Palmar Digital Sweating in Women Suffering from Depression

This investigation began as an attempt to measure the anxiety shown by patients while awaiting electro-convulsive therapy. One measure used was an assessment of the degree of palmar digital sweating, using the plastic paint technique described by MacKinnon (1963). This is a method by which the number of active sweat glands in a given area at a given time can be counted. In a preliminary trial, the effect on sweating of waiting for E.C.T. was equivocal, but there seemed to be an increase in sweating in depressed patients as their clinical condition improved. In the main trial, therefore, the emphasis was placed on differences in sweating of depressed patients when ill and recovered, though the reading in the E.C.T. waiting-room was retained.