2021; 21:s21030770. [PMID: 33498830 PMCID: PMC7865293 DOI: 10.3390/s21030770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2020] [Revised: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Wearable sensors are nowadays largely employed to assess physiological signals derived from the human body without representing a burden in terms of obtrusiveness. One of the most intriguing fields of application for such systems include the assessment of physiological responses to sensory stimuli. In this specific regard, it is not yet known which are the main psychophysiological drivers of olfactory-related pleasantness, as the current literature has demonstrated the relationship between odor familiarity and odor valence, but has not clarified the consequentiality between the two domains. Here, we enrolled a group of university students to whom olfactory training lasting 3 months was administered. Thanks to the analysis of electrocardiogram (ECG) and galvanic skin response (GSR) signals at the beginning and at the end of the training period, we observed different autonomic responses, with higher parasympathetically-mediated response at the end of the period with respect to the first evaluation. This possibly suggests that an increased familiarity to the proposed stimuli would lead to a higher tendency towards relaxation. Such results could suggest potential applications to other domains, including personalized treatments based on odors and foods in neuropsychiatric and eating disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Tonacci
- Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council of Italy (IFC-CNR), 56124 Pisa, Italy;
| | - Lucia Billeci
- Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council of Italy (IFC-CNR), 56124 Pisa, Italy;
- Correspondence:
| | - Irene Di Mambro
- School of Engineering, University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy;
| | - Roberto Marangoni
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy;
- Institute of Biophysics, National Resarch Council of Italy (IBF-CNR), Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Chiara Sanmartin
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (C.S.); (F.V.)
| | - Francesca Venturi
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (C.S.); (F.V.)
- NexFood Srl, 57121 Livorno, Italy
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15
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It's not you, it's me - disgust sensitivity towards body odor in deaf and blind individuals. Atten Percept Psychophys 2020; 82:3728-3736. [PMID: 32529574 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-020-02075-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Disgust might be elicited by various sensory channels, including the sense of smell. It has been previously demonstrated that unpleasant odors emitted by an external source are more disgusting than those emitted by oneself (the source effect). As disgust's main purpose is to help organisms avoid potentially dangerous, contaminating objects, individuals with visual or hearing sensory impairment (thus, with an impeded ability to detect cues indicating pathogen threat) might have developed an increased levels of olfactory disgust sensitivity (modality compensation in disgust sensitivity). We set out to investigate disgust sensitivity in olfaction using the Body Odor Disgust Scale (BODS) on a large sample of 74 deaf and 98 blind participants, with comparison to control groups without sensory impairment (N = 199 in total). The results did not support the hypothesis of modality compensation in disgust sensitivity. Contrary to previous research, neither sex nor age influenced the outcomes. Evidence for the source effect was found. Acquired data are interpreted in the light of social desirability. The emphasis put on the olfaction by blind and deaf individuals is discussed.
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16
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Comparative Evaluation of the Autonomic Response to Cognitive and Sensory Stimulations through Wearable Sensors. SENSORS 2019; 19:s19214661. [PMID: 31717848 PMCID: PMC6864789 DOI: 10.3390/s19214661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Revised: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 10/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Psychological stress is known to activate the autonomic nervous system (ANS), thus representing a useful target to be monitored to understand the physiological, unconscious effect of stress on the human body. However, little is known about how differently the ANS responds to cognitive and sensory stimulations in healthy subjects. To this extent, we enrolled 23 subjects and administered a stress protocol consisting of the administration of sensory (olfactory) and cognitive (mathematical) stressors. Autonomic parameters were unobtrusively monitored through wearable sensors for capturing electrocardiogram and skin conductance signals. The results obtained demonstrated an increase of the heart rate during both stress protocols, with a similar decrease of the heart rate variability. Cognitive stress test appears to affect the autonomic parameters to a greater extent, confirming its effects on the human body. However, olfactory stimulation could be useful to study stress in specific experimental settings when the administration of complex cognitive testing is not feasible.
