University of Graz, Department of Clinical Psychology, Universitätsplatz 2/III, A-8010 Graz, Austria.
J Psychiatr Res. 2012 Jun;46(6):805-10. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2012.02.017. Epub 2012 Mar 16.
Recent studies of spider phobia have indicated that disgust is a crucial disorder-relevant emotion and that the facial electromyogram (EMG) of the levator labii region is a reliable disgust indicator. The present investigation focused on EMG effects of psychotherapy in thirty girls (aged between 8 and 14 years) suffering from spider phobia. They were presented with phobia-relevant, generally fear-inducing, disgust-inducing and affectively neutral pictures in a first EMG session. Subsequently, patients were randomly assigned to either a therapy group or a waiting-list group. Therapy-group participants received a single session of exposure therapy in vivo. One week later a second EMG session was conducted. Patients of the waiting-list group received exposure therapy after the second EMG session. After therapy, the girls were able to hold a living spider in their hands and rated spiders more positive, and less arousing, fear- and disgust-inducing. Moreover, they showed a reduction of average levator labii activity in response to pictures of spiders, reflecting the reduction of feelings of disgust. A positive side effect of the therapy was a significant drop in overall disgust proneness and a decreased average activity of the levator labii muscle in response to generally disgust-inducing pictures. Results emphasize the role of disgust feelings in spider-phobic children and suggest that overall disgust proneness should also be targeted in therapy.
最近对蜘蛛恐惧症的研究表明，厌恶是一种与疾病相关的关键情绪，并且提上唇肌的面部肌电图（EMG）是一种可靠的厌恶指标。本研究集中于 30 名患有蜘蛛恐惧症的女孩（年龄在 8 到 14 岁之间）的心理治疗的 EMG 效应。在第一次 EMG 会议上，她们观看了与恐惧症相关的、通常会引起恐惧、引起厌恶和中性情绪的图片。随后，患者被随机分配到治疗组或候补名单组。治疗组的参与者接受了一次现场暴露疗法。一周后进行了第二次 EMG 会议。候补名单组的患者在第二次 EMG 会议后接受暴露疗法。治疗后，女孩们能够用手握住活蜘蛛，并对蜘蛛给予更积极的评价，并且减少了唤醒、恐惧和厌恶的感觉。此外，她们对蜘蛛的图片的平均提上唇肌活动减少，反映了厌恶感的减少。治疗的一个积极副作用是整体厌恶倾向显著下降，以及对一般引起厌恶的图片的平均提上唇肌活动减少。研究结果强调了厌恶感在蜘蛛恐惧症儿童中的作用，并表明整体厌恶倾向也应成为治疗的目标。
