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Dynamic causal modeling of spontaneous fluctuations in skin conductance.
- Source :
- Psychophysiology; Feb2011, Vol. 48 Issue 2, p252-257, 6p, 2 Graphs
- Publication Year :
- 2011
-
Abstract
- Spontaneous fluctuations (SF) in skin conductance are often used to index sympathetic arousal and emotional states. SF are caused by sudomotor nerve activity (SNA), which is a direct indicator of sympathetic arousal. Here, we describe a dynamic causal model (DCM) of how SNA causes SF, and apply variational Bayesian model inversion to infer SNA, given empirically observed SF. The estimated SNA bears a relationship to the number of SF as derived from conventional (semi-visual) analysis. Crucially, we show that, during public speaking induced anxiety, the estimated number of SNA bursts is a better predictor of the (known) psychological state than the number of SF. We suggest dynamic causal modeling of SF potentially allows a more precise and informed inference about arousal than purely descriptive methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- GALVANIC skin response
ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY
REFLEXES
ANXIETY
PHYSIOLOGY
NEUROLOGY
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00485772
- Volume :
- 48
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Psychophysiology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 57158771
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2010.01052.x