Originally from Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

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Yuck! Disgusting! Revolting! Disgust is primal.

The basic emotion of disgust is considered one of the primary six or seven emotional sensations. It is experienced and reactive to stimuli, real or perceived, to the senses of smell, taste, hearing, and vision. It is primal and similar across cultures over time.

Disgust is hard-wired. Facial expressions vary little across cultures. Evolutionary biologists contend that disgust was a response to offensive or poisonous foods as a protective mechanism, and includes a hardwired reaction to animals and people who are diseased.

Disgust is the underlying basis of obsessive- compulsive disorder, better known as OCD, which is an anxiety phobia and contamination fear. When examined with an MRI, some people diagnosed with major depression have displayed greater brain activation when confronted with the facial expressions of disgust of others.