Galvanic Skin Response Measures Research Articles

A case study of vocal features associated with galvanic skin response to stressors in a clinical interaction

ObjectiveWe investigated vocal characteristics associated with physiologically determined stressful episodes by means of post-hoc acoustic analyses of speech recorded in a clinical setting. Our research addressed the understudied question of which vocal features may serve as cues naturally occurring stress and is the first to explore this issue in a pitch accent language. MethodsThe vocal profile of a single female patient interacting with a physician was analyzed with standard speech analysis software for acoustic indicators of stress-related arousal determined by galvanic skin response measurements. ResultsVocal jitter, representing an aspect of voice quality perceived as hoarseness, appeared to increase during and immediately after skin conductance response intervals. Skin conductance levels during the response intervals were negatively correlated with acoustic features used to approximate the perception of voice unsteadiness (slope and standard deviation of fundamental frequency). ConclusionAn acoustic analysis of vocal properties of speech uttered during independently detected skin conductance response intervals revealed individual patterns for some acoustic features linked to stress in earlier studies. Practice implicationsNon-invasive methods of arousal detection in physician-patient communication based on acoustic analyses of vocal profiles may, in combination with other analyses, help identify stressful events and thus improve the process of medical information gathering and decision-making.

Design and Fabrication of Smart Band Module for Measurement of Temperature and GSR (Galvanic Skin Response) from Human Body

In order to monitor health usually, the wearable type smart band module to measure the physiological signals from human body was designed, fabricated and characterized. Smart band module largely consisted of two parts, one was flexible sensors module and the other one was signal processing and communication module. And then two modules were interconnected with Cu wires. Finally, flexible temperature sensor of the fabricated smart band module was tested at the surfaces of ice pack, desk, and hot plate with temperature in the range of 4.5 ∼ 74.1̊C including skin temperature around 30 ∼ 33 ̊C. And GSR data were measured at the skin with high sensitivity and normal atmosphere to compare. Measured data from sensors were signally processed and transmitted using via Bluetooth 4.0 wireless network, so we could display successfully those data using software on the lab-top computer. In the near future, conductive yarns will be used for the interconnections instead of general Cu wires and we are going to measure the emotion change from physiological signals from human body during usual life.

Capturing emotion reactivity through physiology measurement as a foundation for affective engineering in engineering design science and engineering practices

This paper presents the theoretical and practical fundamentals of using physiology sensors to capture human emotion reactivity in a products or systems engineering context. We aim to underline the complexity of regulating (internal and external) effects on the human body and highly individual physiological (emotion) responses and provide a starting point for engineering researchers entering the field. Although great advances have been made in scenarios involving human-machine interactions, the critical elements—the actions and responses of the human—remain far beyond automatic control, because of the irrational behavior of human subjects. These (re)actions, which cannot be satisfactorily modeled, stem mostly from the fact that human behavior is regulated by emotions. The physiological measurement of the latter can thus be a potential door to future advances for the community. In this paper, following a brief overview of the foundations and ongoing discussions in psychology and neuroscience, various emotion-related physiological responses are explained on the basis of a systematic review of the autonomic nervous system and its regulation of the human body. Based on sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system responses, various sensor measurements that are relevant in an engineering context, such as electrocardiography, electroencephalography, electromyography, pulse oximetry, blood pressure measurements, respiratory transducer, body temperature measurements, galvanic skin response measurements, and others, are explained. After providing an overview of ongoing engineering and human-computer interaction projects, we discuss engineering-specific challenges and experiment setups in terms of their usability and appropriateness for data analysis. We identify current limitations associated with the use of physiology sensors and discuss developments in this area, such as software-based facial affect coding and near-infrared spectroscopy. The key to truly understanding user experience and designing systems and products that integrate emotional states dynamically lies in understanding and measuring physiology. This paper serves as a call for the advancement of affective engineering research.

How to Measure Cerebral Correlates of Emotions in Marketing Relevant Tasks

Nowadays, there is a growing interest in measuring emotions through the estimation of cerebral variables. Several techniques and methods are used and debated in neuroscience. In such a context, the present paper provides examples of time-varying variables related to the estimation of emotional valence, arousal and Approach-Withdrawal behavior in marketing relevant contexts. In particular, we recorded electroencephalographic (EEG), galvanic skin response (GSR) and heart rate (HR) in a group of healthy subjects while they are watching different TV commercials. Specifically, results obtained in the Experiment 1 shows a significant increase of cortical power spectral density across left frontal areas in the alpha band and an enhance of cardiac activity during the observation of TV commercials that have been judged pleasant. In the Experiment 2, frontal EEG asymmetry, GSR and HR measurements are used to draw cognitive and emotional indices in order to track the subject’s internal state frame by frame of the commercial. A specific case study shows how the variations of the defined Approach-Withdrawal and emotional indices can distinguish the reactions of younger adults from the older ones during the observation of a funny spot. This technology could be of help for marketers to overcome some of the drawbacks of the standard marketing tools (e.g., interviews, focus groups) usually adopted during the analysis of the emotional perception of advertisements.

Repeatability of Measurements of Galvanic Skin Response – A Pilot Study

Objective: To scrutinize repeatability of measurements of galvanic skin response (GSR) using a complementary therapy device. Methods: GSR diagnosis is closely related to the Chinese system of acupuncture points. These are assumed to show increased electrical conductivity that is super influenced by the (stressed or weak) state of related organs and organ systems including the vagal / simpatico system. GSR techniques apply a constant voltage. For the device used here, a biophoton therapy device, a circuit includes a brass electrode that is held in one hand of the test person, and a style electrode for contact with his or her other hand. When the organism is exposed to external influences, skin conductivity may change within split seconds (increase or decrease). Here, it was aimed to transfer information from test substances into the circuit. Paracetamol® was dissolved in water, and both this test probe and control water were put into quartz glass vials. Following a sequence unknown to the tester, the vials were inserted into the input quartz-glass beaker of the device. A decrease in skin conductivity due to the information from Paracetamol ® is assumed to be measurable at the acupuncture point TW-1D-lefthand-pituitary gland. Repeated measurements with breaks for recovery were carried out. Three sub studies consisted of 5 unblinded and 10 blinded tests each. Depending on the sub study, one to five different tested volunteers and testers were involved. Data were analyzed blind using a two-way analysis of variance with treatment (i.e. test or control) and sub study as independent variables and the frequency of diagnosed indicator drops as the dependent variable. Furthermore, frequency of diagnosed indicator drops was compared to the frequency of non drops both for the test and the control probe in four field tables. In a random distribution, one would expect about 50% in each of the four fields. Results: A significant main effect for treatment group was observed over all three studies (p .05), indicating that there were no differences between the three sub studies. In addition, no interaction effect between the variables treatment group and sub study was found (p>.05). This means that (a) the significant overall difference between treatment groups holds for each sub study in the same way and (b) the non-difference between sub studies holds both for intoxication and non-treatment. In terms of the pooled results of all three substudies the test probe was correctly detected in 77.5% of cases, with 22.5% false positive results. In reverse, the neutre control was correctly diagnosed in 68.6%, with 31.4% false negative results. Conclusion: Results suggest that information from substances can influence biological systems and that measurements of electric skin conductivity, as used for diagnostic purposes, are repeatable under standardized and blind conditions.

Changes in Brain Activity During the Observation of TV Commercials by Using EEG, GSR and HR Measurements

In this study we were interested to analyse the brain activity occurring during the "naturalistic" observation of commercial ads intermingled in a random order within a documentary. In order to measure both the brain activity and the emotional engage of the 15 healthy subjects investigated, we used simultaneous EEG, Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), Heart Rate (HR) recordings during the whole experiment. We would like to link significant variation of EEG, GSR, HR and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measurements with the memory and pleasantness of the stimuli presented, as resulted successively from the subject's verbal interview. In order to do that, different indexes were employed to summarize the cerebral and autonomic measurements performed. Such indexes were used in the statistical analysis, performed with the use of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and z-score transformation of the estimated cortical activity by solving the associated EEG inverse problem. The results are summarized as follows: (1) in the population analyzed, the cortical activity in the theta band elicited during the observation of the TV commercials that were remembered is higher and localized in the left frontal brain areas when compared to the activity elicited during the vision of the TV commercials that were forgotten (p < 0.048). Same increase in the theta activity occurred during the observation of commercials that were judgment pleasant when compared with the other (p < 0.042). Differences in cortical activity were also observed for the gamma activity, bilaterally in frontal and prefrontal areas. (2) the HR and HRV activity elicited during the observation of the TV commercials that were remembered or judged pleasant is higher than the same activity during the observation of commercials that will be forgotten (p < 0.001 and p < 0.048, respectively for HR and HRV) or were judged unpleasant (p < 0.042 and p < 0.04, respectively for HR and HRV). No statistical differences between the level of the GSR values were observed across the experimental conditions. In conclusion, the TV commercials proposed to the population analyzed have increased the HR values and the cerebral activity mainly in the theta band in the left hemisphere when they will be memorized and judged pleasant. Further research with an extended set of subjects will be necessary to further validate the observations reported in this paper. However, these conclusions seems reasonable and well inserted in the already existing literature on this topic related to the HERA model.

