Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane and Terry Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
J Neurosci Res. 2024 Jan;102(1):e25250. doi: 10.1002/jnr.25250. Epub 2023 Oct 16.
Sensory over-responsivity (SOR) is a prevalent cross-diagnostic condition that is often associated with anxiety. The biological mechanisms underlying the co-occurrence of SOR and anxiety symptoms are not well understood, despite having important implications for targeted intervention. We therefore investigated the unique associations of SOR and anxiety symptoms with physiological and neural responses to sensory stimulation for youth with anxiety disorders (ANX), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or typical development (TD). Age/IQ-matched youth aged 8-18 years (22 ANX; 30 ASD; 22 TD) experienced mildly aversive tactile and auditory stimuli during functional magnetic resonance imaging and then during skin conductance response (SCR) and heart rate (HR) measurements. Caregivers reported on participants' SOR and anxiety symptoms. ASD/ANX youth had elevated SOR and anxiety symptoms compared to TD. ASD/ANX youth showed similar, heightened brain responses to sensory stimulation compared to TD youth, but brain responses were more highly related to SOR symptoms in ASD youth and to anxiety symptoms in ANX youth. Across ASD/ANX youth, anxiety symptoms uniquely related to greater SCR whereas SOR uniquely related to greater HR responses to sensory stimulation. Behavioral and neurobiological over-responsivity to sensory stimulation was shared across diagnostic groups. However, findings support SOR and anxiety as distinct symptoms with unique biological mechanisms, and with different relationships to neural over-reactivity dependent on diagnostic group. Results indicate a need for targeted treatment approaches.
感觉过度反应（SOR）是一种普遍存在的跨诊断条件，通常与焦虑有关。尽管针对特定干预措施具有重要意义，但 SOR 和焦虑症状共同发生的生物学机制仍未得到很好的理解。因此，我们调查了 SOR 和焦虑症状与焦虑障碍（ANX）、自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）或典型发育（TD）青年对感觉刺激的生理和神经反应的独特关联。年龄/智商匹配的 8-18 岁青少年（22 名 ANX；30 名 ASD；22 名 TD）在功能磁共振成像期间以及皮肤电导反应（SCR）和心率（HR）测量期间经历了轻度令人不适的触觉和听觉刺激。照顾者报告了参与者的 SOR 和焦虑症状。与 TD 相比，ASD/ANX 青少年的 SOR 和焦虑症状更高。与 TD 青少年相比，ASD/ANX 青少年对感觉刺激的大脑反应相似且增强，但 ASD 青少年的大脑反应与 SOR 症状更相关，ANX 青少年的大脑反应与焦虑症状更相关。在 ASD/ANX 青少年中，焦虑症状与更大的 SCR 独特相关，而 SOR 与对感觉刺激的更大 HR 反应独特相关。感觉刺激的行为和神经生物学过度反应在诊断组之间是共有的。然而，这些发现支持 SOR 和焦虑是具有独特生物学机制的不同症状，并且与依赖诊断组的神经过度反应的不同关系。结果表明需要有针对性的治疗方法。
