ISSN:
1469-8986
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
,
Psychology
Notes:
The present experiment utilized a habituation paradigm to investigate age differences in sweat gland counts (SGC), skin conductance responses (SCR), and skin conductance levels (SCL). The 12 young subjects (mean age 25.3 yrs) and the 12 old subjects (mean age 69.5 yrs) exhibited no reliable age differences in habituation of the SCR or in the magnitude of the SCRs measured. Bilateral conductance recordings revealed no laterality effects for SCR or SCL in either age group. Age differences were found for both SGC and SCL. Correlations of SGC with SCL revealed a strong relationship in the young (r= 74) and a relatively weak correspondence in the elderly (r= .22). The reverse was observed for SGC and SCR correlations, with the old sample showing consistently high correlations and the younger sample consistently low correlations. A stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the variance in SCL predicted by age was not independent of the variance predicted by differences in SGC. The data are discussed in terms of age-related change in peripheral factors which affect electrodermal behavior.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1980.tb00127.x
