Psychophysiological Assessment of Expressed Emotion in Schizophrenia: A Case Example

1984 ◽  
Vol 145 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Tarrier ◽  
Christine Barrowclough
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Activity ◽  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Expressed Emotion ◽  
Skin Conductance Level ◽  
Personal Distress ◽  
Psychophysiological Response ◽  
Psychophysiological Assessment ◽  
Schizophrenic Patients ◽  
Case Assessment ◽  
Conductance Level

SummaryPrevious research has demonstrated a different psychophysiological response of schizophrenic patients depending on whether their key relative was rated high or low on Expressed Emotion (EE). A case assessment is described in which a young man suffering from schizophrenia, who lived with both a high EE and a low EE parent, was tested psychophysiologically in their presence using an ABAC design. The patient demonstrated a significantly higher amount of spontaneous activity in skin conductance level when the high EE parent was present. The high EE parent also demonstrated a greater perceived inability to cope, and a higher level of personal distress.

Emotional processing and the autonomic nervous system: a comprehensive meta-analytic investigation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Silva Moreira ◽  
Pedro Chaves ◽  
Nuno Dias ◽  
Patrício Costa ◽  
Pedro Rocha Almeida
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Autonomic Nervous System ◽  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Skin Conductance Level ◽  
The Body ◽  
Analytic Investigation ◽  
Physiological Basis ◽  
Autonomic Nervous ◽  
Conductance Level

Background: The search for autonomic correlates of emotional processing has been a matter of interest for the scientific community with the goal of identifying the physiological basis of emotion. Despite an extensive state-of-the-art exploring the correlates of emotion, there is no absolute consensus regarding how the body processes an affective state.Objectives: In this work, we aimed to aggregate the literature of psychophysiological studies in the context of emotional induction. Methods: For this purpose, we conducted a systematic review of the literature and a meta-analytic investigation, comparing different measures from the electrodermal, cardiovascular, respiratory and facial systems across emotional categories/dimensions. Two-hundred and ninety-one studies met the inclusion criteria and were quantitatively pooled in random-effects meta-analytic modelling. Results: Heart rate and skin conductance level were the most reported psychophysiological measures. Overall, there was a negligible differentiation between emotional categories with respect to the pooled estimates. Of note, considerable amount of between-studies’ heterogeneity was found in the meta-analytic aggregation. Self-reported ratings of emotional arousal were found to be associated with specific autonomic-nervous system (ANS) indices, particularly with the variation of the skin conductance level. Conclusions: Despite this clear association, there is still a considerable amount of unexplained variability that raises the need for more fine-grained analysis to be implemented in future research in this field.

Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing versus exposure in vivo

1997 ◽  
Vol 171 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Muris ◽  
Harald Merckelbach ◽  
Hans Van Haaften ◽  
Birgit Mayer
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movement ◽  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Skin Conductance Level ◽  
Specific Phobia ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Additional Value ◽  
Conductance Level

BackgroundEye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) is a relatively new therapeutic technique that has been proposed as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety complaints.MethodWe compared the efficacy of EMDR with that of exposure in viv. in the treatment of a specific phobia. Twenty-two spider-phobic children who met the DSM – III – R criteria for specific phobia participated in the study. Children were treated with one session of exposure in viv. and one session of EMDR in a crossover design. Treatment outcome was evaluated by self-report measures, a behavioural avoidance test and a physiological index (skin conductance level).ResultsResults showed positive effects of EMDR, but also suggest that it is especially self-report measures that are sensitive to EMDR. Improvement on a behavioural measure was less pronounced, and exposure in viv. was found to be superior in reducing avoidance behaviour. With regard to skin conductance level, EMDR and exposure in viv. did not differ.ConclusionsEMDR has no additional value in treatment of this type of animal phobia, for which exposure in viv. is the treatment of choice.

scholarly journals Physiological synchrony promotes cooperative success in real-life interactions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Behrens ◽  
J. A. Snijdewint ◽  
R. G. Moulder ◽  
E. Prochazkova ◽  
E. E. Sjak-Shie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Cooperative Behavior ◽  
Skin Conductance Level ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Dyadic Interaction ◽  
Gut Feelings ◽  
The Face ◽  
Social Decision Making ◽  
Conductance Level

