Sleep-related electrodermal activity patterns in impotent patients.

The etiology of erectile failure is not always clear despite the fact that recordings of nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) are used to detect patients with a significant organic component to their complaint. We recorded electrodermal activity in addition to NPT in 60 impotent patients. Normally more electrodermal activity occurs in stage 2 than in stage REM sleep. Despite a similar total amount of electrodermal activity, organically impotent patients tended to have less electrodermal activity in stage 2 and more in stage REM sleep than those with normal NPT. This difference was due to a subgroup of 15 organically impotent patients with less electrodermal activity in stage 2 than in stage REM sleep. Because of this difference in the pattern of electrodermal activity in relation to sleep stages, the results suggest a central nervous system change is related to impaired erectile capability and abnormal NPT in these cases.