The measurement of electrodermal activity (EDA), a change in the balance between positive and negative ions across the dermal bioelectrical field, is a means of unique and dynamic assessment insight for clinicians and therapists in diverse fields of healthcare practice, including physical therapy, mental health, and acupuncture, just to name a few. In fact, EDA is understood as an objective measure of pathophysiological and pathopsychological disturbances.[1-15] Using EDA assessment on the auricular microsystem — the most representative somatotopic projection of neural reflex zones as recognized by the World Health Organization[16] — therapists can efficiently identify, measure, and compare the relative importance of physical and psychological disturbances.[17-28] These disturbances can then be regulated (e.g. treated) with neuro-auricular modulation.[24-28] The effectiveness of which, in turn, can again be measured by EDA.
Example in Physical Therapy
In physical therapy, EDA can be used as means for identifying active neural states that require attention.[2, 4, 29-30] Clients/patients with conditions requiring physical therapy, often suffer from an imbalance between sympathetic and parasympathetic activity — resulting in stress and therapy resistance. Understanding which anatomical and functional aspects are specifically associated with individual neural disturbances, offers the therapists insight for priming the nervous system to receive physical therapy,[31-32] as well as further treatment using neuro-auricular modulatory regulation of disturbed neural states for physical release.
Example in Mental Health Care
Therapists can gain improved insight in identifying defense mechanisms and target memories for a neurobiological-focused psychotherapeutic approach using EDA as an objective measure of the relative importance of underlying issues — helping focus treatment with improved client insight and providing neuro-auricular regulation to facilitate processing and psychosomatic release.
Example in Acupuncture
Acupuncturists who use palpation of the Vascular Autonomic Signal (an autonomic nervous system response to stimuli), are able to add significant precision to their point finding.[25-26]
Editor’s note: CIAM training in Auricular Medicine, delivers clinicians the skills to measure EDA for assessment and treatment, as well as an understanding of available clinical tools to achieve reliable EDA insights.
REFERENCES
[1] Fang Li, MD, Tian He, MD, Qian Xu, MD, Li-Ting Lin, MD, Hui Li, MD, Yan Liu, MD, Guang-Xia Shi, MD, Cun-Zhi Liu, MD, PhD, What is the Acupoint? A preliminary review of Acupoints, Pain Medicine, Volume 16, Issue 10, October 2015, Pages 1905–1915, https://doi.org/10.1111/pme.12761
[2] Colbert AP, Spaulding KP, Ahn AC, Cutro JA. Clinical utility of electrodermal activity at acupuncture points: a narrative review. Acupunct Med. 2011 Dec;29(4):270-5. doi: 10.1136/acupmed-2011-010021. Epub 2011 Oct 14. PMID: 22002962.
[3] Borlack RE, Shan S, Zong AM, Khlevner J, Garbers S, Gold MA. Electrodermal Activity of Auricular Acupoints in Pediatric Patients With Functional Abdominal Pain Disorders. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2021 Aug 1;73(2):184-191. doi: 10.1097/MPG.0000000000003137. PMID: 33853109.
[4] Usichenko TI, Wetzel B, Paul J, Lysenyuk V, Hahnenkamp K, Fleckenstein J. Auricular Acupoints with Reduced Skin Resistance: Detection in Patients Scheduled for Hip Arthroplasty. Med Acupunct. 2018;30(6):308-312. doi:10.1089/acu.2018.1314
[5] Kim, A.Y., Jang, E.H., Kim, S. et al. Automatic detection of major depressive disorder using electrodermal activity. Sci Rep 8, 17030 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-35147-3
[6] Litwińska-Bołtuć M, Święcicki Ł, Spreco A, Timpka T. Clinical effectiveness of the electrodermal orienting reactivity test for evaluating relapse and recurrence risk in patients hospitalized for depression. BMC Psychiatry. 2021 Feb 10;21(1):88. doi: 10.1186/s12888-021-03088-3. PMID: 33568134; PMCID: PMC7877008.
[7] Bogren L, Bogren IB, Thorell LH. Defense Mechanism Test and electrodermal activity. Percept Mot Skills. 1998 Aug;87(1):279-90. doi: 10.2466/pms.1998.87.1.279. PMID: 9760659.
[8] Sarchiapone, M., Gramaglia, C., Iosue, M., Carli, V., Mandelli, L., Serretti, A., Marangon, D., & Zeppegno, P. (2018). The association between electrodermal activity (EDA), depression and suicidal behaviour: A systematic review and narrative synthesis. BMC Psychiatry, 18, Article 22. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-017-1551-4
[9] Iacono WG, Lykken DT, Peloquin LJ, Lumry AE, Valentine RH, Tuason VB. Electrodermal Activity in Euthymic Unipolar and Bipolar Affective Disorders: A Possible Marker for Depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1983;40(5):557–565. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1983.01790050083010
[10] Zahn TP, Nurnberger JI, Berrettini WH. Electrodermal Activity in Young Adults at Genetic Risk for Affective Disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1989;46(12):1120–1124. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1989.01810120062010
[11] J. Kritikos, G. Tzannetos, C. Zoitaki, S. Poulopoulou and D. Koutsouris, "Anxiety detection from Electrodermal Activity Sensor with movement & interaction during Virtual Reality Simulation," 2019 9th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering (NER), 2019, pp. 571-576, doi: 10.1109/NER.2019.8717170.
