Neurobiobehavioral markers of stress, saliency, and multisensory dysfunction in autism

项目摘要 感觉异常通常在患有自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的儿童中观察到。月初 与照顾者的互动，视觉，听觉和躯体感觉处理是社会交流的组成部分 并帮助将注意力引向重要线索。感觉信息的整合有助于检测显著性 外部环境的特点。然而，在ASD中，有证据表明非典型的多感觉整合， 扰乱了显著性处理感觉信息的无效整合和显著性检测可能 导致认知和情绪过载和不确定性，并增加压力反应。压力升高 (e.g.,与ASD感觉功能障碍相关的皮质醇）可能进一步复合核心神经病学， 有助于后来内化症状的发展（例如，常与ASD并发。感官 异常通常与ASD儿童的内在症状相关，尽管潜在的神经系统疾病 和行为机制尚不清楚。因此，本研究项目将调查 多感觉整合，显着性处理和应激反应之间的关系，并建立如何异常， 这些结构域与ASD的内在化症状有关。这些关系将在ASD中进行研究 儿童（n=115）和7 - 10岁的典型发育中同龄人（n=115），当复杂时 多感觉整合开始稳定，并且发生内化症状的风险增加。我们推测 低水平感觉处理的缺陷会破坏高水平的多感觉整合和显着性 检测，这是与内化症状;我们进一步假设这些联系是缓和 ASD中应激反应性。本研究的目的是：（1）表征情境中的多感觉整合 ASD儿童感觉信息的显著性检测;（2） 多感觉整合和显著性加工的神经回路;（3）检查关联 报告的感觉反应的主观测量，多感觉的定量测量， 整合和显著性检测，以及应激反应;以及（4）相关神经和行为测量， 多感觉整合和显着处理，以及应激反应指数，以共同发生 自闭症儿童的内在症状该项目将采用多式联运办法， 包括收集定量的心理物理辨别反应阈值（对视觉，听觉， 躯体感觉和多感觉刺激），应激反应性的生物学指标（即，唾液皮质醇）， 磁共振成像（MRI）数据（即，任务和静息状态功能连接MRI，解剖学 MRI），主观的自我报告问卷，以及认知和心理诊断评估。这些发现 将阐明神经生物行为机制之间的联系，支持多感觉整合， 处理和压力的表现，以及自闭症儿童的内化条件。

PROJECT SUMMARY Sensory abnormalities are commonly observed in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In early interactions with caregivers, visual, auditory, and somatosensory processing is integral to social interchanges and helps direct attention toward important cues. The integration of sensory information aids in detecting salient features of the external environment. In ASD, however, there is evidence of atypical multisensory integration and disrupted salience processing. Ineffective integration and saliency detection of sensory information likely contribute to cognitive and emotional overload and uncertainty, and increased stress reactivity. Elevated stress (e.g., cortisol) associated with sensory dysfunction in ASD may further compound core symptomatology and contribute to later development of internalizing symptoms (e.g., anxiety) frequently co-occurring in ASD. Sensory abnormalities are often correlated with internalizing symptoms in ASD children, although the underlying neural and behavioral mechanisms are unclear. Therefore, this research project will investigate the relationship between multisensory integration, salience processing, and stress reactivity, and establish how abnormalities in these domains are associated with internalizing symptoms in ASD. These relations will be examined in ASD children (n=115) and typically developing peers (n=115) between 7 and 10 years of age, when complex multisensory integration begins to stabilize and risk of developing internalizing symptoms increases. We theorize that deficits in low-level sensory processing disrupt both high-level multisensory integration and saliency detection, which are linked to internalizing symptoms; we further hypothesize these links to be moderated by stress reactivity in ASD. The proposed research aims to: (1) characterize multisensory integration in the context of saliency detection of sensory information in children with ASD; (2) map activity and functional connectivity of the neural circuits underlying multisensory integration and salience processing; (3) examine associations between subjective measures of reported sensory responsivity, quantitative measures of multisensory integration and saliency detection, and stress reactivity; and (4) relate neural and behavioral measures of multisensory integration and salience processing, as well as indices of stress reactivity, to co-occurring internalizing symptoms reported in children with ASD. This project will implement a multimodal approach, including the collection of quantitative psychophysical discrimination response thresholds (to visual, auditory, somatosensory, and multisensory stimulation), biological indicators of stress reactivity (i.e., salivary cortisol), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data (i.e., task and resting state functional connectivity MRI, anatomical MRI), subjective caregiver-report questionnaires, and cognitive and psychodiagnostic assessments. The findings will elucidate the links between neurobiobehavioral mechanisms underpinning multisensory integration, salience processing, and manifestations of stress, as well as internalizing conditions in children with autism.