The sympathetic skin response (SSR) -: An electrophysiological method for the diagnosis of lesions of the sympathetic nervous system

The sympathetic skin response (SSR), also known as electrodermal activity (EDA), can be used to quantitatively determine type and extent of damage in the autonomic nervous system. Three electrical and three acoustical stimuli are used to simultaneously obtain bilateral SSRs from both hands and feet (Fig. 2 and 3). Latencies and amplitudes for normal subjects are provided in Tables 1 and 2. Recording of SSRs may be of diagnostic value in polyneuropathies, diseases of the spinal cord, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and disturbances of consciousness and vigilance.