People with autism perceive sight, sound and touch in extremely unpredictable ways, new research suggests, a finding that may help explain behaviors associated with the developmental disorder.
In observing adults with and without autism as they experienced various sensory stimuli, researchers found that those with the disorder responded inconsistently even when they saw, heard or touched the exact same thing over and over again.
“This suggests that there is something very fundamental that is altered in the cortical responses in individuals with autism,” said Marlene Behrmann, professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University who worked on the study published this month in the journal Neuron. “It also begins to build a bridge between the kind of genetic changes that might have given rise to autism in the first place – and the kind of changes in the brain that are responsible for autistic behavioral patterns.”
For the study, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, to observe brain activity in 14 adults with and 14 without autism as they experienced various sensory stimuli. To measure sight, participants watched a pattern of moving dots while their auditory responses were tested by listening to pure tones and short air puffs were used to assess reactions to touch.
While the typically developing adults in the study had fairly consistent reactions, those with autism displayed responses varying from strong to weak even when faced with the same stimuli repeatedly, researchers said. This unreliable view of the world may offer clues as to why people with autism exhibit certain behaviors, they said.
We’re autistic, not “with” autism. Have you guys been listening to Autism Speaks?
Full article is behind a paywall. Not a particular surprise, but it does make checking for the possible confounding effects of the fMRI tricky.
Standard MRI isn’t known for being easy on sensory sensitivities. I’ve been in one. Would appreciate knowing how the researchers ensured the test itself didn’t cause processing problems, or controlled for them if problems were unavoidable.
Apart from that, well, we’ve known that we have sensory differences for some time now. Pinning them to particular brain locations is interesting–will people be more respectful of the differences, now that there’s specific data coming out indicating different brain activity?
…or perhaps they’ll invoke studies like this one and we’ll just be told to deal with problem textures/sounds/lights/etc. After all, we probably won’t feel it as harshly the Nth time. Those painful sensations must have just been overly strong responses!
autism doesnt define a person. It is a child with autism- not autisitc. get it right!
How much of this taxpayer’s dollars went to funding this study of things we already knew?
We already know our kids are experiencing sensory alteration but what is causing it? MRI may not be the best tool here. I think there is too much emphasis on genetics and not enough on contributing biological processes like inflammation. We need more investigation into GI imbalance, inflammation in the gut and brain of children with ASD. Pehaps bad gut bacteria like the presence of Sutterella is triggering a signaling problem in the brain and altering sensory perception like extreme sensitivity to sound. Perhaps more investigation is needed in the microbiome of our children and how that effects brain function and sensory preception. I believe there is a direct connection. children with autism have been found to have a much less variation in gut micro environment than kids without autism. They also have been found to have high levels of Sutterella bacteria not present in kids w/o autism. Perhaps this is a clue. We need more focus on the brain-gut connection. Neurological researchers should be working with/ consulting with GI researchers. We need a comprehensive approach to research in autism so we can see the whole picture not a piece meal approach that focuses on only one area.
Re jdarbo: Respectfully request your position on the spectrum. Are you on it, family/friend of someone on the spectrum, a caregiver (familial, volunteer, professional), some other relation, or no known relation?
This autistic holds that spectrum members may define the syntax they prefer; to the degree that others use person-first, that does tend to alienate autistics as it implies that autism is somehow distinct from the autie. (In my experience: pervasive developmental disorder is pervasive. Not something that can be separated out. Sorry, NTs.)
Members of the autistic community, much like those of the blind and the deaf communities, feel that our differences are more than just a possession of an external condition. It’s a part of who we are. It’s very much akin to cultural identification. In almost every cultural identifier, English usage provides an adjective first descriptor. If you feel uncomfortable, or un-PC, using ‘autistic’ as an appropriate adjective to describe people, I think the term ‘neurodiverse’ is a perfectly acceptable alternative.
“This suggests that there is something very fundamental that is altered in the cortical responses in individuals with autism,” – NO KIDDING. These studies are superficial and keep rehashing things we already know. More importantly, they continue to avoid investigating why there are severe GI issues, epilepsy and the absence of language in so many individuals with autism.
I often wonder if I am the only one that reads articles like this –nodding and saying we already knew this!
As a parent of a child with autism , now 11, sensory issues directly affect, thinking, learning and behaviors. Days when her sensory system is regulated, she is more “connected”, does her school work quickly and without issue and other wise appears “normal”.
Instead of spending money on a study, they could probably have had a poll of parents with children that have autism.
The medical community is in need to peer reviewed studies that can confirm sensory differences in people with autism. This in turn will give peer reviewed evidence for something that many people with autism, parents,professionals already know.