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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (28 results)

  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
UCLA Previously Published Works (2010)
Anxiety disorders and sensory over-responsivity (SOR) are common in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and there is evidence for an association between these two conditions. Currently, it is unclear what causal mechanisms may exist between SOR and anxiety. We propose three possible theories to explain the association between anxiety and SOR: (a) SOR is caused by anxiety; (b) Anxiety is caused by SOR; or (c) SOR and anxiety are causally unrelated but are associated through a common risk factor or diagnostic overlap. In this paper, we examine support for each theory in the existing anxiety, autism, and neuroscience literature, and discuss how each theory informs choice of interventions and implications for future studies.
    Cover page: Anxiety Disorders and Sensory Over-Responsivity in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Is There a Causal Relationship?
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UCLA Previously Published Works (2017)
    Recent evidence for abnormal thalamic connectivity in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and sensory processing disorders suggests the thalamus may play a role in sensory over-responsivity (SOR), an extreme negative response to sensory stimuli, which is common in ASD. However, there is yet little understanding of changes in thalamic connectivity during exposure to aversive sensory inputs in individuals with ASD. In particular, the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus is implicated in atypical sensory processing given its role in selective attention, regulation, and sensory integration. This study aimed to examine the role of pulvinar connectivity in ASD during mildly aversive sensory input. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine connectivity with the pulvinar during exposure to mildly aversive auditory and tactile stimuli in 38 youth (age 9-17; 19 ASD, 19 IQ-matched typically developing (TD)). Parents rated children's SOR severity on two standard scales. Compared to TD, ASD participants displayed aberrant modulation of connectivity between pulvinar and cortex (including sensory-motor and prefrontal regions) during sensory stimulation. In ASD participants, pulvinar-amygdala connectivity was correlated with severity of SOR symptoms. Deficits in modulation of thalamocortical connectivity in youth with ASD may reflect reduced thalamo-cortical inhibition in response to sensory stimulation, which could lead to difficulty filtering out and/or integrating sensory information. An increase in amygdala connectivity with the pulvinar might be partially responsible for deficits in selective attention as the amygdala signals the brain to attend to distracting sensory stimuli. Autism Res 2017, 10: 801-809. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
      Cover page: Reduced modulation of thalamocortical connectivity during exposure to sensory stimuli in ASD
      • Thesis
      • Peer Reviewed
      UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2014)

      In addition to the core social and communication symptoms, individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have high rates of sensory over-responsivity (SOR). Despite the fact that over half of children and adolescents with ASD have SOR, very little is known about the neurobiological bases of this condition. SOR often co-occurs with anxiety disorders, which suggests a possible common biological basis for both SOR and anxiety in a subgroup of youth with ASD. The following studies used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine brain response to mildly aversive sensory stimulation in youth with and without ASD, with a focus on brain areas responsible for primary processing of sensory information as well as those linked to anxiety and emotion regulation. Results suggest that youth with ASD and SOR have deficits in both primary sensory processing as well as in regulating emotional response to sensory information. These deficits are associated with reduced amygdala-prefrontal functional connectivity during exposure to sensory stimuli as well as reduced habituation to the stimuli. Findings can inform intervention, including better classification and targeted treatment for subgroups of youth with ASD, and treatment focused on building coping skills for sensory stimulating environments.

        Cover page: Functional Neuroimaging of Sensory Over-Responsivity in Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorders
        • Thesis
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC Riverside Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2022)

        Early caregiving adversity (e.g., abuse, witnessing domestic violence, caregiver deprivation) has a profound impact on behavior and social-emotional development, as well as causing alterations in corresponding stress physiology (McEwen & Morrison, 2013; Tottenham, 2012). Heightened stress-related symptomatology increases the susceptibility for sensory processing challenges, especially sensory over-responsivity (SOR), an intense overaction to sensory stimuli, in these populations (Wilbarger et al., 2010). Yet, the link between SOR and early caregiving adversity is not well understood. This dissertation aimed to provide evidence for sensory processing challenges and their link with emotion dysregulation and physiological responses in youth with early caregiving adversity. Study 1 investigated sensory processing challenges among two distinct groups (adopted from either foster care or those previously institutionalized in orphanage care) of youth with early caregiving adversity. We examined how broad sensory processing challenges generally, and SOR specifically, was associated with mental health. Results showed that youth with early caregiving adversity show heightened sensory processing challenges, including SOR, that in turn partially influenced elevated mental health symptoms. Study 2 investigated the differences in HR responses to mildly aversive sensory stimuli in youth adopted from foster care (AFC) and nonadopted comparison youth. Particularly, this study investigated how SOR and emotion dysregulation influenced HR responses to sensory stimuli in AFC youth. Results showed that AFC participants with higher parent-reported, and experimenter-observed SOR displayed increased HR responses to sensory stimuli relative to AFC participants with lower SOR. Yet, emotion dysregulation only predicted HR responses to some sensory stimuli, suggesting that this hyper-physiological arousal during aversive sensory stimulation is specific to SOR-related dysregulation. Overall, findings show that sensory processing atypicalities are common in youth with early caregiving adversity and are linked to heightened physiological arousal to sensory stimulation and greater mental health challenges. Study results are discussed in terms of their educational implications.