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Hirasawa Y, Shirasu M, Okamoto M, Touhara K. Subjective unpleasantness of malodors induces a stress response. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019; 106:206-215. [PMID: 31003137 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2018] [Revised: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 03/19/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Unpleasant odors impair our mood and may affect physical health, even when the odorants are not toxic. A possible cause for such negative effects is stress induced by odors; however, whether the unpleasantness itself elicited stress or not has not been clear. Thus, we examined whether unpleasantness of odors induced the stress responses of emotion, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). Six experiments were conducted, where salivary cortisol or salivary alpha amylase (sAA), markers for activities of the HPA and the SNS, respectively, were measured, along with subjective ratings of odors and emotion. First, the responses to three malodors listed in the Offensive Odor Control Law in Japan were examined. While these odors were rated as unpleasant, and exposure to them increased anxiety, no response of the HPA was observed (experiment 1, n = 69). In contrast, an increase of the SNS activity was observed after exposure to two of the three malodors, while the SNS did not respond to pleasant odors (experiments 2-4, n = 35, 34 and 30). To examine the effect of unpleasantness further, the SNS response was examined while subjective unpleasantness of odors was manipulated by adding negative verbal information (experiment 5, n = 92), or by mixing in a pleasant odor (experiment 6, n = 35). The SNS responses upon inhalation of the same odorous substances were found to be dependent on whether they were perceived as unpleasant. Finally, a correlation analysis on the pooled data from experiments 2-6 showed that the odor-elicited SNS activity and anxiety were strongly correlated with perceived unpleasantness of odors. These results suggest that subjective unpleasantness of odors per se can induce the stress response of emotion and the SNS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yukei Hirasawa
- Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan; ERATO Touhara Chemosensory Signal Project, JST, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan
| | - Mika Shirasu
- Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan; ERATO Touhara Chemosensory Signal Project, JST, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan
| | - Masako Okamoto
- Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan; ERATO Touhara Chemosensory Signal Project, JST, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan.
| | - Kazushige Touhara
- Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan; ERATO Touhara Chemosensory Signal Project, JST, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan; International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), The University of Tokyo Institutes for Advanced Study, Tokyo, 113-0033 Japan.
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18
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Saluja S, Stevenson RJ. Perceptual and cognitive determinants of tactile disgust. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2019; 72:2705-2716. [PMID: 31234736 DOI: 10.1177/1747021819862500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Tactile cues are said to be potent elicitors of disgust and reliable markers of disease. Despite this, no previous study had explored what the full range of tactile properties are that cue disgust, nor how interpretation of these sensations influences disgust. To answer these questions, participants were asked to touch nine objects, selected to cover the range of tactile properties, and evaluate their sensory, affective, and risk-based characteristics (primarily how sick they thought the object would make them). Object contact was manipulated in four ways, with participants randomly allocated to corresponding groups-one that could see the objects (i.e., the control) and three that could not (i.e., the blind groups). To manipulate disease risk interpretation of the objects, labelling was used on the blind groups, with one receiving Disgust-Labels, one True-Labels and one no labels. Disgust was strongly associated with sticky and wet textures, and moderately with viscous, cold, and lumpy textures, suggesting adherence-to-skin may predict disgust. The participants in the disgust-labelled condition had the highest disgust ratings, and this was mediated by their increased sickness belief and fear of the objects. Object identification was poor when labels or visual cues were absent. Our findings suggest that tactile disgust may reflect a bottom-up sensory component-skin adhesion-moderated by judgements of disease-related threat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Supreet Saluja
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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19
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Mahmut MK, Croy I. The role of body odors and olfactory ability in the initiation, maintenance and breakdown of romantic relationships - A review. Physiol Behav 2019; 207:179-184. [PMID: 31077678 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2018] [Revised: 05/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this review is to present direct and indirect lines of converging evidence that highlight the many ways our body odors and sense of smell may influence the three broad stages of romantic relationships; initiation, maintenance and breakdown. This emerging area of study requires a multidisciplinary empirical approach. Here we survey research findings that taken together, suggest that body odor perception moderates mate choice, provides a source of comfort in existing relationships and may signal the breakdown of a relationship through disgust processes. In terms of olfactory ability, having a good sense of smell may facilitate identifying a healthy mate, enhance sexual experiences, relationship security and ensure empathic responsivity, predictors of relationship longevity. We therefore conclude that olfaction plays an important - yet understudied - role in romantic relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehmet K Mahmut
- Food, Flavour and Fragrance Lab, Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
| | - Ilona Croy
- Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
