title: Neurobiology of Sensory Overresponsivity in Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Shulamite A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Leanna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hernandez
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Nim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tottenham
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Krasileva
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Susan Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Bookheimer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: Mirella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dapretto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology*; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology*