Neural networks for attention to internal and external sensory cues in ASD

描述(由申请人提供)：对基本感觉输入的反应改变是自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)的一种研究不足的症状，可能对发育有深远的影响，尽管这些影响尚未被很好地了解。虽然“感觉”一词通常意味着身体外部的刺激，但体内也有丰富的感觉信息，包括内脏和本体感觉信号。对外界感觉刺激的低反应性与核心临床症状有很强的相关性，与高反应性相比，ASD与其他发育障碍的区别更好。这个项目中描述的实验旨在调查这种反应不足的可能机制，并试图将这些机制与越来越多的证据相一致，这些证据表明，ASD患者在与外部线索竞争时，对内部感觉信号的依赖程度更高。我们预测，ASD患者对内部(内感)和外部感觉线索的基本感觉知觉不会有差异，但预计高阶神经网络会有所不同，该网络整合了这些信号，并比较竞争信号的显著性，以便分配注意力。该项目将强调由前岛叶和前扣带回皮质组成的显著网络，该网络将内部和外部线索与边缘输入相结合，以确定它们的相对情感意义。我们假设，在ASD中，这个系统涉及过度关注内部感觉线索，而不是外部输入。我们进一步预测，相对于外部感觉输入，加强对内部感觉输入的注意的神经和行为相关因素将与ASD的社会缺陷和感觉低反应呈正相关。如果这些预测得到支持，突出网络中的神经差异可能会成为ASD的新生物标记物，行为差异可能会被利用到改进的治疗方法中，包括基于正念的治疗方法，它可以利用现有的力量来关注内部感觉线索。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Altered responsiveness to basic sensory input is an under-studied symptom in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) that likely has far-reaching effects on development, although these effects are not well understood. While the term "sensory" typically connotes stimuli external to the body, there is copious sensory information within the body as well, including visceral and proprioceptive signals. Hypo-responsiveness to external sensory stimuli shows very strong association with core clinical symptoms, and differentiates ASD from other developmental disorders better than hyper-responsiveness. The experiments described in this project are designed to investigate possible mechanisms for this under-responsiveness, and attempts to reconcile these with growing evidence that individuals with ASD show enhanced reliance on internal sensory signals when they are in competition with external cues. We predict that basic sensory perception of internal (interoceptive) and external sensory cues will not differ in ASD, but expect differences in higher order neural networks that integrate these signals and compare competing signals for salience in order to allocate attention. The project will emphasize the salience network, comprising anterior insular and anterior cingulate cortices, which integrate both internal and external cues with limbic input to determine their relative affective significance. We hypothesize that this system is involved in excessive focus on internal sensory cues, at the expense of external input, in ASD. We further predict that the neural and behavioral correlates of enhanced attention to internal sensory input relative to external will positively relate to social deficits and sensory hypo-responsiveness in ASD. If these predictions are supported, neural differences in the salience network could serve as novel biomarkers for ASD and behavioral differences could be parlayed into improved therapeutic approaches, including mindfulness-based therapies that could capitalize on an existing strength in attending to internal sensory cues.