AbstractCooperation is pivotal for society to flourish and prosper. To ease cooperation, humans express and read emotions and intentions via explicit signals or subtle reflections of arousal visible in the face. Evidence is accumulating that humans synchronize these nonverbal expressions, as well as the physiological mechanisms underlying them, potentially promoting cooperative behavior. The current study is designed to verify the existence of this putative linkage between synchrony and cooperation. To that extent, 152 participants played multiple rounds of the Prisoner’s Dilemma game in a naturalistic dyadic interaction setting. During one round of games they could see each other, and during a second round they could not. The results showed that when people’s heart rate and skin conductance level aligned, they cooperated more successfully. Interestingly, for skin conductance level synchrony to boost cooperation, face to face contact was essential. The effect of heart rate synchrony on cooperation was context independent. Skin conductance level, but not heart rate, tended to closely correlate with changes in pupil size and we discuss how the pupil might provide a window to partners’ sympathetic arousal. These findings show how unconscious mechanisms guide social behavior and emphasize the importance of studying social processes between rather than within individuals in real-life interactions.Significance StatementHuman cooperation is remarkable in its scale, complexity, and efficiency. However, whereas people think of themselves as rational agents, they actually partly base their decision to cooperate with someone on gut feelings. These feelings are informed by non-verbal expressions that are picked up implicitly and that synchronize across interaction partners. For the first time, we show that the alignment of people’s arousal over multiple rounds of the Prisoners’ dilemma game predicts cooperative success. Through synchrony, partners converge emotionally, fostering understanding and bonding, which are key ingredients when it comes to successful cooperation. This suggests that successfully cooperating does not depend on individuals, but on the connection between individuals, emphasizing the importance of studying social decision-making processes in real-life settings.

scholarly journals It’s not over yet: The impact of worry on emotional recovery

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 204380872092994
Author(s):  
Jayne Morriss ◽  
Nicolò Biagi ◽  
Carien M. van Reekum
Keyword(s):  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Emotional Reactivity ◽  
Skin Conductance Level ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Corrugator Supercilii ◽  
Emotional Pictures ◽  
Emotional Recovery ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Conductance Level

Emotional reactivity and recovery are crucial for maintaining well-being. It remains unknown, however, to what extent emotion modulates the time course of recovery assessed using a simple categorization task and how this varies based on individual differences in worry. To address these questions, 35 participants viewed emotional pictures, followed by abstract greeble targets, which were to be categorized. Greebles were presented between 100 ms and 4,000 ms after picture offset. Physiological measures including skin conductance level and the corrugator supercilii were recorded and served as indicators of responsivity to emotional pictures. Measures of reaction time (RT) and accuracy scores were taken as indicators of the impact of emotion on facilitation or interference to the greeble target. Effects of interference and facilitation were observed up to 4,000 ms after emotional pictures on RT and accuracy scores. High worry was associated with greater (1) corrugator supercilii and skin conductance level to negative versus positive and neutral pictures and (2) interference from emotional pictures on accuracy scores. Overall, these findings suggest that subsequent processing is still impacted up to 4,000 ms after the offset of emotional pictures, particularly for negative events in individuals with high worry.

Skin Conductance Reactivity as a Moderator of Associations Between Youth Perceptions of Neighborhood Stress and Depressive Symptoms

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
pp. 1154-1176
Author(s):  
Anne C. Fletcher ◽  
Cheryl Buehler ◽  
Amy L. McCurdy ◽  
Bridget B. Weymouth
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Public Speaking ◽  
Skin Conductance Level ◽  
Young Adolescents ◽  
Youth Perceptions ◽  
Conductance Level ◽  
Speaking Task ◽  
Neighborhood Stress

Young adolescents ( N = 68) completed questionnaires concerning perceptions of neighborhood stress (i.e., high negative influences, low cohesion, and connectedness). Youth self-reported their own depressive symptoms and participated in a public speaking task designed to be moderately stressful. Increases in skin conductance in response to this laboratory-based challenge task were measured (i.e., skin conductance level reactivity; SCLR). Higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with greater perceptions of neighborhood stress, with the effects of neighborhood stress particularly strong among boys. For boys only, the association between perceived neighborhood stress and depressive symptoms was moderated by SCLR. For boys with average or above average levels of SCLR, greater perceptions of neighborhood stress were associated with more depressive symptoms.

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