Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 17, 2026

Collecting Saliva and Measuring Salivary Cortisol and Alpha-amylase in Frail Community Residing Older Adults via Family Caregivers
Published on: December 18, 2013
Salivary alpha-amylase changes promoted by sustained exposure to affective pictures
Juan P Sánchez-Navarro1, Enrique F Maldonado, José M Martínez-Selva
1Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain; Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria, Murcia, Spain. jpedro@um.es
Abstract:
We studied the changes in salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) and other psychophysiological indices (heart rate, skin conductance, and corrugator supercilii activity) elicited by sustained exposure to affective pictures. Thirty-nine subjects viewed five blocks of pictures depicting mutilations, human attack, neutral scenes, sport/adventure, and erotica. Each block comprised 12 pictures of the same content. Saliva samples were collected before and after each block of pictures. The results showed that mutilation pictures promoted the greatest increase in sAA activity and output, as well as greater corrugator supercilii activity than pleasant pictures. Skin conductance response did not differ among high arousal picture contents. Changes in sAA varied with the affective valence but not with the arousal ratings of the pictures. Our results point to sAA as an index directly related to the unpleasantness elicited by sustained exposure to affective stimuli.
More Related Videos
05:33Measuring Biophysical and Psychological Stress Levels Following Visitation to Three Locations with Differing Levels of Nature
Published on: June 19, 2019
08:07Simultaneous Detection of c-Fos Activation from Mesolimbic and Mesocortical Dopamine Reward Sites Following Naive Sugar and Fat Ingestion in Rats
Published on: August 24, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Salivary Glands and Saliva
Facial Feedback Hypothesis
Role of Amygdala in Memory
One of the...