Autonomic and Electrophysiological Evidence for Reduced Auditory Habituation in Autism.

We report data from two independent studies. The first study, was conducted with 13 autistic and 13 age-matched neurotypical young adults and used GSR to assess response to an extended metronomic sequence. The second study involved 24 participants (12 with an ASD diagnosis), different from those in study 1, spanning the pre-adolescent to young adult age range, and used MEG. Both studies reveal consistent patterns of reduced habituation in autistic participants. These results suggest that autism, through mechanisms that are yet to be elucidated, compromises a fundamental aspect of sensory processing, at least in the auditory domain. We discuss the implications for understanding sensory hypersensitivities, a hallmark phenotypic feature of autism, recently proposed theoretical accounts, and potential relevance for early detection of risk for autism. PMID: 32926307 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32926307?dopt=Abstract

Source: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - September 13, 2020 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Gandhi TK, Tsourides K, Singhal N, Cardinaux A, Jamal W, Pantazis D, Kjelgaard M, Sinha P Tags: J Autism Dev Disord Source Type: research