Somatic & Cognitive

Anxiety

BCIA V
Electrodermal Activity
Based on the didactic requirements for BCIA
certification in biofeedback

2 types of anxiety
Body anxiety Mind anxiety

Also called Also called

somatic anxiety cognitive anxiety

More physiological More psychological

Somatic Anxiety

The stress response and somatic anxiety

Fight or Flight = action responses

build up of adrenaline

release of sugar into blood

ready response with muscle tensing

Best treated with EMG and thermal bfb

AND - Physically based lifestyle changes
like improved diet, exercise and quality
sleep (sleep hygiene training)

BCIA 5c - ANS 1
 Cognitive Anxiety

The stress response & cognitive anxiety

apprehensive expectedness

hypervigilence

“what if”… thinking

Best treated with GSR biofeedback

Emotionally based lifestyle changes like
meditation, mindfulness, bibliotherapy and
psychotherapy (RET, CBT, SIT, supportive
and insight therapies)

The Stress Response

Adaptive nature of hand sweating

improves grip & lowers skin abrasion
(spitting on hands)

Adaptive nature of body sweating

communication (odor familiarity)

improves body cooling

Physiology of electrodermal activity

[EDA]

It is cholinergic

Acetyl choline (Ach) is released at the nerve
ending

[Adrenergic means norepinephrine (adrenaline) is
released at the nerve ending]

2 types of sweat glands
1) eccrine (merocrine) - most common-located over
most of the body but concentrated in hands and
feet
2) apocrine - armpits and genital area –
communication & cooling

BCIA 5c - ANS 2
 History of Galvanic Skin Response
in Physiology

Galvani’s Theory

Luigi Galvani (1737-1798)

The relationship between electricity &
the body

The life force

Alessandro Volta (1745-1827)

Not life force - created the 1st battery

History of Galvanic Skin Response

in Physiology

Vigouroux (1879 study)

1st observation of psychological factors in EDA

measured skin resistance in cases of hysterical
amnesia

Charles Fere (1888 study)

may have been 1st usage of term GSR

1st study of arousal theory and GSR

History of Galvanic Skin Response

in Physiology

Tarchanoff (1848-1909)

wrote the first paper (1890) on the “psycho-
galvanometer”

The GSR is sometimes referred to as the
Tarchanoff Response

BCIA 5c - ANS 3
 History of Galvanic Skin Response
in Physiology

Carl Jung (1875-1961)

used in word association experiments

Studies in Word Analysis published in 1906

Studying “emotionally charged” words

observing invisible “emotional tone”

“so…tell me about your mother”

Tarchanoff Response

The change in electrical potential
across neurons of the autonomic
nervous system connected to the
sensori-motor strip of the cortex

Relates to the level of cortical arousal

SMR protocol for ADHD and sleep

disorders

Jungian (psychoanalytic)
use of GSR

The Higher Self knows the objective

truth and, when in conflict with
distorted concepts, causes reactive
arousal.

The rise and fall of GSR relates to
stimulation of repressed mental
conflicts.

BCIA 5c - ANS 4
 psycho-galvanometer

2 forms of EDA
Skin Conductance Skin Potential
(mhos) (volts)
Skin conductance level (SCL)
Skin potential level
Tonic = overall SNS arousal level

Skin conductance response (SCR)

Phasic = arousal generated by a Skin potential response
stimulus

In s. conductance, an external In s. potential we are measuring the

current is passed through the skin inherent potentials generated by the skin

exosomatic endosomatic

SCL SCR
skin conductance level skin conductance response

Tonic
Phasic

baseline
reactivity

BCIA 5c - ANS 5
 Ohm’s Law & GSR

V=IxR

Voltage equals current times resistance

Volts equals amps times ohms

The greater number of sweat glands that are active

The more moisture is generated

The more current is allowed to flow or the greater
the conductance (or, the less the resistance)

Conductance and resistance are inversely related,
or R = 1/C

The units for GSR are µmhos

The units of resistance is the ohm

Spelled backwards it’s mho

The units of conductance are mhos

The amount of mhos in the body is

small so we speak of micromhos

Measuring GSR

Sensors placed on volar surface of the hand

About 2000 sweat glands per square inch

Pattern recognition

“flat line” = low conductance with little or no
reactivity - Nonresponsive pattern ∝ helplessness,
detachment and/or over control

≤ 5µmhos relaxed

> 10 µmhos agitated

> 20 µmohs r/o anxiety disorder

BCIA 5c - ANS 6
 Biofeedback session

Excesses in variability (labile pattern)

too responsive to external/internal stimuli

shy/high self-consciousness

“sumo” training - staying centered

Using a circle graph on the feedback screen, the
patient’s goal is to stay inside circle (the
threshold)…the therapist’s job is to push her/he
out of the circle with cognitive challenges (noise
distractions, imagery suggestions, etc.)

Increases in GSR often follow stressful thinking

Here a student began thinking about the work of her dissertation

This GSR pattern is labile (lots of variability) during

each stress challenge
On the Psychophysiological Stress Profile

BCIA 5c - ANS 7
 This GSR pattern is labile (lots of variability).
Highest peak occurred during Anticipation
Challenge on the Psychophysiological Stress Profile

The Impact of Diversity on

Psychophysiology
Class discussion

socio-economic status

poor dietary habits may be due to financial
strains

Exercise may not be possible for someone
working 2 jobs!

access to health care resources

cultural norms

Emotional taboos and expectations

BCIA 5c - ANS 8