[12] Greco A, Valenza G, Scilingo EP. Advances in electrodermal activity processing with applications for mental health: From heuristic methods to convex optimization. Advances in Electrodermal Activity Processing with Applications for Mental Health: From Heuristic Methods to Convex Optimization. Springer International Publishing; 2016.
[13] Valenza, G., & Scilingo, E. P. (Eds.). (2014). Autonomic nervous system dynamics for mood and emotional-state recognition: Significant advances in data acquisition, signal processing and classification. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02639-8
[14] Kushki A, Fairley J, Merja S, King G, Chau T. Comparison of blood volume pulse and skin conductance responses to mental and affective stimuli at different anatomical sites. Physiol Meas. 2011 Oct;32(10):1529-39. doi: 10.1088/0967-3334/32/10/002. Epub 2011 Aug 18. PMID: 21849720; PMCID: PMC5028198.
[15] Ericsson AD, Pittaway K, Lai R. Electrodermal Analysis: A Scientific Correlation with Pathophysiology. IHT BioScan website. 2003. Accessed February 2022. https://www.ihtbio.com/ResearchStudies/ElectroDermal%20Analysis.pdf
[17] Stanton G. Auriculotherapy in Neurology as an Evidence-Based Medicine: A Brief Overview. Med Acupunct. 2018;30(3):130–132.
[18] Liebell D. The Science of Auricular Microsystem Acupuncture: Amygdala Function in Psychiatric, Neuromusculoskeletal, and Functional Disorders. Med Acupunct. 2019;31(3):157-163. doi:10.1089/acu.2019.1339
[19] Alimi D. Medical Auriculotherapy: Scientific Bases, Principals and Therapeutic Strategies.[in French]. Paris: Elsevier–Masson; 2017
[20] Alimi D, Geissmann A, Gardeur D. Auricular acupuncture stimulation measured on functional magnetic resonance imaging. Med Acupunct. 2002;13(2):18–21
[21] Alimi D, Geissmann A, Gardeur D, Bahr F. Study in fMRI of the stimulation of the auricular areas of the knee as the French–German and Chinese localizations. J Radiol Photon. 2014;(125):133–141
[22] Romoli M, Allais G, Airola G, et al. . Ear acupuncture and fMRI: A pilot study for assessing the specificity of auricular points. Neurol Sci. 2014;35(suppl1):189–193
[23] Yoshida T, Tanaka C, Umeda M, Higuchi T, Fukunaga M, Naruse S. Non-invasive measurement of brain activity using functional MRI: Toward the study of brain response to acupuncture stimulation. Am J Chin Med. 1995;23(3–4):319–325
[24] Yoshizumi AM, Asis DG, Luz FA. Auricular Chromotherapy in the Treatment of Psychologic Trauma, Phobias, and Panic Disorder. Medical Acupuncture. 2018:30(3), 151–154. https://doi.org/10.1089/acu.2018.1281
[25] Agnes, Muriel. Auricular Medicine: Window to the Brain. Blurb, 2018
[26] Strittmatter B. Identifying and Treating Blockages to Healing: New Approaches to Therapy-Resistant Patients. Stuttgart, Germany: Thieme; 2004: V, 128.
[27] Strittmatter B. Ear Acupuncture: A Precise Pocket Atlas Based on the Works of Nogier/Bahr. Stuttgart, Germany: Thieme; 2011: iii-iv, 240.
[28] Mercante B, Deriu F, Rangon CM. Auricular Neuromodulation: The Emerging Concept beyond the Stimulation of Vagus and Trigeminal Nerves. Medicines (Basel). 2018;5(1):10. Published 2018 Jan 21. doi:10.3390/medicines5010010
[29] Zangróniz R, Martínez-Rodrigo A, Pastor JM, López MT, Fernández-Caballero A. Electrodermal Activity Sensor for Classification of Calm/Distress Condition. Sensors (Basel). 2017 Oct 12;17(10):2324. doi: 10.3390/s17102324. PMID: 29023403; PMCID: PMC5677183.
[29] Luquet, S. "The central nervous system at the core of the regulation of energy homeostasis." Front BioSci School Ed, (2009). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19482713
[30] Pop-Jordanova N, Pop-Jordanova J. “Electrodermal Activity and Stress Assessment.” Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje, R.N. Macedoni. 2020. DOI:10.2478/prilozi-2020-0028
[31] Rosenberg, S. Accessing the healing power of the vagus nerve: self-help exercises for anxiety, depression, trauma, and autism. Berkeley, California, North Atlantic Books. 2017.
[32] Hays SA. Enhancing Rehabilitative Therapies with Vagus Nerve Stimulation. Neurotherapeutics. 2016 Apr;13(2):382-94. doi: 10.1007/s13311-015-0417-z. PMID: 26671658; PMCID: PMC4824018.
Comments