Use of ambulatory skin conductance recording for monitoring psychophysiological arousal in the elderly staying in care facilities.

To monitor the psychophysiological arousal level in the elderly, 24 h recordings of skin conductance change (SCC) were done during their stay in care facilities. The mean and maximum SCC levels in 17 awake elderly subjects were significantly lower than those of levels in 20 healthy, young control subjects (P < 0.05 and P < 0.