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Misophonia is often associated with strong reactions to specific sounds, but can simply seeing or imagining those sounds trigger similar physical responses? Dr. Svetlana Shinkareva’s research team at the University of South Carolina found that individuals with misophonia showed heightened physiological responses not only when hearing trigger sounds, but also when watching silent videos associated with those sounds. Notably, imagining trigger sounds also produced some measurable physical responses, providing preliminary evidence that misophonia-related reactions may extend beyond hearing or seeing triggers.

To investigate these responses, researchers studied 100 adults, including 57 with misophonia and 43 without misophonia. Participants completed three types of tasks: listening to sounds, watching silent videos, and imagining sounds based on written descriptions. In each task, researchers compared responses to personally relevant misophonia triggers, generally unpleasant stimuli, and non-aversive (not unpleasant) stimuli.

Throughout the experiment, researchers measured five physical responses: activity in two facial muscles, changes in skin electrical activity associated with sweating, heart rate, and fingertip skin temperature. These measurements allowed researchers to examine how the body responded to different types of triggers, beyond what participants reported feeling.

Researchers found the following:‍

• Hearing trigger sounds produced stronger physical responses than hearing generally unpleasant sounds. Compared with participants without misophonia, individuals with misophonia showed greater differences in facial muscle activity, skin electrical activity, and heart rate when hearing personally relevant triggers versus generally unpleasant sounds.
• Silent videos associated with trigger sounds also produced measurable physical responses. Watching videos of trigger-related actions produced heightened activity in a facial muscle involved in frowning and changes in heart rate among participants with misophonia. Although these responses were less widespread than those observed when hearing trigger sounds, they provide evidence that visual cues alone can elicit misophonia-related physical reactions.
• Imagining trigger sounds produced weaker and less consistent physical responses. When participants imagined hearing sounds based on written descriptions, the clearest difference between groups was observed in skin electrical activity. This provides preliminary evidence that imagining triggers may engage some of the same physiological processes, although the responses were not as consistent as those observed when hearing or seeing triggers.

Together, these findings add to growing evidence that misophonia involves measurable physical responses that can extend beyond hearing trigger sounds. Understanding how the body responds to auditory, visual, and imagined triggers may help researchers better characterize misophonia and investigate its underlying mechanisms.

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Research Paper Title: Physiological Responses to Auditory, Visual, and Auditory Imagery Triggers in Misophonia

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Authors: Xuan Yang, Sewon Oh, Douglas H. Wedell, and Svetlana V. Shinkareva

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ABOUT THE RESEARCH TEAM

Svetlana Shinkareva, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Institute for Mind and Brain at the University of South Carolina and the primary investigator on a 2022 MRF Research Impact Award.