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20
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Does food disgust sensitivity influence eating behaviour? Experimental validation of the Food Disgust Scale. Food Qual Prefer 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2017.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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21
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Sarabian C, Belais R, MacIntosh AJJ. Feeding decisions under contamination risk in bonobos. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:20170195. [PMID: 29866924 PMCID: PMC6000142 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Threats from parasites and pathogens are ubiquitous, and many use pathways that exploit host trophic interactions for their transmission. As such, host organisms have evolved a behavioural immune system to facilitate contamination-risk assessment and avoidance of potential contaminants in various contexts, including feeding. Detecting pathogen threats can rely on different sensory modalities allowing animals to screen for a wide array of contaminants. Here, we present a series of experiments in which bonobos showed clear avoidance of contaminated food items, and were sensitive to risk along a contamination probability gradient. Across experiments, bonobos appeared to use multisensorial cues to inform their feeding decisions. In addition, bonobos showed reduced tactile, gustatory and tool use activities when in the presence of contaminant versus control odours in a challenging foraging context. Our experiments build on previous work conducted in Japanese macaques and chimpanzees aiming at a better understanding of the ways in which the behavioural immune system operates in primates.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Evolution of pathogen and parasite avoidance behaviours'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecile Sarabian
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama 484-8506, Japan
| | - Raphael Belais
- Amis des bonobos du Congo, Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary, Les petites chutes de la Lukaya, Kimwenza, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Andrew J J MacIntosh
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 41-2 Kanrin, Inuyama 484-8506, Japan
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22
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Gérard J, Helme-Guizon A. Within a hair's breadth of buying the product: The impact of tangible and intangible bodily cues of contamination: The role of disgust and mental imagery. APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.3425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Gérard
- IAE, University Grenoble Alps, CERAG; Grenoble Cedex 9 France
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23
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Difference in Subjective Accessibility of On Demand Recall of Visual, Taste, and Olfactory Memories. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2018; 2018:1630437. [PMID: 29546049 PMCID: PMC5818939 DOI: 10.1155/2018/1630437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2017] [Revised: 11/22/2017] [Accepted: 12/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
We present here significant difference in the evocation capability between sensory memories (visual, taste, and olfactory) throughout certain categories of the population. As object for this memory recall we selected French fries that are simple and generally known. From daily life we may intuitively feel that there is much better recall of the visual and auditory memory compared to the taste and olfactory ones. Our results in young (age 12-21 years) mostly females and some males show low capacity for smell and taste memory recall compared to far greater visual memory recall. This situation raises question whether we could train smell and taste memory recall so that it could become similar to visual or auditory ones. In our article we design technique of the volunteers training that could potentially lead to an increase in the capacity of their taste and olfactory memory recollection.
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25
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Syrjänen E, Liuzza MT, Fischer H, Olofsson JK. Do Valenced Odors and Trait Body Odor Disgust Affect Evaluation of Emotion in Dynamic Faces? Perception 2017; 46:1412-1426. [DOI: 10.1177/0301006617720831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Disgust is a core emotion evolved to detect and avoid the ingestion of poisonous food as well as the contact with pathogens and other harmful agents. Previous research has shown that multisensory presentation of olfactory and visual information may strengthen the processing of disgust-relevant information. However, it is not known whether these findings extend to dynamic facial stimuli that changes from neutral to emotionally expressive, or if individual differences in trait body odor disgust may influence the processing of disgust-related information. In this preregistered study, we tested whether a classification of dynamic facial expressions as happy or disgusted, and an emotional evaluation of these facial expressions, would be affected by individual differences in body odor disgust sensitivity, and by exposure to a sweat-like, negatively valenced odor (valeric acid), as compared with a soap-like, positively valenced odor (lilac essence) or a no-odor control. Using Bayesian hypothesis testing, we found evidence that odors do not affect recognition of emotion in dynamic faces even when body odor disgust sensitivity was used as moderator. However, an exploratory analysis suggested that an unpleasant odor context may cause faster RTs for faces, independent of their emotional expression. Our results further our understanding of the scope and limits of odor effects on facial perception affect and suggest further studies should focus on reproducibility, specifying experimental circumstances where odor effects on facial expressions may be present versus absent.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marco Tullio Liuzza
- Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden; Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy
| | | | - Jonas K. Olofsson
- Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden; Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala, Sweden
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26
