Spontaneous Skin Potential Responses Research Articles

Bilateral Electrodermal Activity During Sleep and Waking in the Cat

Electrodermal activity (EDA) was recorded as skin potential responses (SPRs), on the hindpaws of cats during waking and sleep. SPRs recorded on both paws showed an overall parallelism during all stages of vigilance. SPRs on both paws significantly decreased in amplitude and in frequency from wakefulness to sleep. Most SPRs were synchronous but showed bilateral differences larger than 0.1 mV. However, this asymmetry did not show any significant variation as a function of sleep stages. Electrical stimulation of the reticular central tegmental field at levels below the thresholds for behavioral and cortical arousal thresholds evoked SPRs during wakefulness and all stages of sleep. Bilateral differences between evoked SPR amplitudes did not show significant variations as a function of the stages of vigilance. Moreover, the bilateral asymmetry of the evoked SPRs was significantly lower than that of the spontaneous SPRs. These results are discussed in relation to the variations in bilateral EDA recorded in humans during waking and sleep; the influence of central and peripheral factors on EDA laterality is also discussed.

Physiological correlates of sleep development in premature and full-term neonates

Differentiation of motor and automatic function control during different sleep states appears early in human ontogeny. Time of first appearance, magnitude of between-state differences and modifications with age depend on which particular parameters are considered. For some parameters, significant between-state differences appear at 31 weeks conceptional age (wk CA). For nearly all parameters, this difference is clear from 35 wk CA onwards. The analysis presented herein is based on studies of body movements, spontaneous skin potential responses, respiratory characteristics, heart rate and heart rate variability, and correlations between different functions. It examines clinically and neurologically normal premature and full-term neonates of 28-41 wk CA.

The ontogeny of spontaneous skin potential responses in kittens.

The evolution of frequency and amplitude of spontaneous skin potential responses (SPRs) was studied in kittens from birth to 30 days. Results showed that: i) at birth, electrodermal activity is very low, and significantly lower than in adults; ii) the evolution of electrodermal activity is rapid, the adult level being reached by the end of the third week. Frequency and amplitude evolve at approximately the same rate; iii) SPRs recorded on the forepaw were significantly more frequent and larger than those for the hindpaw up to 13 days; iv) changes in electrodermal activity as a function of sleep and waking showed that sleep is characterized by a moderate decrease of SPR amplitude and by a pronounced decrease in SPR frequency. The results are discussed in terms of maturation of the central nervous system.

Sleep patterns in hyperkinetic and normal children.

Sleep patterns in nonmedicated hyperkinetic (n = 11) and normal control (n = 11) male children (8-12 years old) were compared to document possible sleep disturbance in hyperkinetic children. Electroencephalographic, electro-oculographic, electromyographic, and autonomic measures were monitored continuously for five consecutive nights. Analysis of sleep pattern variables revealed a significantly longer rapid eye movement onset latency (p less than 0.05) and marginally significant greater absolute and relative amounts of movement time (p less than 0.07) for the hyperkinetic group relative to controls. No other sleep parameters differentiated the groups. It was concluded that baseline tonic sleep parameters do not indicate marked sleep disturbance in hyperkinesis. The results are discussed within the context of hypothesized arousal dysfunction underlying this disorder. Key Words: Hyperkinetic children--Hyperkinesis--NREM and REM sleep cycles--Spontaneous skin potential responses.

Spontaneous electrodermal activity during sleep and waking in cats.

ABSTRACTThis study examined the relationship between spontaneous skin potential responses (SSPRs) and the stages of sleep and waking in freely moving cats. Five adult cats were observed during 6 sleeping sessions of several hours each, permitting the analysis of several cycles of sleep in each session. Results showed a significant decrease in SSPR frequency through the different stages of vigilance, from waking, through drowsiness and slow wave sleep, to paradoxical sleep. During this last stage, spontaneous electrodermal activity was strongly reduced and few SSPRs appeared in bursts on a background of electrodermal silence. These results are discussed in relation to the known variations in spontaneous electrodermal activity in humans during sleep and in relation to the variations in some other physiological parameters during sleep.

Spontaneous skin potential responses during sleep: comparative studies in newborns and babies between 2 and 5 months of age.

1 The studies on 2—5 months babies were made possible through the courtesy of Dr. Gratadour and of the staff of the Port-Royal nursery in Paris.

Spontaneous skin potential responses in sleeping infants between 24 and 41 weeks of conceptional age.

ABSTRACTThe goal of this study was twofold: at which conceptional age do the spontaneous skin potential responses (SPRs) appear in premature infants; are they related to the sleep cycle as they are in human adults. Twenty nine sleeping infants, conceptional age (CA) 24 to 41 weeks, were investigated with polygraphic recordings. SPRs first appeared at 28 weeks. Their number increased rapidly after 30 weeks CA. They appeared mostly simultaneously with slow wave EEG activity which in premature infants is the EEG pattern of active sleep. Unlike the spontaneous SPRs which in adults occur mainly in NREM sleep, they are in premature and full term newborns well correlated with active (or REM) sleep. The relationships between spontaneous SPRs and autonomic or phasic events of sleep are also studied.

Activational and behavioral aspects of spontaneous skin potential responses in rats.

Spontaneous skin potential responses (spontaneous SPRs) were recorded from the foot pad of nonanesthetized and unrestrained rats. It was observed that frequency of spontaneous SPRs varied directly with the states of activation. A remarkable diminution of spontaneous SPRs was noted during the grooming and the face washing.

What is skin potential level?

ABSTRACTIn order to clarify the mechanism of skin potential level (SPL) measured on the foot pads of cats, 5 acute animals were used without any anesthetic drug. Spontaneous skin potential responses (SPRs) immediately disappeared after peripheral denervation, but SPL remained the same negative level as before. Moreover, this level reduced in negativity after death, gradually passing zero potential toward positivity. The existence of SPL after peripheral denervation or death suggests that a major portion of SPL can be conceived as an energy‐consuming bioelectrical potential having no relationship to central nervous system activation as considered previously.

Psychophysiological Significance of Skin Potential Activity in Monkeys

ABSTRACTSkin potential activity was measured on the palmar surface of waking monkeys. The skin potential reflex showed faster habituation to simple light stimuli than to complex sound stimuli. The frequency of spontaneous skin potential responses was higher in the noisy condition than in the rest condition.

Reinforcement of spontaneous electrodermal activity: a cross-cultural study in Japan.

ABSTRACTA within‐subjects experimental design was used to examine the effects of contingent vs noncontingent reinforcement of spontaneous skin potential responses in Japanese subjects and the results were compared with previous data obtained from a comparable sample, of American subjects. The same overall pattern of differentiation between the two conditions of reinforcement was observed in both national groups, contingent reinforcement producing heightened rates of skin potential response relative to noncontingent reinforcement. Compared to the Americans, the Japanese showed more immediate differentiation between contingent and noncontingent reinforcement. The results are discussed in terms of previous crosscultural psychophysiological research.

Operant control of spontaneous skin potential response in Japanese and American subjects: a comparative study

Recent research has shown that a variety of autonomic functions in humans can be modified by feedback and operant reinforcement. The aim of the present study was to determine whether operant techniques, which have been shown to be effective in American subjects, would yield comparable results in a different cultural setting.An experiment on the operant conditioning of spontaneous skin potential responses (SPRs) was replicated with a sample of Japanese subjects. For comparative purposes, the experimental design and procedures followed those previously used by Crider, Shapiro, and Tursky (1966) with American subjects, where intraindividual and interindividual comparisons were made between contingent reinforcement (CR) and noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) of spontaneous SPRs.By roughly matching subjects (Ss) in terms of resting level SPR rate, 20 female undergraduates were divided into two experimental groups: a CR-NCR sequence group and a NCR-CR sequence group. Subjects in the CR-NCR group were reinforced with a 70-db tone signifying a monetary bonus for each occurrence of a criterion SPR during an initial 20-min CR period, which was followed by a 20-min NCR period during which Ss received tones at the same rate as during CR but at points of no skin potential change and not less than 10-sec following any spontaneous SPR of criterion amplitude. In the NCR-CR group, the sequence of CR and NCR was reversed. In this group, NCR rates for each S were based on the rates obtained during CR by the matched S. In the analysis, for purposes of comparison, the number of criterion SPRs was transformed into a percentage score typically used in studies of operant electrodermal conditioning.Intergroup comparison revealed that CR and NCR became differentiated by the first 5-min interval and remained apart thereafter, CR producing a heightened rate of SPRs relative to that of NCR. In both 20-min periods, there were statistically significant main effects for CR compared to NCR. Intraindividual comparisons also revealed statistically significant differences between CR and NCR.The overall pattern between CR and NCR observed in Japanese subjects was in accord with that previously observed in American Ss. However, the Japanese Ss showed a larger and more rapid differentiation between CR and NCR. This difference could not be explained by variations in operant level or reinforcement density between the two samples. Previous findings reported by others concerning physiological responsivity of Japanese Ss were not reflected in the Japanese Ss of the present study.The significance of cross-cultural psychophysiological research using operant techniques was discussed from the viewpoint that autonomic learning under different conditions of reward can account for cultural differences in physiological responsivity.

Paradoxical sleep and spontaneous potential responses of the skin in kittens and adult cats

Paradoxical sleep and spontaneous potential responses of the skin in kittens and adult cats