Skip to main content
Search
Search
    Quick Search anywhere
    Quick search in Citations
Advanced Search
Skip main navigationClose Drawer MenuOpen Drawer Menu
Previous article
Next article
Article

Body Position Influences Cardiovascular Disgust Reactivity

A Tilt Table Experiment

Published Online:January 01, 2015https://doi.org/10.1027/0269-8803/a000136

Abstract

It has been suggested that elevated trait disgust constitutes a vulnerability factor for fainting episodes. We tested the hypothesis that disgust-prone individuals are susceptible to vasovagal syncope by means of a tilt table experiment, during which 30 women were presented with disgusting pictures in a supine and a 70° upright position. The results showed that relative to disgust elicitation in the supine position, tilting reduced diastolic blood pressure during disgust elicitation, which could indicate increased risk for presyncope. Moreover, self-reported disgust proneness was positively correlated with heart rate during disgust induction in the tilted position. This association may point to a compensatory mechanism that aims at stabilizing mean arterial pressure. Disgust-prone individuals possibly utilized this mechanism more extensively to prevent fainting. Future investigations with a longer duration should follow up on this finding and compare the onset of presyncope between high and low disgust-prone individuals.

References

  • Accurso, V., Winnicki, M., Shamsuzzaman, A. S. M., Wenzel, A., Johnson, A. K., & Somers, V. K. (2001). Predisposition to vasovagal syncope in subjects with blood/injury phobia. Circulation, 104, 903–907. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • de Jong, P. J., van Overveld, M., & Peters, M. L. (2011). Sympathetic and parasympathetic responses to a core disgust video clip as a function of disgust propensity and disgust sensitivity. Biological Psychology, 88, 174–179. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2011.07.009 First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Ernst, J. M., Litvack, D. A., Lozano, D. L., Cacioppo, J. T., & Berntson, G. G. (1999). Impedance pneumography: Noise as signal in impedance cardiography. Psychophysiology, 36, 333–338. doi: 10.1017/S0048577299981003 First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Fortin, J., Habenbacher, W., Heller, A., Hacker, A., Grüllenberger, R., Innerhofer, J., & Wach, P. (2006). Non-invasive beat-to-beat cardiac output monitoring by an improved method of transthoracic bioimpedance measurement. Computers in Biology and Medicine, 36, 1185–1203. doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2005.06.001 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Fortin, J., Marte, W., Grüllenberger, R., Hacker, A., Habenbacher, W., Heller, A., … Skrabal, F. (2006). Continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring using concentrically interlocking control loops. Computers in Biology and Medicine, 36, 941–957. doi: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2005.04.003 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Gebhardt, C., Kämpfe-Hargrave, N., & Mitte, K. (2010). German version of the Multidimensional Blood/lnjury Phobia lnventory. Zeitschrift für Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie, 39, 97–106. First citation in articleLink, Google Scholar

  • Gerlach, A. L., Nat, R., Spellmeyer, G., Vögele, C., Huster, R., Stevens, S., & Deckert, J. (2006). Blood-injury phobia with and without a history of fainting: Disgust sensitivity does not explain the fainting response. Psychosomatic Medicine, 68, 331–339. doi: 10.1097/01.psy.0000203284.53066.4b First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Goswami, N., Lackner, H. K., Papousek, I., Jezova, D., Hinghofer-Szalkay, H., & Montani, J. P. (2010). Rate of cardiovascular recovery to combined or separate orthostatic and mental challenges. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 75, 54–62. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2009.11.005 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Goswami, N., Roessler, A., Lackner, H. K., Schneditz, D., Grasser, E., & Hinghofer-Szalkay, H. G. (2009). Heart rate and stroke volume response patterns to augmented orthostatic stress. Clinical Autonomic Research, 19, 157–165. doi: 10.1007/s10286-009-0001-x First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Hinghofer-Szalkay, H., Lackner, H. K., Rössler, A., Narath, B., Jantscher, A., & Goswami, N. (2011). Hormonal and plasma volume changes after presyncope. European Journal of Clinical Investigation, 41, 1180–1185. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2362.2011.02523.x First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Julius, S. (1988). The blood-pressure seeking properties of the central nervous-system. Journal of Hypertension, 6, 177–185. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Lackner, H. K., Goswami, N., Hinghofer-Szalkay, H., Papousek, I., Scharfetter, H., Furlan, R., & Schwaberger, G. (2010). Effects of stimuli on cardiovascular reactivity occurring at regular intervals during mental stress. Journal of Psychophysiology, 24, 48–60. doi: 10.1027/0269-8803/a000006 First citation in articleLink, Google Scholar

