Skin conductance reflects drug-induced changes in blood levels of cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline in dogs.

To verify availability of skin conductance (SC) as an indicator for the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity in dogs, the changes in SC and blood levels of stress-related hormones induced by drugs were compared. SC and cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline levels were measured in 5 dogs on 4 occasions with or without drug-induced sedation at 7-day intervals (no treatment, intramuscular medetomidine 0.01 mg/kg, intramuscular acepromazine 0.1 mg/kg and intravenous fentanyl 0.02 mg/kg). The fentanyl treatment produced significantly higher levels of SC and plasma cortisol and adrenaline compared with the other 3 treatments. The plasma noradrenaline level also tended to be higher following the fentanyl treatment. These results indicate that SC may reflect changes in the SNS activities in dogs.