Psychogalvanic Studies in Schizophrenia

One of the most reliable physiologic indicators of emotional reaction is the psychogalvanic reflex. In the work here reported an attempt was made to determine typical features of this phenomenon in a number of psychopathologic reaction types and to find out to what extent its variations can be used for discrimination and characterization of various emotional and personality disorders. Experiments on several groups of normal persons served as a control. Our aim was to expose the subjects to the same set of stimuli, to compare their reactions, and to link these up with the characteristic features of their emotional and behavior picture. A part of the experimental work was done with Dr. C. P. Richter, another part with Dr. E. F. Kinder. The technic followed was developed by Dr. C. P. Richter and has been employed for a number of years in the Psychobiological Laboratory of the Henry Phipps Psychiatric