The New Scientist news service this week posted a story, 'Why real and imagined disgust have the same effect'. This story is based on an interesting article by Jabbi, Bastiaansen, & Keysers ('A Common Anterior Insula Representation of Disgust Observation, Experience and Imagination Shows Divergent Functional Connectivity Pathways', in PLoS ONE), which may have implications for the diagnosis and treatment of autism as well as behavioural studies of empathy. As you may recall, disgust and repugnance are topics that fascinate me (as they do most writers of disturbing literature). It disappoints me, therefore, that the authors of this study, looking for a passage of "disgusting" literature to test out on their experimental subjects, were unable to come up with anything better than this:
You turn around because someone is leaning on your shoulder, suddenly looking into the open mouth of a drunken beggar... you see his rotten teeth, surrounded by pustulant sores, while he suddenly releases the reeking content of his stomach all over you... You feel your stomach turn over as you suddenly feel the acidic taste of a clump of his vomit on your lips.
Next time call in a professional, gentlemen.