Analysis of neurophysiological reactions to advertising stimuli by means of EEG and galvanic skin response measures.

This article demonstrates how marketing may benefit from neurophysiology. The authors discuss a particular research case concerning the analysis of a skin care product advertisement. Pretests of 2 versions of this TV ad revealed that, although the versions were almost identical, each of them generated significantly different impact. Their influence was assessed using both cognitive measures (benefits and key benefits recall) and behavioral measures (shelf test). The only difference between these 2 versions of the ad was in a single scene that contained a particular gesture by a female model. Of note, the gesture appeared to enhance the effectiveness of the ad. The authors tested whether neurophysiological measures can capture differences in consumer reactions to slightly different marketing stimuli. Indeed, by using electroencephalography and electromyography and by monitoring skin conductance, the authors were able to register significant differences in neurophysiological reactions to an altered scene, even though the difference was not consciously seen. The authors believe that neurophysiological measures soon will be widely acknowledged and used as a complimentary method in classical marketing research.

Cerebral Hemispheric Asymmetries in Social Perception: Perceiving and Responding to the Individual and the Group

Abstract A recently developed model of social perception (Zarate, Sanders, & Garza, 2000) contends that categorization and identification are two distinct processes, each dominated by a different cerebral hemisphere. It is postulated that the right cerebral hemisphere more efficiently produces and retrieves person-based memories. In contrast, the left cerebral hemisphere more efficiently produces and retrieves group-based memories. The reported experiment focuses on responses to person-based versus group-based targets as a function of prior classical conditioning. Participants were presented with a target that was always associated with an obnoxious tone. Later, the target was presented with multiple other targets. Galvanic skin response measures were used to identify implicit reactions to the target person, new targets similar to the target person, and old filler targets. Results demonstrated person-based learning in the right hemisphere and group-based learning in the left hemisphere. These results prov...

The Psychophysiological Differentiation of Actual, Imagined, and Recollected Mirth

Heart rate and galvanic skin response measures were recorded from 23 participants (10 men and 13 women) while mirth was elicited through use of imagination (Imagined Mirth), through recollection (Recollected Mirth), or through an experimental manipulation (Actual Mirth). An analysis of variance indicated significant differences for heart rate, F(2, 22) = 4.716, p = .0210, and for galvanic skin response, F(2, 22) = 4.779, p = .0201 among the three methods. Consistent with the hypotheses forwarded, both Imagined and Recollected Mirth generated significantly greater changes in psychophysiology than Actual Mirth. However, there were no significant differences found between Imagined and Recollected Mirth. The implications of these findings on current and future research are discussed.

Infraorbital nerve recovery following orbital decompression°

A retrospective study of 16 patients who had undergone floor and medial wall orbital decompression, via a skin approach, for dysthyroid ophthalmopathy was undertaken in order to determine the extent of infraorbital nerve recovery following surgery. Subjective and objective assessments were used to determine the degree of residual infraorbital nerve dysfunction.All patients in the study experienced symptoms of infraorbital nerve dysfunction in the immediate post-operative period. Of the 13 patients who reported a marked improvement in their symptoms with time, only one became entirely symptom free. The remaining three patients reported only a moderate improvement and were still experiencing appreciable symptoms of infraorbital nerve dysfunction up to four years post-operatively.Two Point Discrimination and Galvanic Skin Response measurements were found to be more useful objective methods than the response to pinprick for confirming the patient's symptoms.The results of this study suggest that following orb...

Pain Tolerance, Arousal, and Personality Relationships of Athletes and Nonathletes

Abstract Eighty-four subjects were randomly selected from intercollegiate sport groups of basketball, baseball, football linemen, football backs, track distance runners, track field and sprint men, and nonathlete males. Subjects submitted to a muscular endurance task employed to determine pain tolerance during which Galvanic Skin Response measures of arousal were obtained. The Bernreuter Personality Inventory was administered to each subject following the treatment. Data were treated by ANCOVA and discriminant analysis techniques for sport and nonsport group comparisons of pain tolerance, arousal, and personality. No differences were found among groups.

An apparatus for the measurement of galvanic skin response.

An apparatus is described which enables changes in resistance that are a very small fraction of the total (ΔR/R < 0.01) to be measured and recorded automatically. Both a.c. and d.c. measurements can be made under constant current conditions. Low voltage battery operation makes the apparatus portable and safe for operation by unskilled personnel.

Reliability of Galvanic Skin Response Measures

Reliability of Galvanic Skin Response Measures