  • Lackner, H. K., Goswami, N., Papousek, I., Roessler, A., Grasser, E. K., Montani, J. P., Jezova, D., & Hinghofer-Szalkay, H. (2010). Time course of cardiovascular responses induced by mental and orthostatic challenges. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 75, 48–53. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2009.11.003 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Levenson, R. W., Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1990). Voluntary facial action generates emotion-specific autonomic nervous system activity. Psychophysiology, 27, 363–384. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Olatunji, B. O., Williams, N. L., Sawchuk, C. N., & Lohr, J. M. (2006). Disgust, anxiety and fainting symptoms associated with blood-injection-injury fears: A structural model. Journal of Anxi Disorders, 20, 23–41. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Page, A. C. (1994). Blood-injury phobia. Clinical Psychology Review, 14, 443–461. doi: 10.1016/0272-7358(94)90036-1 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Page, A. C. (2003). The role of disgust in faintness elicited by blood and injection stimuli. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 17, 45–58. doi: 10.1016/S0887-6185(02)00169-X First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Page, A. C., & Tan, B. J. (2009). Disgust and blood-injury-injection phobia. In B. O. OlatunjiD. McKayEds., Disgust and its disorders: Theory, assessment, and treatment (pp. 191–210). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Ritz, T., & Dahme, B. (2006). Implementation and interpretation of respiratory sinus arrhythmia measures in psychosomatic medicine: Practice against better evidence? Psychosomatic Medicine, 68, 617–627. doi: 10.1097/01.psy.0000228010.96408.ed First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Rohrmann, S., & Hopp, H. (2008). Cardiovascular indicators of disgust. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 68, 201–208. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2008.01.011 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Sarlo, M., Buodo, G., Munafò, M., Stegagno, L., & Palomba, D. (2008). Cardiovascular dynamics in blood phobia: Evidence for a key role in sympathetic activity in vulnerability to syncope. Psychophysiology, 45, 1038–1045. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2008.00713.x First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Schienle, A., Stark, R., & Vaitl, D. (2001). Evaluative conditioning: A possible explanation for the acquisition of disgust responses? Learning and Motivation, 32, 65–83. doi: 10.1006/lmot.2000.1067 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Schienle, A., Stark, R., Walter, B., Blecker, C., Ott, U., Sammer, G., & Vaitl, D. (2002). The insula is not specifically involved in disgust processing: An fMRI study. NeuroReport, 13, 2023–2026. doi: 10.1097/00001756-200211150-00006 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Schienle, A., Walter, B., & Vaitl, D. (2002). Ein Fragebogen zur Erfassung der Ekelempfindlichkeit (FEE) [Questionnaire for the assessment of disgust sensitivity]. Zeitschrift für Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie, 31, 110–120. doi: 10.1026/1616-3443.31.2.110 First citation in articleLink, Google Scholar

  • Schienle, A., & Leutgeb, V. (2012). Blut-Spritzen-Verletzungsphobie (Fortschritte der Psychotherapie, Vol. 50). Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Schienle, A., Übel, S., Schöngassner, F., Ille, R., & Scharmüller, W. (2014). Disgust regulation via placebo: An fMRI study. Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 9, 985–990. doi: 10.1093/scan/nst072 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Stark, R., Walter, B., Schienle, A., & Vaitl, D. (2005). Psychophysiological correlates of disgust and disgust sensitivity. Journal of Psychophysiology, 19, 50–60. doi: 10.1027/0269-8803.19.1.50 First citation in articleLink, Google Scholar

  • Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology . (1996). Heart rate variability: Standards of measurement, physiological interpretation, and clinical use. Circulation, 93, 1043–1065. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • van Overveld, W. J., de Jong, P. J., & Peters, M. L. (2009). Digestive and cardiovascular responses to core and animal-reminder disgust. Biological Psychology, 80, 149–157. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2008.08.002 First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Vossbeck-Elsebusch, A. N., & Gerlach, A. L. (2012). The relation between disgust sensitivity, blood-injection-injury fears and vasovagal symptoms in blood donors: Disgust sensitivity cannot explain fainting or blood donation-related symptoms. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 43, 607–613. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2011.08.005 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Vossbeck-Elsebusch, A. N., Steinigweg, K., Vögele, C., & Gerlach, A. L. (2012). Does disgust increase parasympathetic activation in individuals with a history of fainting? A psychophysiological analysis of disgust stimuli with and without blood-injection-injury association. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 26, 849–858. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.07.003 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar