Electrodermal Lability and Myocardial Reactivity to Stress

Abstract

The relationship between electrodermal lability and myocardial reactivity to stress was examined in male undergraduates, who were classified as electrodermally labile (n = 19) or stabile (n = 19) based on the frequency of nonspecific skin conductance responses at rest. Heart rate, pre-ejection period, cardiac output, and skin conductance responses were recorded at rest, during task instructions, and during two mental arithmetic tasks that varied in level of difficulty. As predicted, labiles exhibited greater myocardial reactivity to the task instructions and the tasks than did stabiles, with more persistent group differences emerging for pre-ejection period and cardiac output than for heart rate. The group differences did not vary as a function of task difficulty, but did decline over time. These results support a positive relationship between electrodermal lability and beta-adrenergic myocardial reactivity to stress, particularly under conditions of task novelty or uncertainty, and suggest that electrodermal lability is related fundamentally to arousal and reactivity processes.