Unpleasant Pictures Exposure Evokes Different Repercussion on Emotional State and Heart Rate Response in Healthy Women and Men

To evaluate the heart rate response, emotion and changes in anxiety and anger levels after exposure to unpleasant pictures from the International Assessment Pictures System (IAPS) compared with neutral picture exposure in healthy individuals. Forty participants (23 women) visited the laboratory on two occasions. State anger and state anxiety levels were evaluated pre- and post-visualization of a set of IAPS pictures and heart rate was monitored during exposure. Two different picture sets were utilized—one with neutral pictures (that served as the control) and the other with unpleasant pictures. State anxiety and state anger were higher in post-unpleasant session for women than before (p