Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42884372›Full record

ArticleSensors (Basel, Switzerland)2026

Electrodermal Activity as a Metric of Arousal in Autistic Children Prior to Dental Treatment.

Elizabeth B Isralowitz, Sharon A Cermak, John Sideris, Grace T Baranek, José C Polido, Jianina Marie Y Ferrer, Leah I Stein Duker

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Elizabeth B IsralowitzMrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, 1540 Alcazar St., CHP-133, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8662-2449
Sharon A CermakMrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, 1540 Alcazar St., CHP-133, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8300-5450
John SiderisMrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, 1540 Alcazar St., CHP-133, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.ORCID 0009-0001-7843-8913
Grace T BaranekMrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, 1540 Alcazar St., CHP-133, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5321-6353
José C PolidoDivision of Dentistry, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, 4650 Sunset Blvd, MS#116, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7354-2957
Jianina Marie Y FerrerMrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, 1540 Alcazar St., CHP-133, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.ORCID 0009-0001-2686-7142
Leah I Stein DukerMrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, 1540 Alcazar St., CHP-133, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7208-9401

Funding

Sensory Adapted Dental Environments to Enhance Oral Care for ChildrenU01DE024978 · NIDCR · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI CERMAK, SHARON ANDREA · 2015 to 2020
$3.8M
NIDCR NIH HHS U01 DE024978
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Several prominent theories have asserted atypical arousal as a biological feature of autism. However, there is mixed evidence regarding atypical arousal patterns, particularly resting-state arousal, in autistic children, with research increasingly using psychophysiological measures, such as electrodermal activity (EDA), to help elucidate arousal levels in individuals who might not otherwise be able to identify such states. This study analyzed extant EDA data from 135 autistic children (6-12 years) collected during a baseline rest period in a dental environment to determine the relationships between tonic (mean skin conductance level; SCL) and phasic (frequency of non-specific skin conductance responses; NS-SCRs) arousal and participant characteristics, including sensory over-responsiveness, autism traits, expressive language, and general anxiety. EDA data were collected using pre-gelled electrodes placed on the distal phalanges of the participant's non-dominant hand using the BIOPAC MP150 system. Data preprocessing and epoch analyses were conducted using BIOPAC AcqKnowledge software. Conditional linear and, for the outcome variable anxiety, quadratic growth models were used to assess the temporal (within-participant across observations) relationship between EDA and behavioral variables. The results revealed a significant time-by-autism trait interaction for SCL, as well as linear and quadratic relationships between anxiety and NS-SCRs. No significant relationships were found between EDA arousal parameters and sensory over-responsiveness or expressive language abilities. A significant covariance relationship between SCL and NS-SCR frequency was also observed. Collectively, these results support previous characterizations of unique, within-autism-population arousal profiles related to autism traits, anxiety, and tonic-to-phasic covariance patterns.

Indexed as

ArousalAutistic DisorderGalvanic Skin ResponseAnxietyChildFemaleHumansMaleanxietyarousalautismbehavioral symptomselectrodermal activitygalvanic skin responselanguagesensorssensory processing

Identifiers

PMID42884372
PMCPMC13667661

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.