Dissociating proprioceptive deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Intact acuity but impaired sensory integration in postural control

AbstractWe investigated the presence of proprioceptive deficits in adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), by assessing peripheral proprioceptive information (or proprioceptive acuity) as well as integration of proprioceptive information in the context of postural control. We hypothesized that proprioceptive acuity would be intact but that integration during a postural control task would be impaired. Sixteen adults with ASD and sixteen Neurotypical (NT) adults were screened using an IQ test and the adolescent-adult sensory profile. Proprioceptive acuity was assessed using an ankle Joint Position Sense (JPS) task and integration of proprioceptive information was assessed using a postural adaptation task. This task comprised standing upright, without vision in three phases: standing on a fixed surface for 2 minutes (baseline), followed by standing on a surface tilting in proportion to participants’ body sway, or support-surface sway reference for 3 minutes (adaptation) and finally standing on the restored fixed surface for 3 minutes (reintegration). Results showed no group differences in proprioceptive acuity and in the baseline phase, but greater postural sway during adaptation in individuals with ASD compared with NT controls. Specifically, group differences were not present in the first 30s of adaptation, but emerged after the second window suggesting a deficit in sensory integration of proprioception in adults with ASD. Our results suggest that peripheral proprioceptive information is intact in ASD but neural sensory integration of proprioception is impaired in this group.

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Adaptation and Reintegration of Proprioceptive Information in Young and Older Adults' Postural Control

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00345.2010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 104 (4) ◽

pp. 1969-1977 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Michail Doumas ◽

Ralf Th. Krampe

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Postural Control ◽

Path Length ◽

Reference Conditions ◽

Age Groups ◽

Linear Feedback ◽

Body Sway ◽

Support Surface ◽

Proprioceptive Information ◽

Age Related

We investigated age-related changes in adaptation and sensory reintegration in postural control without vision. In two sessions, participants adapted their posture to sway reference and to reverse sway reference conditions, the former reducing (near eliminating) and the latter enhancing (near doubling) proprioceptive information for posture by means of support-surface rotations in proportion to body sway. Participants stood on a stable platform for 3 min (baseline) followed by 18 min of sway reference or reverse sway reference (adaptation) and finally again on a stable platform for 3 min (reintegration). Results showed that when inaccurate proprioception was introduced, anterior-posterior (AP) sway path length increased in comparable levels in the two age groups. During adaptation, young and older adults reduced postural sway at the same rate. On restoration of the stable platform in the reintegration phase, a sizeable aftereffect of increased AP path length was observed in both groups, which was greater in magnitude and duration for older adults. In line with linear feedback models of postural control, spectral analyses showed that this aftereffect differed between the two platform conditions. In the sway-referenced condition, a switch from low- to high-frequency COP sway marked the transition from reduced to normal proprioceptive information. The opposite switch was observed in the reverse sway referenced condition. Our findings illustrate age-related slowing in participants' postural control adjustments to sudden changes in environmental conditions. Over and above differences in postural control, our results implicate sensory reweighting as a specific mechanism highly sensitive to age-related decline.

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Dynamic Regulation of Sensorimotor Integration in Human Postural Control

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00516.2003 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 91 (1) ◽

pp. 410-423 ◽

Cited By ~ 308

Author(s):

Robert J. Peterka ◽

Patrick J. Loughlin

Keyword(s):

Postural Control ◽

Postural Stability ◽

Sensory Systems ◽

Body Sway ◽

Accurate Information ◽

Support Surface ◽

Proprioceptive Information ◽

Postural Control System ◽

Eyes Closed ◽

Orientation Information

Upright stance in humans is inherently unstable, requiring corrective action based on spatial-orientation information from sensory systems. One might logically predict that environments providing access to accurate orientation information from multiple sensory systems would facilitate postural stability. However, we show that, after a period in which access to accurate sensory information was reduced, the restoration of accurate information disrupted postural stability. In eyes-closed trials, proprioceptive information was altered by rotating the support surface in proportion to body sway (support surface “sway-referencing”). When the support surface returned to a level orientation, most subjects developed a transient 1-Hz body sway oscillation that differed significantly from the low-amplitude body sway typically observed during quiet stance. Additional experiments showed further enhancement of the 1-Hz oscillation when the surface transitioned from a sway-referenced to a reverse sway-referenced motion. Oscillatory behavior declined with repetition of trials, suggesting a learning effect. A simple negative feedback-control model of the postural control system predicted the occurrence of this 1-Hz oscillation in conditions where too much corrective torque is generated in proportion to body sway. Model simulations were used to distinguish between two alternative explanations for the excessive corrective torque generation. Simulation results favor an explanation based on the dynamic reweighting of sensory contributions to postural control rather than a load-compensation mechanism that scales torque in proportion to a fixed combination of sensory-orientation information.