          Cover page: Behavioral and Biological Markers of Sensory-Over-Responsivity in Youth With Early Caregiving Adversity: Associations With Social-Emotional Development
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          UCLA Previously Published Works (2016)

          Objective

          The salience network, an intrinsic brain network thought to modulate attention to internal versus external stimuli, has been consistently found to be atypical in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, little is known about how this altered resting-state connectivity relates to brain activity during information processing, which has important implications for understanding sensory overresponsivity (SOR), a common and impairing condition in ASD related to difficulty downregulating brain responses to sensory stimuli. This study examined how SOR in youth with ASD relates to atypical salience network connectivity and whether these atypicalities are associated with abnormal brain response to basic sensory information.

          Method

          Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine how parent-rated SOR symptoms related to salience network connectivity in 61 youth (aged 8-17 years; 28 with ASD and 33 IQ-matched typically developing youth). Correlations between resting-state salience network connectivity and brain response to mildly aversive tactile and auditory stimuli were examined.

          Results

          SOR in youth with ASD was related to increased resting-state functional connectivity between salience network nodes and brain regions implicated in primary sensory processing and attention. Furthermore, the strength of this connectivity at rest was related to the extent of brain activity in response to auditory and tactile stimuli.

          Conclusion

          Results support an association between intrinsic brain connectivity and specific atypical brain responses during information processing. In addition, findings suggest that basic sensory information is overly salient to individuals with SOR, leading to overattribution of attention to this information. Implications for intervention include incorporating sensory coping strategies into social interventions for individuals with SOR.
            Cover page: Salience Network Connectivity in Autism Is Related to Brain and Behavioral Markers of Sensory Overresponsivity
            • Article
            • Peer Reviewed
            UCLA Previously Published Works (2015)
            The purpose of this study was to examine group differences in presentation and trajectory of anxiety symptoms and disorders in children with moderate to borderline intellectual disability (ID) and children with typical cognitive development (TD). Examined anxiety disorders and symptoms in children with ID (n=74) or TD (n=116) annually from ages 5 through 9 using a parent structured interview and questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to examine odds of meeting anxiety criteria and hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine anxiety trajectory. Children with ID had significantly higher rates of clinical levels of anxiety on the Child Behavior Checklist at ages 8 and 9 and higher rates of separation anxiety disorder at age 5 compared to those with TD. Children with ID were also more likely to have externalizing problems co-occurring with anxiety. The rate of increase of anxiety symptoms over time was positive and similar in the two groups, and neither group showed sex differences in anxiety rates. Results suggest that children with ID have both higher rates of anxiety across time and are delayed in showing typical decreases in separation anxiety in early childhood. Implications for intervention are discussed in terms of the importance of screening for and treating anxiety in children with ID.
              Cover page: Symptoms and Development of Anxiety in Children With or Without Intellectual Disability
              • Article
              • Peer Reviewed
              UCLA Previously Published Works (2015)

              Importance

              More than half of youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have sensory overresponsivity (SOR), an extreme negative reaction to sensory stimuli. However, little is known about the neurobiological basis of SOR, and there are few effective treatments. Understanding whether SOR is due to an initial heightened sensory response or to deficits in regulating emotional reactions to stimuli has important implications for intervention.

              Objective

              To determine differences in brain responses, habituation, and connectivity during exposure to mildly aversive sensory stimuli in youth with ASDs and SOR compared with youth with ASDs without SOR and compared with typically developing control subjects.

              Design, setting, and participants

              Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine brain responses and habituation to mildly aversive auditory and tactile stimuli in 19 high-functioning youths with ASDs and 19 age- and IQ-matched, typically developing youths (age range, 9-17 years). Brain activity was related to parents' ratings of children's SOR symptoms. Functional connectivity between the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex was compared between ASDs subgroups with and without SOR and typically developing controls without SOR. The study dates were March 2012 through February 2014.

