Mobile assessment of heightened skin conductance in posttraumatic stress disorder

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Rebecca Hinrichs, Emory University; Vasiliki Michopoulos, Emory University; Sterling Winters, Emory University; Barbara O Rothbaum, Emory University; Kerry Ressler, Emory University; Tanja Jovanovic, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2017-06-01
• Publisher: Wiley: 12 months
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/da.22610
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Depression and Anxiety
• ISSN: 1091-4269
• Volume: 34
• Issue: 6
• Start Page: 502
• End Page: 507
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by the Research and Woodruff Health Sciences IT Division (UL1 TR000424), Howard Hughes Medical Institute (KJR), R01 MH094757 (KJR), K12 HD085850 (VM), R21 MH106902 (TJ), and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation.; The work was supported by funding from NIH.
• Keywords: IMAGERY; diagnosis; Psychology; posttraumatic stress disorder; PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT; Science & Technology; implementation; REACTIVITY; EXPOSURE; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Social Sciences; dissemination; biological markers; assessment; RESEARCH DOMAIN CRITERIA; DIAGNOSIS; Psychology, Clinical; trauma; Psychiatry; PTSD; VETERANS
• Research Categories: Psychology, Behavioral; Psychology, General

Abstract

Background: Increased psychophysiological reactivity is a hallmark intermediate phenotype of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Individuals with PTSD exhibit greater skin conductance (SC) responses to trauma scripts than trauma survivors without PTSD. However, trauma scripts require time for development and cannot be easily used in a single visit. Thus, there is a need for a low-cost, easy-to-use, SC recording protocol for PTSD assessment. Methods: Using a mobile device (eSense) connected to a portable tablet computer, we assessed SC reactivity to a standard trauma interview (STI) in 63 participants recruited from Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, GA, approximately 1 year after trauma exposure. SC response (SCR) was calculated by subtracting the SC level (SCL) at the end of the baseline recording from the maximum SCL during the STI. Results: SCL was significantly higher during the STI compared to baseline (P <.001), and individuals with PTSD showed significantly greater SCR than individuals without PTSD (P =.006). Logistic regression using SCR with PTSD diagnosis as the outcome showed an odds ratio of 1.76 (95% CI: 1.11–2.78). Lastly, higher SCR during the STI was also significantly associated with PTSD symptom total score controlling for demographics and trauma severity (b = 0.42, P =.001). Conclusions: The current study demonstrated feasibility of the use of a mobile device for assessing psychophysiological reactivity in those with PTSD. The use of this low-cost, easy-to-use mobile device to collect objective physiological data in concert with a STI can be easily disseminated in clinical and research settings.