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

People with blood–injection–injury fear can faint when being confronted with blood, injections or injuries. Page (1994) holds that people with blood–injury phobia faint, because they are disgust sensitive and disgust facilitates fainting by eliciting parasympathetic activity. We tested the following two hypotheses: (1) Disgusting pictures elicit more disgust in blood–injection–injury-anxious people with a history of fainting than they do in controls. (2) Disgust causes parasympathetic activation. Subjects were 24 participants with high blood–injection–injury fear and a history of fainting in anxiety relevant situations and 24 subjects with average blood–injection–injury fear and no fainting history. We analyzed self-reported feelings of disgust, anxiety and faintness and reactions in heart rate, skin conductance, blood pressure and respiratory sinus arrhythmia during the confrontation with disgusting pictures with and without blood content. We did not find any evidence that the blood–injection–injury anxious subjects were more disgust sensitive than the control subjects and we also did not find any evidence that disgust elicits parasympathetic activation.

► We investigated if disgust sensitivity and parasympathetic activation are associated with high blood–injection–injury fear and fainting.
► We carried out an experimental study and collected self-reported feelings and psychophysiological reactions when subjects were confronted with disgusting pictures.
► We did not find any evidence that blood–injection–injury anxious subjects show higher disgust sensitivity than controls.
► We found that disgusting pictures elicit sympathetic activation rather than parasympathetic activation.