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Sensory Processing and Aggressive Behavior in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11010095 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 95

Author(s):

Frank van den Boogert ◽

Bram Sizoo ◽

Pascalle Spaan ◽

Sharon Tolstra ◽

Yvonne H. A. Bouman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Aggressive Behavior ◽

Sensory Processing ◽

Short Form ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Sensory Profile ◽

Sensory Sensitivity ◽

Aggression Questionnaire ◽

Adults With Asd

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be accompanied by aggressive behavior and is associated with sensory processing difficulties. The present study aims to investigate the direct association between sensory processing and aggressive behavior in adults with ASD. A total of 101 Dutch adult participants with ASD, treated in outpatient or inpatient facilities, completed the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (AASP), the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ), and the Aggression Questionnaire—Short Form (AQ-SF). Results revealed that sensory processing difficulties are associated with more aggressive behavior (f2=0.25), more proactive (f2=0.19) and reactive aggression (f2=0.27), more physical (f2=0.08) and verbal aggression (f2=0.13), and more anger (f2=0.20) and hostility (f2=0.12). Evidence was found for an interaction of the neurological threshold and behavioral response on total aggression and hostility. Participants with higher scores in comparison to the norm group in sensory sensitivity had the highest risk of aggressive behavior. In conclusion, clinical practice may benefit from applying detailed diagnostics on sensory processing difficulties when treating aggressive behavior in adults with ASD.

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Postural sway with earth-fixed and body-referenced finger contact in young and older adults

Journal of Vestibular Research ◽

10.3233/ves-1999-9204 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 103-109

Author(s):

Reginald L. Reginella ◽

Mark S. Redfern ◽

Joseph M. Furman

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Postural Sway ◽

Center Of Pressure ◽

Sensory Information ◽

Body Sway ◽

Support Surface ◽

Proprioceptive Information ◽

Postural Control System ◽

Fixed Reference ◽

Older Subjects

Sensory information from lightly touching a reference with the hand is known to influence postural sway in young adults. The primary aim of this study was to compare the influence of finger contact (FC) with an earth-fixed reference to the influence of FC with a body-fixed reference. A second goal of this study was to determine if FC is used differently by older adults compared to younger adults. Using a force plate, center of pressure at the feet was recorded from blindfolded young and older subjects during several conditions. Subjects either did or did not lightly touch a force-sensitive plate that was either earth-fixed or moved forward and backward in synchrony with body sway (that is, sway-referenced). In addition, support surface conditions were also varied, including a fixed floor and a sway-referenced floor using an EquitestTM. Results showed that the type of FC, floor condition, and age each had an effect on postural sway. Touching an earth-fixed plate decreased postural sway as compared to no touching, while touching a sway-referenced plate incresased sway. This influence of FC was enhanced when the floor was sway-referenced. Although older subjects swayed more than young subjects overall, no age-FC interactions occurred, indicating that FC was not utilized differently between the age groups. This study suggests that FC cannot be disregarded as erroneous, especially when proprioceptive information from the legs is distorted. Further, FC is integrated with other sensory information by the postural control system similarly in young and older persons.

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Relationship between sensory characteristics and cortical thickness/volume in autism spectrum disorders

Translational Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/s41398-021-01743-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kaie Habata ◽

Yongjeon Cheong ◽

Taku Kamiya ◽

Daichi Shiotsu ◽

Ichiro M. Omori ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cortical Thickness ◽

Morphological Changes ◽

Hippocampal Volume ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Sensory Characteristics ◽

Sensory Profile ◽

Spectrum Disorders ◽

The Right ◽

Adults With Asd ◽

Brain Image Analysis

AbstractIndividuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) exhibit atypical sensory characteristics, impaired social skills, deficits in verbal and nonverbal communication, and restricted and repetitive behaviors. The relationship between sensory characteristics and brain morphological changes in ASD remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the association between brain morphological changes and sensory characteristics in individuals with ASD using brain image analysis and a sensory profile test. Forty-three adults with ASD and 84 adults with typical development underwent brain image analysis using FreeSurfer. The brain cortex was divided into 64 regions, and the cortical thickness and volume of the limbic system were calculated. The sensory characteristics of the participants were evaluated using the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (AASP). Correlation analysis was performed for cortical thickness, limbic area volume, and AASP scores. In the ASD group, there was a significant positive correlation between visual sensory sensitivity scores and the right lingual cortical thickness (r = 0.500). There were also significant negative correlations between visual sensation avoiding scores and the right lateral orbitofrontal cortical thickness (r = −0.513), taste/smell sensation avoiding scores and the right hippocampal volume (r = −0.510), and taste/smell sensation avoiding scores and the left hippocampal volume (r = −0.540). The study identified associations among the lingual cortical thickness, lateral orbitofrontal cortical thickness, and hippocampal volume and sensory characteristics. These findings suggest that brain morphological changes may trigger sensory symptoms in adults with ASD.

