Comparison of the Indices Characterizing Skin Conductivity Properties in Stress Diagnosis

Stress is a detrimental factor to a person's physical and cognitive state. The skin conductance response is one of the non-invasive physiological signals that can be effectively applied to analyze changes in a person's cognitive status during stress. However, despite the large number of studies, there has not yet been developed universal method for quantifying the level of stress, which would be based on the analysis of skin conductivity. The purpose of this study was to compare methods of stress diagnosis using physiological indices derived from the skin conductance response signal. For this purpose, it was conducted a special experiment, including the stages of classical stress tests: the Stroop Color World Test and the Mental Arithmetic Test. The experimental sample consisted of 10 young volunteers in whom the skin conductance response signal (SCR) was recorded. In the course of the work, there were implemented the method of calculation of the oscillation amplitude at successive periods of the SCR signal and the method of spectral characteristics with calculation of the integral power in the band, which turned out to be more sensitive than the implemented method with minor differences. Therefore, the combination of these methods is a promising task in identifying the most effective method for diagnosing stress states.