Browsing by Subject "sensory over-responsivity"

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Open Access
A Path From Childhood Sensory Processing Disorder to Anxiety Disorders: The Mediating Role of Emotion Dysregulation and Adult Sensory Processing Disorder Symptoms.
(Frontiers in integrative neuroscience, 2019-01) McMahon, Kibby; Anand, Deepika; Morris-Jones, Marissa; Rosenthal, M Zachary
Although maladaptive sensory processing has been observed among individuals with persistent heightened anxiety, it is unclear if difficulties processing sensory input early in life lead to anxiety disorders in adulthood and what mechanisms would drive this progression. In a transdiagnostic clinical sample of 231 adults characterized by heightened difficulties with emotion regulation, the present study sought to examine whether: (a) childhood sensory processing disorder (SPD) symptoms predict an increased probability of an anxiety disorder diagnosis in adulthood; and (b) difficulties with emotion regulation and adult SPD symptoms mediate this relationship. Participants were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for Axis-I disorders and self-reported symptoms of SPD experienced in childhood and adulthood. Results suggested that childhood SPD symptoms were significantly associated with a higher likelihood of a lifetime anxiety disorder diagnosis. Difficulties with emotion regulation fully mediated the relationship between childhood SPD and (a) any anxiety disorder in adulthood and, specifically (b) current generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Further, we found evidence for a candidate model accounting for the relationship among childhood SPD, adulthood SPD, difficulties with emotion regulation, and anxiety disorders in adulthood. Specifically, our data indicated that high symptoms of SPD in childhood may lead to high SPD symptoms in adulthood, which then lead to high emotion dysregulation, ultimately conferring vulnerability for an anxiety disorder diagnosis. Taken together, these findings provide preliminary evidence for how sensory processing impairments in childhood may relate to anxiety through difficulties regulating emotion regulation.
Open Access
Evaluating risk for adolescent anxiety: The role of preschool sensory over-responsivity and differential volume of subcortical regions
(2023-04-20) Haughey, Connor
Anxiety disorders represent one of the most prevalent groups of mental health disorders and can cause immense problems in psychosocial functioning and overall well-being. Sensory over-responsivity, which is typically only evaluated as a symptom of autism spectrum disorder, represents when an individual experiences an abnormally heightened reaction to at least one sensory stimulus. Recent studies have found that sensory over-responsivity at preschool age is associated with many forms of psychopathology at school age, including anxiety disorders. At present, no studies have examined if this relationship continues later in life nor how sensory over-responsivity manifests structurally in the brain. The primary aim of the present study was to evaluate whether preschool sensory over-responsivity is associated with adolescent anxiety, and whether the volumes of the amygdala, hippocampus, and caudate nucleus at school age might moderate this relationship. We conducted a longitudinal follow-up study that has a sample of 210 adolescents ages 15 to 22 who underwent psychiatric assessment at the preschool age, which included a diagnostic screening for anxiety disorders and sensory over-responsivity. A subset of these 210 adolescents also underwent magnetic resonance brain imaging at school age. At the most recent follow-up, they completed an assessment of anxiety, allowing us to investigate mental health changes across their lifespan. First, we found no significant relationship between preschool sensory over-responsivity and adolescent anxiety. Second, we did not find any significant moderation effect of bilateral amygdala, hippocampus, and caudate nucleus volumes on the relationship between preschool sensory over-responsivity and adolescent anxiety. However, we found a significant interaction between left hippocampus volume at school-age and preschool sensory over-responsivity on total externalizing and internalizing problems. These findings add to the growing literature seeking to understand early life risk factors for anxiety during adolescence. Furthermore, these findings emphasize the role of brain structure, particularly the hippocampus, during early life development in a model of risk for adolescent anxiety.