Skin Conductance Response during Laboratory Stress in Combat Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Skin conductance response is a commonly used psychophysiological measure due to the ease of collection and low cost. Skin Conductance Response (SCR) reflects sympathetic activation because palmar sweat glands are innervated by the sympathetic chain of the autonomic nervous system. There is also a high correlation between bursts of sympathetic nerve activity and SCR. Additionally, activation of cortical emotion regulation areas known to be altered in posttraumatic stress disorder is associated with elicitation of SCR.

A number of studies have assessed SCR in people with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Most studies have observed increased reactivity to a variety of stimuli while others have not. However, no study has examined the relationship between SCR and the PTSD symptom clusters of re-experiencing, numbingavoiding, and hyper-arousal. Assessing the relationship between the individual PTSD symptom components and SCR may elucidate which aspects of PTSD psychopathology are most indicative of heightened sympathetic activity.

The primary objective of this study was to assess SCR in combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder compared to combatexposed and non-combat exposed controls in response to a laboratory stressor. The primary hypothesis was that combat veterans with PTSD would have increased SCR compared to controls. The secondary objective was to evaluate the relationship between SCR and posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters.