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The effect of disgust on oral immune function
Richard J Stevenson1, Deborah Hodgson, Megan J Oaten
1Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. dick.stevenson@mq.edu.au
Psychophysiology
|December 21, 2010
Summary
Disgust triggers an oral immune response, including inflammation and altered immunoglobulin A (SIgA) secretion. This suggests disgust plays a role in disease threat detection and immune system activation.
Area of Science:
- Psychoneuroimmunology
- Oral immunology
- Evolutionary psychology
Background:
- Disgust is known to motivate pathogen avoidance.
- The link between disgust and immune system activation, particularly in the oral cavity, remains largely unexplored.
- Previous hypotheses suggest disgust evolved to clear oral toxins.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether disgust induction activates the oral immune system.
- To compare oral immune markers following disgust versus neutral or negative emotional stimuli.
- To examine the potential evolutionary basis of disgust-related immune responses.
Main Methods:
- Participants underwent disgust, neutral, or negative emotional induction.
- Salivary immune markers, including tumor necrosis factor alpha, albumin, and immunoglobulin A (SIgA), were measured before and after induction.
- Changes in these markers were compared across the different induction groups.
Main Results:
- The disgust group showed increased salivary tumor necrosis factor alpha and albumin, indicating an inflammatory response.
- Salivary immunoglobulin A (SIgA) secretion was downregulated in the disgust group.
- Control groups (neutral and negative induction) did not exhibit these immune changes.
Conclusions:
- Disgust selectively triggers an oral inflammatory response and alters SIgA secretion.
- Down-regulated SIgA may be an evolutionary vestige for protein conservation during toxin expulsion.
- The inflammatory response suggests disgust acts as an adaptive mechanism against disease threats, potentially via a neuro-gut-immune axis.
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