Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)

Galvanic skin response

(GSR)

Version 3.0 November 2012

Jan Peuscher
 Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)

Table of Contents
1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1

2 Measurement set-up ...................................................................................................... 2

3 Tests .............................................................................................................................. 2
 Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)

1 Introduction
The Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) is defined as a change in the electrical properties of the
skin. The signal can be used for capturing the autonomic nerve responses as a parameter of
the sweat gland function. The measurement is relatively simple, and has a good
repeatability. Therefore the GSR measurement can be considered to be a simple and useful
tool for examination of the autonomous nervous system function, and especially the
peripheral sympathetic system.

Several terms are used for this phenomena, such as EDA (electrodermal activity), EDR
(electrodermal response), EDL (electrodermal level), SCA (skin conductance activity), SCR
(skin conductance response), and a lot more.

Out of the number of terms used for this phenomenon, it is clear that GSR has more than
one property. It can be described in terms of conductance, resistance and electro-
physiological potential. The electro-physiological signal is generated by the sweat glands,
and the sweat is probably the origin of the variation in resistance and conductivity, although
the vaso-dilatation and -constriction may also play an important role.

The GSR can be measured using several measurement methods:

 Electro-physiological measurement like ECG or EMG.

 Variation in resistance or conductivity.
 A combination of these two.

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 Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)

2 Measurement set-up
In most cases, the GSR is measured using a part of the skin having a lot of sweat glands. As
a reference you can use a part of the skin with less or no sweat glands, or measure in the
same area as the active electrode.

The skin on the palm or vola surface of the hand contains up to 2000 sweat glands per
square centimeter. When measuring with ECG electrodes the “active” electrode is placed on
the palm, and the reference could be placed on the dorsal part of the same hand.

When finger electrodes are used, the index finger and the middle finger are used as shown in
figure 1.

Figure 1: Sensor placement when measuring the GSR.

3 Tests

Several tests were performed. First of all, the real impedance of the skin was measured.
When a sudden deep breath (inhalation) is performed, the autonomic nervous system will
always give a response, measured as a GSR. In figure 2, this response is measured as an
impedance variation from the skin. A sine wave having a frequency of 2 kHz is used to
calculate the impedance of the skin. This type of measurement is known from the EEG
measurements, where the electrode impedance often is measured. Bandwidth of the
impedance signal was DC up to 5 Hz.

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 Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)

Figure 2: Impedance signal caused by sudden inhalation.

The second trace (square wave) indicates the points of sudden inhalation.

Secondly we have compared the electro-physiological signal and the impedance signal. The
bandwidth of the impedance signal is DC up to 5 Hz, and again the used generator signal
was 2 kHz. Bandwidth of the electro-physiological signal was 0.01 Hz up to 5 Hz. And the
sampling frequency was 100 Hz. In figure 3, both signals are shown, as is the square wave
indicating the points of sudden inhalation.

Figure 3: Galvanic skin response measured with:

a: electrophysiological measurement, upper trace.
b: the impedance measurement, lower trace.
EAG = ElectroAutonoGram

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 Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)

Thirdly I have investigated the combination of the two. But now the resistance is measured
using a DC current. In that way you always measure the electrical signal and the impedance
signal at the same time and in the same way. The electrical signal and the impedance signal
are more or less added together. In figure 4, the result is shown.

Figure 4: DC impedance measurement.

This measurement shows that this measurement gives much better results than the real
impedance measurement. The amplitudes are about ten times higher.
To see whether the DC impedance measurement gives the same waveform as the electro-
physiological measurement I have performed a fourth measurement, using small electrodes
very close to each other. Two parallel measurements were performed: DC impedance and
electro-physiological.

In figure 5 the result of this measurement is depicted. The upper trace shows the result of the
electro-physiological measurement. The second trace reflects the measurement of the DC
impedance measurement. It is clear that the DC impedance measurement gives the same
waveform as the electro-physiological measurement. The amplitude is very high, about
60 mV.

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Figure 5: Simultaneously measured EAG and DC impedance.

The upper trace shows the DC impedance measurement. The second trace shows the
electro-physiological measured signal, the EAG. It is clear, that both signals are very much
the same. Both measurement techniques are giving the same results. The third trace (square
wave) indicates where the sudden inhalation was performed. Both signals show a smooth
and stable result.

The module that TMSi is using today is based on the DC impedance measurement
technique.

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