An electrodermal measure of arousal in opiate addicts to drug-related stimuli.

Frequency per minute of spontaneous skin resistance responses (SSRRs), an inferred measure of arousal, was compared for three groups of subjects when exposed to drug-related and neutral stimuli. The three groups were a recently detoxified opiate addict group, a group maintained on methadone, and a non-addict control group. Stimuli consisted of slides, objects, and video-tapes, all showing either items used in drug-preparation for self-injection, or neutral items. Results showed clear evidence of an increase in rate of response to drug-related cues in the detoxified drug-free group as compared to the other two groups. No differences were found in response to the neutral stimuli. It is concluded that the present finding of increased arousal to drug-related cues in recently detoxified patients may be an important component of withdrawal, which in turn is regarded as a conditioned autonomic response leading to instrumental behavior of readdiction.