Editorial: Sensory Processing Across the Lifespan: A 25-Year Initiative to Understand Neurophysiology, Behaviors, and Treatment Effectiveness for Sensory Processing

Abstract

Science must evolve. Kuhn (1970) proposed that scholars adapt their research as new information is discovered and described how the growth of knowledge results in paradigm shifts. Science advances in increments based in part on fact, law, and theory and in part on imagination, hypothesis, and error. The articles in this issue demonstrate Kuhn's premise and the need for rigorous, multidisciplinary, empirical research to underlie a new field such as sensory processing.Brief History of SPD Ayres (1972) was the first to explore sensory processing, focusing on children with learning disorders. In impressive detail, she collected and studied clinical observations, standardized assessment data, and treatment methods. She proposed a new syndrome, which she termed "sensory integration dysfunction" (SID). From 1964 to 1966, Ayres, an occupational therapist, conducted post-doctoral studies at UCLA Brain Research Institute. Membership in the neuroscience department permitted Dr. Ayres to learn the culture of research in a transdisciplinary environment and to hypothesize the brain/behavior connection in the newly conceptualized condition.This issue of Frontiers celebrates the growth of scientific knowledge, founded upon Ayres'

Examining the Latent Structure and Correlates of Sensory Reactivity in Autism: A Multi-site Integrative Data Analysis by the Autism Sensory Research Consortium

“…Although the empirically derived sensory subconstruct measures in the current study correlated meaningfully with other clinical outcomes, there remains a great need to expand existing measures and/or develop novel measures that sample each modality-speci c subconstruct (and when relevant, multiple distinct aspects or subdimensions of that subconstruct) in greater detail, as well as to explicitly investigate caregiver-reported reactivity in multisensory contexts that were not tested in the current study. Notably, the eld of sensory research remains ripe for cross-disciplinary collaboration between clinical and behavioral scientists, occupational therapists, psychologists, neuroscientists, and autistic individuals themselves (e.g., [175][176][177][178][179], as a synthesis of clinical, behavioral, neuroscienti c, and lived experience perspectives on sensory reactivity within and across modalities is likely to produce valid and useful assessments of speci c aspects of the autism phenotype, their underlying psychological and neural mechanisms, and their unique clinical correlates. Basic and applied research into the sensory features of autism has immense potential to improve the lives of many autistic individuals across the lifespan, but in order to realize this potential, systematic efforts must be made to rigorously de ne all sensory constructs of interest and develop psychometrically valid measures of such constructs for use in both research and clinical practice.…”

A szenzoros ételelutasítás a kora gyermekkori evészavarok korszerű megközelítésének tükrében

“…A szenzoros feldolgozási zavar, hasonlóan számos más gyermekkori idegrendszeri fejlődési zavarhoz, spektrum szemléletben értelmezendő. A jelenségre ma már nem egy kategóriaként, hanem inkább a funkció-diszfunkció tengelyt leíró kontinuumként tekintenek, melynek mér téke és jellege minden egyén esetében különbözik, ezál tal inkább dimenziót jelképez, mint kategoriális zavart [26].…”

Brief Report: Characterization of Sensory Over-Responsivity in a Broad Neurodevelopmental Concern Cohort Using the Sensory Processing Three Dimensions (SP3D) Assessment

“…Many children, though, react to typically non-noxious stimuli with aversion, under-awareness, and/or desire for increased stimulation – all of which create uniquely challenging experiences as these children strive to grow and align with their peers’ pace in reaching milestones. These difficulties present into three classifications – sensory over-responsivity (SOR), sensory under-responsivity (SUR), and sensory craving (SC), respectively – which comprise the phenotypic outcomes of sensory modulation disorders (Miller et al, 2021 ). Everyday experiences involve the integration of complex internal and external stimuli, including auditory and tactile information, and can present challenges in these and other sensory domains individually or in combination.…”