Sensory processing in autism across exteroceptive and interoceptive domains.

Abstract

Objective: The current article discusses recent literature on perceptual processing in autism and aims to provide a critical review of existing theories of autistic perception and suggestions for future work. Method: We review findings detailing exteroceptive and interoceptive processing in autism and discuss their neurobiological basis as well as potential links and analogies between sensory domains. Results: Many atypicalities of autistic perception described in the literature can be explained either by weak neural synchronization or by atypical perceptual inference. Evidence for both mechanisms is found across the different sensory domains considered in this review. Conclusions: We argue that weak neural synchronization and atypical perceptual inference might be complementary neural mechanisms that describe the complex bottom-up and top-down differences of autistic perception, respectively. Future work should be sensitive to individual differences to determine if divergent patterns of sensory processing are observed within individuals, rather than looking for global changes at a group level. Determining whether divergent patterns of exteroceptive and interoceptive sensory processing may contribute to prototypical social and cognitive characteristics of autism may drive new directions in our conceptualization of autism.

Tackling hypo and hyper sensory processing heterogeneity in autism: From clinical stratification to genetic pathways

“…In our study, we also observed a larger dSSP score variability in autistic individuals than in controls, which is in line with the heterogeneity reported in autism spectrum in many research areas, such as brain imaging (Masi et al, 2017). Our results stressed further the need for partial phenotypes beyond categorical diagnosis to help in patients' stratification and delineate more homogeneous subgroups (Proff et al, 2021;Wolfers et al, 2019). The dSSP score may offer a relevant setting to explore the heterogeneity in autism spectrum (Lombardo et al, 2019).…”

Interoceptive pathways to understand and treat mental health conditions

“…However, this research was primarily assessed using a self-report measure of interoception (TAS) in combination with cardiac interoception tests. Sensory alterations are well established in autism and more nuanced interoceptive tests are needed across a variety of axes to better understand the nature of altered interoceptive sensory processing in autism, where changes in temperature perception, slow affective touch, and gastric processing are documented (see [125] for a review).…”

A capabilities approach to understanding and supporting autistic adulthood

“…Autistic people have also been shown to excel at producing novel responses on creative tasks 126 and are increasingly recognized for their creative talents 127 , with major companies investing in autistic people’s ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking 128 . These strengths have been linked to autistic people’s different way of perceiving the world, including detail-focused processing style 129 and enhanced perceptual abilities 130 , which might be underpinned by heightened sensory perception 131 .…”