Electrodermal Measures of Arousal in Humans With Cortical or Subcortical Brain Damage
Marlene Oscar‐Berman, Anders Gade
Abstract
In seeking to understand the relationship between central nervous system structures and human information-processing potential, numerous theories of attention have been proposed. Physiological measures consisted of thumb electrodermal activity and earlobe pulse volume during basal rest conditions and during a series of auditory stimuli. Results of the present study showed consistent hyporeactive arousal levels in Korsakoff and Huntington groups. In contrast, aphasic and Parkinson patients evidenced arousal levels within the range of neurologically intact subjects. Huntington patients have atrophy of the caudate nucleus, with some frontal cortical involvement as well. In short, neither Korsakoff’s syndrome nor Huntington’s chorea has a single deficit, and the damage causing the symptoms is not focal. Results of the present study underscore the necessity for identifying the contributions of deficits in arousal to other clinical symptoms and for evaluating the interaction of one type of deficit with another.