Individual differences in sensory sensitivity: A synthesizing framework and evidence from normal variation and developmental conditions

Ward, Jamie

doi:10.1080/17588928.2018.1557131

Cited by 78 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 106 publications

(112 reference statements)

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“…My second point concerns the precise nature of the neural noise hypothesis as originally published in Simmons et al (2009). Ward (2018) has characterized this idea as solely about additive noise, although does qualify this statement somewhat in Table 2. Whilst the idea of increased levels of spontaneous neural activity was certainly in our minds, thinking in particular of approaches like Equivalent-noise analysis as promising avenues for further research, we did not specify.…”

Section: Clarifications Of Neural Noise and Sensory Sensitivities In mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some Clarifications on Neural Noise and Sensory Sensitivities in Autism Ward (2018) has provided an elegant synthesis of the literature on the neural basis of individual differences in sensory sensitivity and a useful proposed framework to guide future research. However, in this commentary I should like to clarify some of the issues surrounding neural noise and sensory sensitivities in autism.…”

Section: Clarifications Of Neural Noise and Sensory Sensitivities In mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Some clarifications on neural noise and sensory sensitivities in Autism

Simmons

2019

Cognitive Neuroscience

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Section: Clarifications Of Neural Noise and Sensory Sensitivities In mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Clarifications Of Neural Noise and Sensory Sensitivities In mentioning

confidence: 99%

Some clarifications on neural noise and sensory sensitivities in Autism

Simmons

2019

Cognitive Neuroscience

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“…More generally, one might argue that the ultimate goal of projects examining neural sensory responsessuch as the present studyis to gather information related to the internal sensory experience of an individual [99]. However, the cortical auditory response from ~80-150ms post-stimulus onset is only one contributor to this internal sensory experience.…”

Section: The Caregivers Of Participants Currently Being Recruited In mentioning

confidence: 92%

Defining Clusters of Young Autistic and Typically-Developing Children Based on Loudness-Dependent Auditory Electrophysiological Responses

Dwyer

Wang

Meo-Monteil

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Autistic individuals exhibit atypical patterns of sensory processing that are known to be related to quality of life, but which are also highly heterogeneous. Previous investigations of this heterogeneity have ordinarily used questionnaires and have rarely investigated sensory processing in Typical Development (TD) alongside Autism Spectrum Development (ASD). Methods:The present study used hierarchical clustering in a large sample to identify subgroups of young autistic and typically-developing children based the normalized global field power (GFP) of their event-related potentials (ERPs) to auditory stimuli of four different loudness intensities (50, 60, 70, 80 dB SPL): that is, based on an index of the relative strengths of their neural responses across these loudness conditions.Results: Four clusters of participants were defined. Normalized GFP responses to sounds of different intensities differed strongly across clusters. There was considerable overlap in cluster assignments of autistic and typically-developing participants, but autistic participants were more likely to display a pattern of relatively linear increases in response strength accompanied by a disproportionately strong response to 70 dB stimuli. Autistic participants displaying this pattern trended towards obtaining higher scores on assessments of cognitive abilities. There was also a trend for typically-developing participants to disproportionately fall into a cluster characterized by disproportionately/nonlinearly strong 60 dB responses. Greater auditory distractibility was reported among autistic participants in a cluster characterized by disproportionately strong responses to the loudest (80 dB) sounds, and furthermore, relatively strong responses to loud sounds were correlated with both auditory distractibility and noise distress. This appears to provide evidence of coinciding behavioural and neural sensory atypicalities. CLUSTERING LOUDNESS-DEPENDENT AUDITORY ERPS 3Limitations: Replication may be needed to verify exploratory results. This analysis may ignore some variability related to classical ERP latencies and topographies. The sensory questionnaire employed was not specifically designed for use in autism. Variability in sensory responses unrelated to loudness is ignored, leaving much room for additional research. Conclusions:Taken together, these data demonstrate the broader benefits of using electrophysiology to explore individual differences. They illuminate different neural response patterns and suggest relationships between sensory neural responses and sensory behaviours, cognitive abilities, and autism diagnostic status.

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“…More generally, one might argue that the ultimate goal of projects examining neural sensory responses -such as the present study -is to gather information related to the internal sensory experience of an individual [101]. However, the cortical auditory response from ~80-150ms poststimulus onset is only one contributor to these internal sensory experiences, which are likely to be emergent properties of many neural processes.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Defining Clusters of Young Autistic and Typically-Developing Children Based on Loudness-Dependent Auditory Electrophysiological Responses

Dwyer

Wang

Meo-Monteil

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Autistic individuals exhibit atypical patterns of sensory processing that are known to be related to quality of life, but which are also highly heterogeneous. Previous investigations of this heterogeneity have ordinarily used questionnaires and have rarely investigated sensory processing in Typical Development (TD) alongside Autism Spectrum Development (ASD). Methods: The present study used hierarchical clustering in a large sample to identify subgroups of young autistic and typically-developing children based the normalized global field power (GFP) of their event-related potentials (ERPs) to auditory stimuli of four different loudness intensities (50, 60, 70, 80 dB SPL): that is, based on an index of the relative strengths of their neural responses across these loudness conditions. Results: Four clusters of participants were defined. Normalized GFP responses to sounds of different intensities differed strongly across clusters. There was considerable overlap in cluster assignments of autistic and typically-developing participants, but autistic participants were more likely to display a pattern of relatively linear increases in response strength accompanied by a disproportionately strong response to 70 dB stimuli. Autistic participants displaying this pattern trended towards obtaining higher scores on assessments of cognitive abilities. There was also a trend for typically-developing participants to disproportionately fall into a cluster characterized by disproportionately/nonlinearly strong 60 dB responses. Greater auditory distractibility was reported among autistic participants in a cluster characterized by disproportionately strong responses to the loudest (80 dB) sounds, and furthermore, relatively strong responses to loud sounds were correlated with both auditory distractibility and noise distress. This appears to provide evidence of coinciding behavioural and neural sensory atypicalities. Limitations : Replication may be needed to verify exploratory results. This analysis may ignore some variability related to classical ERP latencies and topographies. The sensory questionnaire employed was not specifically designed for use in autism. Variability in sensory responses unrelated to loudness is ignored, leaving much room for additional research. Conclusions: Taken together, these data demonstrate the broader benefits of using electrophysiology to explore individual differences. They illuminate different neural response patterns and suggest relationships between sensory neural responses and sensory behaviours, cognitive abilities, and autism diagnostic status.

show abstract

Individual differences in sensory sensitivity: A synthesizing framework and evidence from normal variation and developmental conditions

Cited by 78 publications

References 106 publications

Some clarifications on neural noise and sensory sensitivities in Autism

Some clarifications on neural noise and sensory sensitivities in Autism

Defining Clusters of Young Autistic and Typically-Developing Children Based on Loudness-Dependent Auditory Electrophysiological Responses

Defining Clusters of Young Autistic and Typically-Developing Children Based on Loudness-Dependent Auditory Electrophysiological Responses

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