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Stimulus-Dependent Changes in the Vestibular Contribution to Human Postural Control

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00856.2004 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 95 (5) ◽

pp. 2733-2750 ◽

Cited By ~ 99

Author(s):

Massimo Cenciarini ◽

Robert J. Peterka

Keyword(s):

Postural Control ◽

Sensory System ◽

Weighting Factor ◽

Body Sway ◽

Support Surface ◽

Sensory Reweighting ◽

Eyes Closed ◽

Relative Contribution ◽

Lateral Body ◽

Highly Correlated

Humans maintain stable stance in a wide variety of environments. This robust behavior is thought to involve sensory reweighting whereby the nervous system adjusts the relative contribution of sensory sources used to control stance depending on environmental conditions. Based on prior experimental and modeling results, we developed a specific quantitative representation of a sensory reweighting hypothesis that predicts that a given reduction in the contribution from one sensory system will be accompanied by a corresponding increase in the contribution from different sensory systems. The goal of this study was to test this sensory-reweighting hypothesis using measures that quantitatively assess the relative contributions of the proprioceptive and graviceptive (vestibular) systems to postural control during eyes-closed stance in different test conditions. Medial/lateral body sway was evoked by side-to-side rotation of the support surface (SS) while simultaneously delivering a pulsed galvanic vestibular stimulus (GVS) through electrodes behind the ears. A model-based interpretation of sway evoked by SS rotations provided estimates of the proprioceptive weighting factor, Wp, and showed that Wp declined with increasing SS amplitude. If the sensory-reweighting hypothesis is true, then the decline in Wp should be accompanied by a corresponding increase in Wg, the graviceptive weighting factor, and responses to the GVS should increase in proportion to the value of Wg derived from responses to SS rotations. Results were consistent with the predictions of the proposed sensory-reweighting hypothesis. GVS-evoked sway increased with increasing SS amplitude, and Wg measures derived from responses to GVS and from responses to SS rotations were highly correlated.

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Stronger Associations Between Sleep and Mental Health in Adults with Autism: A UK Biobank Study

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders ◽

10.1007/s10803-021-05382-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lisa M. Henderson ◽

M. St Clair ◽

V. Knowland ◽

E. van Rijn ◽

S. Walker ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Sleep Duration ◽

Mental Distress ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Sleep Efficiency ◽

Group Differences ◽

Uk Biobank ◽

Adults With Autism ◽

Good Mental Health ◽

Adults With Asd

AbstractThis study examined sleep and its cognitive and affective correlates in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD), utilizing UK Biobank data. There were no group differences in subjective sleep duration [n = 220 ASD; n = 2200 general population (GP)]. Accelerometer measures of sleep duration or nighttime activity did not differ by group, but sleep efficiency was marginally lower in ASD (n = 83 ASD; n = 824 GP). Sleep efficiency was associated with wellbeing and mental health, and pathways between accelerometer sleep measures and wellbeing and mental health were significantly stronger for adults with ASD (who also reported substantially poorer wellbeing and > 5 × likelihood of experiencing mental distress). These findings highlight the need to monitor sleep to maintain good mental health in adult ASD.

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ANALYSIS OF SENSORY PROCESSING ABILITIES AMONG AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS CHILDREN

Pakistan Journal of Rehabilitation ◽

10.36283/pjr.zu.8.2/008 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 38-43

Author(s):

Sundas Khan

Keyword(s):

Sensory Processing ◽

Sensory Integration ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Sensory Profile ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Short Sensory Profile ◽

Processing Abilities ◽

Spectrum Disorders ◽

Definite Difference

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Autism is characterized by the complex paradigm of intellectual disabilities that leads to impairment in sensory integration, communication barriers and social interaction. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the sensory processing abilities among autism children. Further the study will be helpful in identifying difficulties faced by autistic children in multidimensional aspects. METHODOLOGY A cross-sectional study was conducted at special education institute/schools of Karachi among the Autism Spectrum Children to evaluate the patterns of sensory integration by using Short Sensory Profile. RESULTS A total of 50 children, 23 males and 27 females with mean age of 9.5±1.84 years included in the study. On SSP, the mean scores of participants were 17.89±7.61 in tactile sensitivity, 16.66±6.90 in Under-responsive/Seeks Sensation, 14.45±5.75 in Visual/Auditory Sensitivity, 17.77±7.04 in Auditory Filtering, 19.57±7.91 in Low Energy/Weak while lowest scores were reported in Taste/Smell Sensitivity and Movement Sensitivity. CONCLUSION It was concluded that definite difference is more prevalent among children with autism whereas varying percentages are found on different items on Short sensory profile. Further studies are required to assess the sensory processing issues for more useful outcomes.

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