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Three-electrode method to study event-related responses in skin electrical potential, admittance and blood flow

  • Physiological Measurement
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Abstract

To investigate a broader spectrum of responses to the activity of efferent sympathetic nerve endings in blood vessels and sweat glands of the human palmar skin, we have developed a method to measure skin potential, skin unipolar electrical admittance (conductance and capacitance), skin blood flow, and skin temperature simultaneously at the same site of human palmar skin. The electrical variables were measured with a specially designed probe and a three electrode lock-in amplifier measuring system. The aim of the paper is to evaluate this method and its potential application in clinical work. The experimental results from five subjects during 5 min of baseline condition and during repeated acoustic stimulation are presented. The skin temperature was displayed digitally. During basal condition the activities in skin electrical variables and in blood vessel vasomotion were largely independent (asynchronous), whereas efferent sympathetic discharges due to stimulation were followed by parallel evoked responses in skin admittance, skin potential and skin blood flow. Habituation to the repeated stimuli occurred differently in the four variables.

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Abbreviations

A :

amplification of open-loop operational amplifier

c :

subscript referring to current-carrying electrode

C :

skin electrical capacitance

CNS:

central nervous system

E:

electrode

EDA:

electrodermal activity

f :

frequency

F :

skin blood flux value

G :

skin electrical conductance

i :

current

j :

√−1

m :

subscript referring to measuring electrode

OA:

operational amplifier

P :

skin potential

r :

subscript referring to electrical reference electrode

Rs :

shunt resistor

SBF:

skin blood flow

t :

time

T :

skin temperature

U :

endosomatic skin potential

U ex :

excitation voltage

V :

potential difference betweenE m andE c

Y :

skin electrical admittance

Z :

skin electrical impedance

Z mc :

deep tissue segmental impedance

Δ:

event-related response

ω:

2πf

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Author notes

  1. Z. -G. Qiao (research fellow)

    Present address: Shanghai Medical Instrumentation College, Shanghai, China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Surgical Research, Rikshospitalet, 0027, Oslo 1, Norway

    Z. -G. Qiao (research fellow) & L. Morkrid

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rikshospitalet, 0027, Oslo 1, Norway

    Z. -G. Qiao (research fellow) & S. Grimnes

  3. Institute of Physiology, University of Oslo, Blindern, Box 1071, Oslo 3, Norway

    L. Morkrid

  4. Research Institute of Neuropsychiatry, Dikemark Hospital, 1385, Solberg, Norway

    Z. -G. Qiao (research fellow) & L. Morkrid

Authors
  1. Z. -G. Qiao
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  2. L. Morkrid
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  3. S. Grimnes
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Qiao, Z.G., Morkrid, L. & Grimnes, S. Three-electrode method to study event-related responses in skin electrical potential, admittance and blood flow. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput. 25, 567–572 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02441751

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02441751

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