Żelaźniewicz Agnieszka, Pawłowski Bogusław
Department of Human Biology, University of Wroclaw, Poland.
Department of Human Biology, University of Wroclaw, Poland.
Physiol Behav. 2015 Feb;139:177-81. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.11.032. Epub 2014 Nov 14.
Disgust, an emotion triggering behavioral avoidance of pathogens, serves as a first line of defense against infections. Since behavior related to disgust involves some cost, the aversive reaction should be adjusted to the level of an individual's immunocompetence, and raise only when immunological function is lower (e.g. during pregnancy). We studied changes in disgust sensitivity in pregnant women, and tested if disgust sensitivity is related to a fetus's sex. 92 women participated in a three-stage research, answering the Disgust Scale-Revised questionnaire at each trimester of pregnancy. The result showed that total disgust and disgust sensitivity in the Core Domain were the highest in the first trimester (when maternal immunosuppression is also the highest), and decreased during pregnancy in women bearing daughters. Women bearing sons had relatively high disgust sensitivity persisting in the first and in the second trimester. The elevation in disgust sensitivity during the second trimester for mothers bearing male fetus can be explained by the necessity to protect for a longer time, a more ecologically sensitive fetus, and also herself when bearing a more energetically costly sex. The proximate mechanism may involve the differences in maternal testosterone and cortisol concentrations in the second trimester of pregnancy.
厌恶是一种触发对病原体进行行为回避的情绪，是抵御感染的第一道防线。由于与厌恶相关的行为会产生一些代价，这种厌恶反应应根据个体的免疫能力水平进行调整，且仅在免疫功能较低时（如孕期）才会增强。我们研究了孕妇厌恶敏感性的变化，并测试了厌恶敏感性是否与胎儿性别有关。92名女性参与了一项三阶段研究，在孕期的每个阶段都填写了修订版厌恶量表问卷。结果显示，总体厌恶感以及核心领域的厌恶敏感性在孕早期最高（此时母体免疫抑制也最强），且怀有女儿的女性在孕期会下降。怀有儿子的女性在孕早期和孕中期的厌恶敏感性相对较高。怀有男胎的母亲在孕中期厌恶敏感性升高，这可以解释为需要更长时间保护一个在生态上更敏感的胎儿，以及在怀有耗能更高性别的胎儿时保护自己。其直接机制可能涉及孕期第二个月母体睾酮和皮质醇浓度的差异。
