The Sensory Abnormalities and Neuropsychopathology of Autism and Anxiety

Gara, Sirisha K; Chhetri, Ashok G; Alrjoob, M.; Abbasi, Sassi Ashraf Ali; Rutkofsky, Ian H

doi:10.7759/cureus.8071

Cited by 7 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…One study suggested that sensory over-responsiveness was a precursor of anxiety disorder and an early developmental marker of it 16 . The authors of a review of the literature have argued that the association between sensory processing and anxiety disorder should be investigated further 23 and the significant trend in our results also underlined the need for further investigations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…Indeed, hyper-reactivity to sensory stimuli in the environment is likely to contribute to anxiety disorder in children with ASD 22 . Some authors have postulated that sensory hyper-reactivity is linked to the occurrence of specific phobias 23 . One study suggested that sensory over-responsiveness was a precursor of anxiety disorder and an early developmental marker of it 16 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Early risk factors for anxiety disorders in children with autism spectrum disorders: results from the ELENA Cohort

Dellapiazza

Michelon

Picot

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) negatively affects their social interactions, and quality of life. It is necessary to identify early risk factors for anxiety to tailor prevention and interventions. We aimed to examine the clinical level of anxiety in children with ASD from 5 to 10 years of age and identify potential early risk factors 3 years earlier. Participants were ASD children included in ELENA, a French prospective cohort. In this study, we used the collection of data at Time 1-T1 (at baseline) and Time 2-T2 (3 years after T1). Two groups were identified at T2 according to the threshold for anxiety on the CBCL: ASD-only group and ASD + anxiety group. Our results showed that half of the children in our sample had a clinical level of anxiety at T2. Regression analysis showed that greater ASD severity and lower sensory processing difficulties predicted lower anxiety, whereas higher levels of restricted and repetitive behaviours tended to predict higher levels of anxiety. The high prevalence of clinical-level anxiety in our sample suggests the need for specific assessment and targeted treatment of anxiety on a routine basis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early risk factors for anxiety disorders in children with autism spectrum disorders: results from the ELENA Cohort

Dellapiazza

Michelon

Picot

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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“…As these definitions are complementary and cover a range of perceptual experiences, we use them interchangeably in this study. There is an association between anxiety and confirmed VSS, 7 and people with anxiety experience heightened sensory sensitivity 15 . Furthermore, it is possible that heightened awareness of sensory inputs might explain how the broad collection of perceptual phenomena associated with VSS are experienced together with such frequency, in the absence of shared mechanisms 3,16 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived severity of Visual Snow Syndrome is associated with visual allodynia

2023

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Objective: To investigate whether sensory sensitivity is associated with the perceived severity of Visual Snow Syndrome (VSS) symptoms.Background: Visual Snow (VS) is a perceptual anomaly which manifests as flashing pinpricks of light throughout the visual field. VSS has an estimated population prevalence of 2.2% and is thought to be at least moderately debilitating for all who experience it. However, some people who meet the criteria for VSS have no awareness of it. This may be because they have lower sensory sensitivity, allowing them to ignore their visual phenomena. Method:Our study used a cross-sectional design. We recruited two distinct samples of people with VSS: a sample of people with confirmed VSS; and a sample of people who met the criteria for the condition but had no prior knowledge of it (latent VSS). The latter group was recruited and screened for symptoms via an online crowdsourcing platform. In total, 100 participants with VSS (49 with confirmed VSS, 51 with latent VSS) completed the Visual Snow Handicap Index and three measures of sensory hypersensitivity. Results:The 100 participants (52 female, 47 male, 1 non-binary) had a mean age of 35.1 years (SD = 12.2). Leiden Visual Sensitivity Scale scores were associated with both the perceived severity of VSS, β = 0.35, p = 0.003, and the number of VSS symptoms endorsed, β = 0.45, p < 0.001. On average, participants with VSS experienced elevated sensory hypersensitivity across all measures. Furthermore, longer duration of VSS was associated with lower perceived severity, F(1, 98) = 11.37, p = 0.001, R 2 = 0.103. Conclusions: Our results suggest that sensory hypersensitivity may be prevalent in people with VSS and indicate that visual allodynia is associated with increased severity of VSS. Additionally, our findings indicate that inclusion of cases of latent VSS in | 495 H EAD ACH E INTRODUC TI ON Visual Snow (VS) is a perceptual anomaly which manifests as flashing pinpricks of light (dynamic noise) throughout the visual field. 1 It is the key symptom of Visual Snow Syndrome (VSS); but VSS is also associated with other visual, auditory, and neurological phenomena, including palinopsia, enhanced entoptic phenomena, photophobia, and nyctalopia. 2 Figure 1 simulates the experience of VS, compared to normal vision.Between 5% and 50% of people with VSS have had the condition for as long as they can remember. 3,4 Many people who acquire VSS later in life can identify a specific preceding event, such as acquired brain injury, first-instance use of medication, or viral infection. 5,6 Research suggests that VSS impacts daily life, with challenges ranging from difficulty engaging with work due to struggles with computer screens, to inability to drive, especially at night. 7 However, anecdotal evidence from online VSS discussion groups, and recent quantitative evidence, suggests some people with VSS do not always find it debilitating. 7 Furthermore, people with lifelong VSS rate their perceptual phenomena as less debilitating and rate health-related quality of li...

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“…Another characteristic of ASD patients may be higher probability of feeling anxiety and fear in a non-threatening environment compared to the people with typical development [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Also, in many cases, ASD patients suffer from sensory abnormalities where they feel some light which is generally considered moderate, too bright [ 8 , 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%