title: Electrodermal Activity in Adolescent Depression.
abstract: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by dysphoric mood, which may be accompanied by suicidal ideation. It is supposed that MDD is associated with dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system, but studies in pediatric patients are rare. Therefore, we aimed to study the relationship between MDD and autonomic regulation in adolescence using the electrodermal activity as an index of sympathetic cholinergic control. We examined 25 adolescents suffering from MDD without comorbidities and prior to pharmacotherapy (13 girls, mean age 14.6 ± 0.4 year) and 25 age/gender-matched healthy control subjects. The electrodermal activity was continuously recorded during 5 min of supine rest. The value of this activity in μS was averaged for each minute of the recording. We found that in depressed patients, electrodermal activity was significantly lower each minute of the recording compared to that in the control group. The study demonstrates electrodermal hypoactivity in adolescent patients with MDD, which points to dysfunctional regulation of the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system. This finding could represent a potential pathomechanism leading to higher risk of negative health outcomes in pediatric depressed patients. Further research is needed to elucidate the incompletely understood interaction between MDD and autonomic regulatory outputs at young age.
authors.affiliation: Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin (JFM CU), Department of Physiology JFM CU and Biomedical Center Martin JFM CU, Comenius University in Bratislava, Martin, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mestanikova
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Psychiatry, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in Bratislava, University Hospital Martin, Martin, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ondrejka
authors.affiliation: Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin (JFM CU), Department of Physiology JFM CU and Biomedical Center Martin JFM CU, Comenius University in Bratislava, Martin, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mestanik
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Psychiatry, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in Bratislava, University Hospital Martin, Martin, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hrtanek
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Psychiatry, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in Bratislava, University Hospital Martin, Martin, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Snircova
authors.affiliation: Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin (JFM CU), Department of Physiology JFM CU and Biomedical Center Martin JFM CU, Comenius University in Bratislava, Martin, Slovak Republic. tonhajzerova@jfmed.uniba.sk.|Department of Physiology, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, 4C Mala Hora, 036 01, Martin, Slovakia. tonhajzerova@jfmed.uniba.sk.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tonhajzerova
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis
keywords: Autonomic nervous system; Cardiovascular risk; Major depressive disorder; Pediatric patients; Sympathetic activity