title: Mobile assessment of heightened skin conductance in posttraumatic stress disorder.
abstract: 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.
  
  
  
  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.
  
  
  
  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).
  
  
  
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hinrichs
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.|Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Vasiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Michopoulos
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Sterling
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Winters
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Alex O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Rothbaum
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Barbara O
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Rothbaum
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.|Harvard/McLean Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Kerry J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Ressler
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jovanovic
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D063731:Mobile Applications; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis*
keywords: PTSD/posttraumatic stress disorder; assessment/diagnosis; biological markers; dissemination/implementation; trauma