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Beyts C, Chaya C, Dehrmann F, James S, Smart K, Hort J. A comparison of self-reported emotional and implicit responses to aromas in beer. Food Qual Prefer 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2017.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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27
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Schweiger Gallo I, Fernández-Dols JM, Gollwitzer PM, Keil A. Grima: A Distinct Emotion Concept? Front Psychol 2017; 8:131. [PMID: 28217102 PMCID: PMC5289974 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2016] [Accepted: 01/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
People experience an unpleasant sensation when hearing a scratch on a board or plate. The present research focuses on this aversive experience known in Spanish as ‘grima’ with no equivalent term in English and German. We hypothesized that this aversive experience constitutes a distinctive, separate emotional concept. In Study 1, we found that the affective meaning of ‘grima’ was closer to disgust than to other emotion concepts. Thus, in Study 2 we explored the features of grima and compared them with disgust. As grima was reported to be predominantly elicited by certain auditory stimuli and associated with a distinctive physiological pattern, Study 3 used direct measures of physiological arousal to test the assumption of a distinctive pattern of physiological responses elicited by auditory stimuli of grima and disgust, and found different effects on heart rate but not on skin conductance. In Study 4, we hypothesized that only participants with an implementation intention geared toward down-regulating grima would be able to successfully weaken the grima- but not disgust- experience. Importantly, this effect was specific as it held true for the grima-eliciting sounds only, but did not affect disgust-related sounds. Finally, Study 5 found that English and German speakers lack a single accessible linguistic label for the pattern of aversive reactions termed by Spanish speaking individuals as ‘grima’, whereas the elicitors of other emotions were accessible and accurately identified by German, English, as well as Spanish speakers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inge Schweiger Gallo
- Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociología, Departamento de Psicología Social, Universidad Complutense de Madrid Madrid, Spain
| | - José-Miguel Fernández-Dols
- Facultad de Psicología, Departamento de Psicología Social y Metodología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Madrid, Spain
| | - Peter M Gollwitzer
- Motivation Lab, Psychology Department, New York UniversityNew York, NY, USA; Social Psychology and Motivation, Department of Psychology, University of KonstanzKonstanz, Germany
| | - Andreas Keil
- Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida Gainesville, FL, USA
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28
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Schienle A, Schöpf V. Disgust-Related Olfactory Processing: The Role of Gender and Trait Disgust. Perception 2017; 46:475-483. [PMID: 28077013 DOI: 10.1177/0301006616689278] [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] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
For the rejection of disgusting and potentially health-threatening food, the sense of smell plays a critical role. We conducted two experiments in order to investigate the role of gender and trait disgust (the temporally stable tendency to experience disgust across different situations) on disgust-related olfactory processing. A total of 40 men and women (Study 1), as well as a group of women divided according to high versus low trait disgust (Study 2, n = 59), were compared with regard to their odor thresholds for carbon disulfide (which smells like spoiled food) and a control stimulus ( n-butanol). The stimuli were rated for experienced arousal, negative valence, and familiarity. In addition, all participants underwent the "Sniffin' Sticks" battery assessing general olfactory performance. We found that women had a lower carbon disulfide threshold and rated this odorant as more unpleasant than men. Trait disgust was neither associated with the detection of the odorant signaling spoilage, nor with general olfactory function. The latter finding questions the role of this personality trait for olfactory-driven food-rejection responses, at least for normosmic individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Schienle
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Austria, BioTechMed Graz, Austria
| | - Veronika Schöpf
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Austria, BioTechMed Graz, Austria
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29
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Croy I, Bendas J, Wittrodt N, Lenk M, Joraschky P, Weidner K. Gender-Specific Relation Between Olfactory Sensitivity and Disgust Perception. Chem Senses 2017; 42:487-492. [DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjw163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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30
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Croy I, Drechsler E, Hamilton P, Hummel T, Olausson H. Olfactory modulation of affective touch processing — A neurophysiological investigation. Neuroimage 2016; 135:135-41. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.04.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2016] [Revised: 03/22/2016] [Accepted: 04/19/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
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31
