Context counts! social anxiety modulates the processing of fearful faces in the context of chemosensory anxiety signals

Abstract:Disgust is a core emotion evolved to detect and avoid the ingestion of poisonous food as well as the contact with pathogens and other harmful agents. Previous research has shown that multisensory presentation of olfactory and visual information may strengthen the processing of disgust-relevant information. However, it is not known whether these findings extend to dynamic facial stimuli that changes from neutral to emotionally expressive, or if individual differences in trait body odor disgust may influence the processing of disgust-related information. In this pre-registered study, we tested whether a classification of dynamic facial expressions as happy or disgusted, and an emotional evaluation of these facial expressions, would be affected by individual differences in body odor disgust sensitivity (BODS), and by exposure to a sweat-like, negatively valenced odor (valeric acid), as compared to a soap-like, positively valenced odor (lilac essence) or a no-odor control. Using Bayesian hypothesis testing, we found evidence that odors do not affect recognition of emotion in dynamic faces even when BODS was used as moderator. However, an exploratory analysis suggested that an

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Objective The sense of olfaction has been considered of minor importance in human communication. In recent years, evidence has emerged that humans might be influenced by unconscious messages sent through chemosignals in body odors. Data concerning the ability of humans to recognize fear, maybe related to the evolutionary role of these emotions in the fight‐or‐flight reactions, are well known. Methods To further understand the role of emotional chemosignals in mediating communication in humans and its influence on animal behaviors, we conducted a systematic literature review. Results Chemosignals derived from axillary odors collected under a variety of emotional stimuli and sad tears in humans affect receivers' social interactions, danger detection and risk‐taking behavior, social aspects of eating, and performance under stressing conditions. In addition, beyond the fight‐or‐flight response, even the body odors of happiness can be perceived by others. Furthermore, human chemosignals can influence behaviors and stressful responses in animals, particularly dogs and horses, which may partially explain their special relationship with humans. Conclusion Our review highlights the importance of chemosignaling in human intra‐ and interspecific interactions and suggests the need for further investigations, both in physiological conditions and in patients with psychiatric or neurodegenerative disorders.