Gender differences in the effects of skin hydration on electrodermal activity measurements.

Abstract

Electrodermal activity (EDA) is defined as a general term for all electrical behaviors in the skin, encompassing all active and passive electrical properties that can be traced back to the skin and its appendages. EDA measurements can be impacted by various factors and conditions. A factor of effect on EDA recordings, which has not been investigated before is the gender-related differences in the effects of skin hydration on EDA signals. Hence, this study aimed to study gender-related differences in the EDA parameters under conditions of skin hydration. 30 males and 30 females participated in this study under two different conditional (normal and hydration) experiments. Three EDA parameters (tonic and phasic components) were recorded from both groups. In the hydration experiment, 0.2 gram of 0.5% KCI in a 2% agar jelly was applied to the skin of all participants to moisturize their skin. The data from both experiments were analyzed to investigate gender-related differences in the effects of skin hydration on EDA measurements. It was found that EDA measurements, in particular the tonic component were not influenced by gender-related differences under hydration conditions. However, some significant (p<0.05) differences were observed between males and females in certain phasic parameters in response to specific stimuli. This study suggests that skin hydration does not contribute to gender-related differences in EDA recordings. These results are probably important in EDA investigations and applications.