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Sharvit G, Vuilleumier P, Delplanque S, Corradi-Dell'Acqua C. Cross-modal and modality-specific expectancy effects between pain and disgust. Sci Rep 2015; 5:17487. [PMID: 26631975 PMCID: PMC4668356 DOI: 10.1038/srep17487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2015] [Accepted: 10/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Pain sensitivity increases when a noxious stimulus is preceded by cues predicting higher intensity. However, it is unclear whether the modulation of nociception by expectancy is sensory-specific ("modality based") or reflects the aversive-affective consequence of the upcoming event ("unpleasantness"), potentially common with other negative events. Here we compared expectancy effects for pain and disgust by using different, but equally unpleasant, nociceptive (thermal) and olfactory stimulations. Indeed both pain and disgust are aversive, associated with threat to the organism, and processed in partly overlapping brain networks. Participants saw cues predicting the unpleasantness (high/low) and the modality (pain/disgust) of upcoming thermal or olfactory stimulations, and rated the associated unpleasantness after stimuli delivery. Results showed that identical thermal stimuli were perceived as more unpleasant when preceded by cues threatening about high (as opposed to low) pain. A similar expectancy effect was found for olfactory disgust. Critically, cross-modal expectancy effects were observed on inconsistent trials when thermal stimuli were preceded by high-disgust cues or olfactory stimuli preceded by high-pain cues. However, these effects were stronger in consistent than inconsistent conditions. Taken together, our results suggest that expectation of an unpleasant event elicits representations of both its modality-specific properties and its aversive consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gil Sharvit
- Swiss Centre for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland.,Laboratory for Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neurosciences and Clinic of Neurology, University Medical Centre, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Patrik Vuilleumier
- Swiss Centre for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland.,Laboratory for Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neurosciences and Clinic of Neurology, University Medical Centre, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sylvain Delplanque
- Swiss Centre for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland.,Laboratory for Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neurosciences and Clinic of Neurology, University Medical Centre, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Corrado Corradi-Dell'Acqua
- Swiss Centre for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland.,Laboratory for Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neurosciences and Clinic of Neurology, University Medical Centre, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, FPSE, Unviersity of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
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32
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Meier L, Friedrich H, Federspiel A, Jann K, Morishima Y, Landis BN, Wiest R, Strik W, Dierks T. Rivalry of homeostatic and sensory-evoked emotions: Dehydration attenuates olfactory disgust and its neural correlates. Neuroimage 2015; 114:120-7. [PMID: 25818686 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.03.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2014] [Revised: 03/17/2015] [Accepted: 03/18/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural correlates have been described for emotions evoked by states of homeostatic imbalance (e.g. thirst, hunger, and breathlessness) and for emotions induced by external sensory stimulation (such as fear and disgust). However, the neurobiological mechanisms of their interaction, when they are experienced simultaneously, are still unknown. We investigated the interaction on the neurobiological and the perceptional level using subjective ratings, serum parameters, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a situation of emotional rivalry, when both a homeostatic and a sensory-evoked emotion were experienced at the same time. Twenty highly dehydrated male subjects rated a disgusting odor as significantly less repulsive when they were thirsty. On the neurobiological level, we found that this reduction in subjective disgust during thirst was accompanied by a significantly reduced neural activity in the insular cortex, a brain area known to be considerably involved in processing of disgust. Furthermore, during the experience of disgust in the satiated condition, we observed a significant functional connectivity between brain areas responding to the disgusting odor, which was absent during the stimulation in the thirsty condition. These results suggest interference of conflicting emotions: an acute homeostatic imbalance can attenuate the experience of another emotion evoked by the sensory perception of a potentially harmful external agent. This finding offers novel insights with regard to the behavioral relevance of biologically different types of emotions, indicating that some types of emotions are more imperative for behavior than others. As a general principle, this modulatory effect during the conflict of homeostatic and sensory-evoked emotions may function to safeguard survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea Meier
- Division of Systems Neuroscience of Psychopathology, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, CH-3000 Bern 60, Switzerland
| | - Hergen Friedrich
- Rhinology, Smell and Taste Outpatient Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Bern University Hospital, Inselspital, Freiburgstrasse, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Federspiel
- Psychiatric Neuroimaging Unit, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, CH-3000 Bern 60, Switzerland
| | - Kay Jann
- Psychiatric Neuroimaging Unit, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, CH-3000 Bern 60, Switzerland; Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, 90095 Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Yosuke Morishima
- Division of Systems Neuroscience of Psychopathology, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, CH-3000 Bern 60, Switzerland; Japan Science and Technology Agency, PRESTO, 4-1-8 Honcho Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
| | - Basile Nicolas Landis
- Rhinology, Smell and Taste Outpatient Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Bern University Hospital, Inselspital, Freiburgstrasse, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland; Rhinology-Olfactology Unit, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Geneva Neuroscience Center (CMU), University of Geneva Hospitals, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, CH-1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland
| | - Roland Wiest
- Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Inselspital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Werner Strik
- Division of Systems Neuroscience of Psychopathology, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, CH-3000 Bern 60, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Dierks
- Division of Systems Neuroscience of Psychopathology, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, CH-3000 Bern 60, Switzerland.
