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ECCRINE SWEAT GLAND ACTIVITY AND RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN RESTING SKIN CONDUCTANCE
Author(s) -
Johnson Laverne C.,
Landon Marvin M.
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.1965.tb03264.x
Subject(s) - skin conductance , sweat , sweat gland , psychology , heart rate , eccrine sweat gland , basal (medicine) , skin temperature , endocrinology , medicine , conductance , blood pressure , chemistry , dermatology , combinatorics , insulin , biomedical engineering , mathematics
Active eccrine sweat gland activity was measured in 30 Negro and 29 Caucasian male subjects to determine whether sweat gland activity was a possible factor in racial differences in skin conductance. Basal skin conductance, heart rate, respiratory rate, finger skin temperature and blood pressure were also obtained. Negro S s had significantly lower skin conductance but no other significant physiological differences were found. While there was no significant difference in number of active sweat glands between the races, the intragroup relationship between sweat gland count and skin conductance was significantly higher for the Negro S s. The two groups did not differ in number of nonspecific galvanic skin responses (GSRs) but the Caucasian S s showed greater change in skin conductance to an initial tone stimulus. When differences in prestimulus levels were taken into account, the group differences in response to stimuli were no longer significant.