Research techniques: Skin conductance response

Skin conductance response (SCR, also called galvanic skin response [GSR] and electrodermal activity [EDA]) is a measure of bodily (autonomic) arousal. The SCR is caused by sympathetic nervous system activation, which changes the levels of sweat in the eccrine sweat glands and has been shown to be linked to measures of emotion, arousal and attention. Its most well known application is in lie-detection (polygraph) equipment.

Conventional SCR equipment is not MRI-compatible and the possibility of bi-directional interference between the SCR leads and MRI signal is high. We are currently developing SCR equipment which we will be able to use in an fMRI brain scanner. This will allow us to record both the cognitive (brain) and autonomic (bodily arousal) response to emotionally arousing situations.

Ultimately we wish to examine whether the interaction of cognitive and autonomic responses is 'abnormal' in certain patient groups, and whether this abnormal interaction can be related to specific symptoms.