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33
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Klasen M, Kreifelts B, Chen YH, Seubert J, Mathiak K. Neural processing of emotion in multimodal settings. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:822. [PMID: 25374523 PMCID: PMC4204532 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2014] [Accepted: 09/26/2014] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Klasen
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University Aachen, Germany ; Jülich Aachen Research Alliance-Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University Aachen, Germany
| | - Benjamin Kreifelts
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tuebingen Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Yu-Han Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of New Mexico School of Medicine Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Janina Seubert
- Psychology Division, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Klaus Mathiak
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University Aachen, Germany ; Jülich Aachen Research Alliance-Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University Aachen, Germany
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34
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Triscoli C, Croy I, Olausson H, Sailer U. Liking and wanting pleasant odors: different effects of repetitive exposure in men and women. Front Psychol 2014; 5:526. [PMID: 24910630 PMCID: PMC4038972 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2013] [Accepted: 05/12/2014] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Odors can enrich the perception of our environment and are commonly used to attract people in marketing situations. However, the perception of an odor changes over repetitions. This study investigated whether repetitive exposition to olfactory stimuli leads to a change in the perceived pleasantness ("liking") or in the wish to be further exposed to the same olfactory stimulus ("wanting"), and whether these two mechanisms show gender differences. Three different pleasant odors were each repeatedly presented for 40 times in random order with a mean inter-stimulus interval of 18 s. Eighteen participants rated both "liking" and "wanting" for each of the 120 olfactory stimuli. Wanting ratings decreased significantly over repetitions in women and men, with a steeper decrease for men during the initial trials before plateauing. In contrast, liking ratings decreased significantly over repetitions only in men, with a steeper decrease after the initial ratings, but not in women. Additionally, women scored higher in a questionnaire on reward responsiveness than men. We conclude that positive evaluation (liking) and the wish to experience more of the same (wanting) are different concepts even in the domain of olfaction. The persistence of perceived pleasantness in women may be due to the attribution of a greater subjective value to odors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chantal Triscoli
- Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of GothenburgGothenburg, Sweden
- Department of Psychology, University of GothenburgGothenburg, Sweden
| | - Ilona Croy
- Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of GothenburgGothenburg, Sweden
| | - Håkan Olausson
- Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of GothenburgGothenburg, Sweden
| | - Uta Sailer
- Department of Psychology, University of GothenburgGothenburg, Sweden
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Glass ST, Lingg E, Heuberger E. Do ambient urban odors evoke basic emotions? Front Psychol 2014; 5:340. [PMID: 24860522 PMCID: PMC4017720 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2013] [Accepted: 04/01/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Fragrances, such as plant odors, have been shown to evoke autonomic response patterns associated with Ekman's (Ekman et al., 1983) basic emotions happiness, surprise, anger, fear, sadness, and disgust. Inducing positive emotions by odors in highly frequented public spaces could serve to improve the quality of life in urban environments. Thus, the present study evaluated the potency of ambient odors connoted with an urban environment to evoke basic emotions on an autonomic and cognitive response level. Synthetic mixtures representing the odors of disinfectant, candles/bees wax, summer air, burnt smell, vomit and musty smell as well as odorless water as a control were presented five times in random order to 30 healthy, non-smoking human subjects with intact sense of smell. Skin temperature, skin conductance, breathing rate, forearm muscle activity, blink rate, and heart rate were recorded simultaneously. Subjects rated the odors in terms of pleasantness, intensity and familiarity and gave verbal labels to each odor as well as cognitive associations with the basic emotions. The results showed that the amplitude of the skin conductance response (SCR) varied as a function of odor presentation. Burnt smell and vomit elicited significantly higher electrodermal responses than summer air. Also, a negative correlation was revealed between the amplitude of the SCR and hedonic odor valence indicating that the magnitude of the electrodermal response increased with odor unpleasantness. The analysis of the cognitive associations between odors and basic emotions showed that candles/bees wax and summer air were specifically associated with happiness whereas burnt smell and vomit were uniquely associated with disgust. Our findings suggest that city odors may evoke specific cognitive associations of basic emotions and that autonomic activity elicited by such odors is related to odor hedonics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra T Glass