              Main outcomes and measures

              Relative increases in blood oxygen level-dependent signal response across the whole brain and within the amygdala during exposure to sensory stimuli compared with fixation, as well as correlation between blood oxygen level-dependent signal change in the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex.

              Results

              The mean age in both groups was 14 years and the majority in both groups (16 of 19 each) were male. Compared with neurotypical control participants, participants with ASDs displayed stronger activation in primary sensory cortices and the amygdala (P < .05, corrected). This activity was positively correlated with SOR symptoms after controlling for anxiety. The ASDs with SOR subgroup had decreased neural habituation to stimuli in sensory cortices and the amygdala compared with groups without SOR. Youth with ASDs without SOR showed a pattern of amygdala downregulation, with negative connectivity between the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex (thresholded at z > 1.70, P < .05).

              Conclusions and relevance

              Results demonstrate that youth with ASDs and SOR show sensorilimbic hyperresponsivity to mildly aversive tactile and auditory stimuli, particularly to multiple modalities presented simultaneously, and show that this hyperresponsivity is due to failure to habituate. In addition, findings suggest that a subset of youth with ASDs can regulate their responses through prefrontal downregulation of amygdala activity. Implications for intervention include minimizing exposure to multiple sensory modalities and building coping strategies for regulating emotional response to stimuli.
                Cover page: Neurobiology of Sensory Overresponsivity in Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorders
                • Article
                • Peer Reviewed
                UCLA Previously Published Works (2024)
                Converging evidence implicates disrupted brain connectivity in autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, the mechanisms linking altered connectivity early in development to the emergence of ASD symptomatology remain poorly understood. Here we examined whether atypicalities in the Salience Network - an early-emerging neural network involved in orienting attention to the most salient aspects of ones internal and external environment - may predict the development of ASD symptoms such as reduced social attention and atypical sensory processing. Six-week-old infants at high likelihood of developing ASD based on family history exhibited stronger Salience Network connectivity with sensorimotor regions; infants at typical likelihood of developing ASD demonstrated stronger Salience Network connectivity with prefrontal regions involved in social attention. Infants with higher connectivity with sensorimotor regions had lower connectivity with prefrontal regions, suggesting a direct tradeoff between attention to basic sensory versus socially-relevant information. Early alterations in Salience Network connectivity predicted subsequent ASD symptomatology, providing a plausible mechanistic account for the unfolding of atypical developmental trajectories associated with vulnerability to ASD.
                  Cover page: Salience network connectivity is altered in 6-week-old infants at heightened likelihood for developing autism.
                  • Article
                  • Peer Reviewed
                  UCLA Previously Published Works (2023)
                  Sensory features are common and impairing in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but there are few observational sensory assessments that are valid across ages. We used the Sensory Processing 3-Dimensional (SP3-D) observed Assessment and parent-reported Inventory to examine sensory responsivity in 41 ASD and 33 typically-developing (TD) youth across 7-17 years. ASD youth had higher and more variable observed and reported sensory responsivity symptoms compared to TD, but the two measures were not correlated. Observed sensory over-responsivity (SOR) and sensory craving (SC) decreased with age in ASD, though SOR remained higher in ASD versus TD through adolescence. Results suggest that in ASD, the SP3-D Assessment can identify SOR through adolescence, and that there is value in integrating multiple sensory measures.
                    Cover page: An Observed Assessment of Sensory Responsivity in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Associations with Diagnosis, Age, and Parent Report.
                    • Article
                    • Peer Reviewed
                    UCLA Previously Published Works (2015)
                    Neuroimaging investigations of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have advanced our understanding of atypical brain function and structure, and have recently converged on a model of altered network-level connectivity. Traditional task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and volume-based structural MRI studies have identified widespread atypicalities in brain regions involved in social behavior and other core ASD-related behavioral deficits. More recent advances in MR-neuroimaging methods allow for quantification of brain connectivity using diffusion tensor imaging, functional connectivity, and graph theoretic methods. These newer techniques have moved the field toward a systems-level understanding of ASD etiology, integrating functional and structural measures across distal brain regions. Neuroimaging findings in ASD as a whole have been mixed and at times contradictory, likely due to the vast genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity characteristic of the disorder. Future longitudinal studies of brain development will be crucial to yield insights into mechanisms of disease etiology in ASD sub-populations. Advances in neuroimaging methods and large-scale collaborations will also allow for an integrated approach linking neuroimaging, genetics, and phenotypic data.
                      Cover page: Neural signatures of autism spectrum disorders: insights into brain network dynamics.
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