Disgust as a Mnemonic Defense: Temporal and Associative Modulation of Memory

Disgust as a Mnemonic Defense: Temporal and Associative Modulation of Memory | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Disgust as a Mnemonic Defense: Temporal and Associative Modulation of Memory Sinem Söylemez, Aycan Kapucu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8501007/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Disgust is an adaptive emotion that evolved to protect organisms from pathogens by motivating avoidance of contamination cues. Accumulating evidence suggests that disgust may also operate as a mnemonic defense system, selectively biasing memory toward contamination-relevant information. The present research examined how disgust learning reorganizes episodic memory across temporal boundaries—retrospectively, concurrently, and prospectively—using a category-conditioning paradigm. Across two experiments, neutral object categories were paired with either disgusting or neutral images, allowing emotional value to generalize broadly across category members. Study 1 showed that disgust learning retroactively and concurrently updated memory representations: objects from disgust-conditioned categories were recognized more accurately and liberally biased than neutral-category objects, regardless of whether they were encountered before or during conditioning. Moreover, objects presented during conditioning were remembered better than those presented beforehand. This mnemonic advantage did not increase across longer retention intervals, indicating that disgust-related memory effects primarily reflect encoding or early post-encoding mechanisms rather than delayed consolidation. Study 2 examined prospective generalization and transfer to new associative contexts. Objects from disgust-conditioned categories were again remembered more accurately, even when encountered after conditioning. In contrast, food items paired with disgust-conditioned objects were evaluated as less appetizing but remembered less accurately than foods paired with neutral objects, suggesting that disgust may prioritize avoidance over detailed encoding, potentially via attentional disengagement or adaptive biases favoring memory for appetitive cues. Together, these findings demonstrate that disgust learning broadly reshapes memory across conceptual and temporal dimensions, highlighting its unique role in adaptively guiding what is remembered. Disgust category conditioning retrospective enhancement prospective enhancement secondary conditioning Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 16 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 10 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 09 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 04 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 19 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 09 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 09 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 02 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Accumulating evidence suggests that disgust may also operate as a mnemonic defense system, selectively biasing memory toward contamination-relevant information. The present research examined how disgust learning reorganizes episodic memory across temporal boundaries\u0026mdash;retrospectively, concurrently, and prospectively\u0026mdash;using a category-conditioning paradigm. Across two experiments, neutral object categories were paired with either disgusting or neutral images, allowing emotional value to generalize broadly across category members. Study 1 showed that disgust learning retroactively and concurrently updated memory representations: objects from disgust-conditioned categories were recognized more accurately and liberally biased than neutral-category objects, regardless of whether they were encountered before or during conditioning. Moreover, objects presented during conditioning were remembered better than those presented beforehand. 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