ONTOGENY OF SPONTANEOUS SKIN POTENTIAL RESPONSES IN KITTENS DURING AWAKE REST

The development of the spontaneous skin potential responses (SPRs) patterns was studied using 9 kittens (8 to 55 days of age) in awake rest. Seven adult cats were used as the control. Response amplitude, time course of each response, time interval between adjacent responses, and response frequency per min. were analysed on a day-by-day basis. These results were discussed, together with the experimental results obtained in adult cats. They show that the spontaneous SPRs in kittens are qualitatively and ontogenetically different from those in adults. Furthermore, it is suggested that there may be some correlations between the patterns of the spontaneous SPRs and the cerebral maturation in kittens. © 1969, The Japanese Psychological Association. All rights reserved.