Atypical Physiological Response to Less Controllable Sensory Stimulation in Children with ASD

Atypical sensory features are frequently observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as uncontrollable and less predictable sensory stimuli are thought to be stressful for them. To quantify distal indicators of cardiac vagus nerve activity, which is associated with top-down self-regu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of abnormal child psychology 2022-10, Vol.50 (10), p.1363-1377
Main Authors: Matsushima, Kanae, Matsubayashi, Jun, Toichi, Motomi, Funabiki, Yasuko, Kato, Takeo, Awaya, Tomonari, Tsuchida, Reiko, Kato, Toshihiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder - complications
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Child
Child and School Psychology
Children
Heart rate
Heart Rate - physiology
Humans
Neurosciences
Physiology
Psychology
Public Health
Resting
Self regulation
Sensory stimulation
Stimulation
Stimuli
Touch
Values
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Summary:Atypical sensory features are frequently observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as uncontrollable and less predictable sensory stimuli are thought to be stressful for them. To quantify distal indicators of cardiac vagus nerve activity, which is associated with top-down self-regulatory capacity, during sensory tasks as a stress state in children with ASD, we conducted an exploratory study to measure phasic high-frequency components of heart rate variability (phasic HF-HRV) during less controllable tactile/auditory sensory tasks in 37 children with ASD (aged 6–12 years) and 37 typically developing (TD) children. Only children with ASD showed increased HF-HRV values from the resting state to the task (i.e., phasic HF-HRV augmentation) during both less controllable tactile/auditory sensory tasks. In TD children, decreased phasic HF-HRV values were observed to cope with the task demand during the less-controllable-tactile task. These findings suggest that increased phasic HF-HRV values in response to less controllable sensory stimuli may reflect atypical physiological regulation during sensory stimulation in children with ASD.
ISSN:2730-7166
2730-7174
DOI:10.1007/s10802-022-00927-z