Sympathetic skin response in spinal cord injured patients: preliminary report.

Abstract

Sympathetic skin responses (SSRs) were recorded in six spinal cord injured patients. These SSRs were obtained at hands and feet, after electrical stimulation of the median or the posterior tibial nerves. Below the level of the lesion, SSRs had similar latencies than normal subjects, but were more inconstant, with a lesser amplitude and elicited after stronger stimulus intensity. The origin of these somatosympathetic reflexes are discussed. SSRs recordings seem to be a simple and suitable technique for investigation of the autonomic nervous system of the spinal cord injured patients