- Division of Clinical Pharmacy and Diagnostics, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Vienna Vienna, Austria ; Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Human Movement Sciences and Sport, ETH Zurich Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Elisabeth Lingg
- Division of Clinical Pharmacy and Diagnostics, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Vienna Vienna, Austria
| | - Eva Heuberger
- Division of Clinical Pharmacy and Diagnostics, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Vienna Vienna, Austria ; Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Saarland University Saarbruecken, Germany ; Pharmaceutical Biology, Department of Pharmacy, Saarland University Saarbruecken, Germany
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Croy I, Angelo SD, Olausson H. Reduced pleasant touch appraisal in the presence of a disgusting odor. PLoS One 2014; 9:e92975. [PMID: 24664177 PMCID: PMC3963971 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0092975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2013] [Accepted: 02/27/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Odors are powerful emotional stimuli influencing mood, attention and behavior. Here we examined if odors change the perception of pleasant touch. In line with the warning function of the olfactory system, we proposed that especially unpleasant odors will reduce touch pleasantness, presumably through a disgust-related mechanism. METHODS Forty-five healthy participants (mean age 23.3 +/- 3years SD, 24 females) were presented to slow (3 cm/s) and fast (30 cm/s) brush stroking delivered by a robot to the forearm. Touch pleasantness under the influence of an unpleasant odor (Civette, smelling like feces) and an intensity matched pleasant odor (Rose) was compared to an odorless control condition. In a pilot study with 30 participants (mean age 25.9 +/-6 years, 21 females), the odors were matched according to their intensity, and we studied the influence of disgust sensitivity on the perception of 4 different odor qualities. RESULTS The unpleasant odor decreased touch pleasantness for both stroking velocities compared to the odorless control (p<0.005) whereas the rose odor did not change touch pleasantness significantly. Disgust sensitivity was correlated with the modulation of touch pleasantness. The pilot study revealed a significant correlation between disgust sensitivity and the perception of the unpleasant odor qualities (r = -0.56; p = 0.007), but not with any of the other odors. CONCLUSION Unpleasant odors are powerful in modulating touch pleasantness, and disgust might be a moderating variable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilona Croy
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- * E-mail:
| | - Silvia D' Angelo
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Håkan Olausson
- Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
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Joussain P, Rouby C, Bensafi M. A pleasant familiar odor influences perceived stress and peripheral nervous system activity during normal aging. Front Psychol 2014; 5:113. [PMID: 24596564 PMCID: PMC3925886 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2013] [Accepted: 01/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Effects of smells on stress have been demonstrated in animals and humans, suggesting that inhaling certain odorants may counteract the negative effects of stress. Because stress plays a key role in cerebral aging, the present study set out to examine whether positive odor effects on perceived stress can be achieved in elderly individuals. To this end, two groups of aged individuals (n = 36 women, aged from 55 to 65 years), were tested. The first group was exposed for 5 days to a pleasant and, by end of exposure, familiar odor (“exposure odor”), whereas the other was exposed to a non-scented control stimulus. Stress and mood states were assessed before and after the 5-day odor exposure period. Psychophysiological markers were also assessed at the end of exposure, in response to the “exposure odor” and to a “new odor.” Results revealed that stress on this second exposure was decreased and zygomatic electromyogram activity was increased specifically in the group previously exposed to the odor (p < 0.05). Taken as a whole, these findings offer a new look at the relationship between perceived stress, olfaction and normal aging, opening up new research perspectives on the effect of olfaction on quality of life and well-being in aged individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pauline Joussain
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, University of Lyon Lyon, France
| | - Catherine Rouby
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, University of Lyon Lyon, France
| | - Moustafa Bensafi
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, University of Lyon Lyon, France
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