Sensory over-responsivity in adults with autism spectrum conditions.

Anecdotal reports and empirical evidence suggest that sensory processing issues are a key feature of autism spectrum conditions. This study set out to investigate whether adults with autism spectrum conditions report more sensory over-responsivity than adults without autism spectrum conditions. Another goal of the study was to identify whether autistic traits in adults with and without autism spectrum conditions were associated with sensory over-responsivity.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and sensory modulation disorder: a comparison of behavior and physiology.

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are impulsive, inattentive and hyperactive, while children with sensory modulation disorder (SMD), one subtype of Sensory Processing Disorder, have difficulty responding adaptively to daily sensory experiences. ADHD and SMD are often difficult to distinguish. To differentiate these disorders in children, clinical ADHD, SMD, and dual diagnoses were assessed.

Phenotypes within sensory modulation dysfunction.

Sensory modulation disorder (SMD) is a severe inability to regulate responses to everyday sensory stimulation to which most people easily adapt. It is estimated to affect 5% to 16% of the general population of children. Although heterogeneity is seen in the presentation clinically, previous research has not empirically investigated whether the clinical heterogeneity of SMD can be classified into subtypes.

An exploratory event-related potential study of multisensory integration in sensory over-responsive children.

Children who are over-responsive to sensation have defensive and "fight or flight" reactions to ordinary levels of sensory stimulation in the environment. Based on clinical observations, sensory over-responsivity is hypothesized to reflect atypical neural integration of sensory input. To examine a possible underlying neural mechanism of the disorder, integration of simultaneous multisensory auditory and somatosensory stimulation was studied in twenty children with sensory over-responsivity (SOR) using event-related potentials (ERPs).

Physiological and behavioral differences in sensory processing: a comparison of children with autism spectrum disorder and sensory modulation disorder.

A high incidence of sensory processing difficulties exists in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and children with Sensory Modulation Disorder (SMD). This is the first study to directly compare and contrast these clinical disorders. Sympathetic nervous system markers of arousal and reactivity were utilized in a laboratory paradigm that administered a series of sensory challenges across five sensory domains.

Perspectives on sensory processing disorder: a call for translational research.

THIS ARTICLE EXPLORES THE CONVERGENCE OF TWO FIELDS, WHICH HAVE SIMILAR THEORETICAL ORIGINS: a clinical field originally known as sensory integration and a branch of neuroscience that conducts research in an area also called sensory integration. Clinically, the term was used to identify a pattern of dysfunction in children and adults, as well as a related theory, assessment, and treatment method for children who have atypical responses to ordinary sensory stimulation. Currently the term for the disorder is sensory processing disorder (SPD).

Mouse model of fragile X syndrome: behavioral and hormonal response to stressors.

Fragile X syndrome, a form of mental retardation caused by inadequate levels of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), is characterized by extreme sensitivity to sensory stimuli and increased behavioral and hormonal reactivity to stressors. Fmr1 knockout mice lack FMRP and exhibit abnormal responses to auditory stimuli. This study sought to determine whether Fmr1 knockout mice on an F1 hybrid background are normal in their response to footshock.

Pharmacotherapy of dual substance abuse and dependence.

The US FDA has approved a limited number of treatments for alcohol, nicotine and opioid dependence; however, no treatments for other abused drugs such as marijuana, cocaine or methamphetamine are approved. This review focuses on research into drug pharmacotherapies, particularly single-drug therapies, for substance abuse and dependence contributing to the most important dual substance use disorders (SUDs). Given the implications of poly-substance abuse, it is essential that clinicians and researchers be aware of potential pharmacotherapies for the treatment of dual SUDs.

Corticotropin-releasing factor type-1 receptor antagonists: the next class of antidepressants?

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a neuropeptide that plays a primary role in the neuroendocrine, autonomic, and behavioral responses to stressors. Numerous reports suggest that alterations in CRF function contribute to the pathogenesis of depression. Recently, selective nonpeptide CRF type 1 (CRF1) receptor antagonists have been discovered and several of these CRF1 receptor antagonists have demonstrated antidepressant-like efficacy in animals.

Antidepressant-like activity of corticotropin-releasing factor type-1 receptor antagonists in mice.

The development of selective corticotropin-releasing factor type-1 (CRF1) receptor antagonists represents a potential novel treatment for depression. These studies evaluated CRF1 receptor antagonists for antidepressant-like activity in mice. Subchronic dosing of both R 121919 (3-[6-(dimethylamino)-4-methyl-pyrid-3-yl]-2,5-dimethyl-N,N-dipropyl-pyrazolo[2,3-a]pyrimidin-7-amine) and DMP 696 (4-(1,3-dimethoxyprop-2-ylamino)-2,7-dimethyl-8-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-pyrazolo[1,5-a]-1,3,5-triazine) significantly decreased immobility time in the tail suspension test (at 30 and at 3 and 10 mg/kg, i.

Automated analysis of foot-shock sensitivity and concurrent freezing behavior in mice.

Foot-shock is used in a variety of behavioral tasks either as a motivational stimulus, a way to characterize different rodents, or to test various pharmacological agents for their antinociceptive or analgesic effects. All these procedures need to assess foot-shock sensitivity either to rule out possible differences (when the shock is used as a motivational stimulus) or to use the differences to compare animals or treatments. In addition, many of the procedures that utilize foot-shock as a motivational stimulus evaluate freezing as an index of anxiety or fear.

Elevated plus maze behavior, auditory startle response, and shock sensitivity in predisease and in early stage autoimmune disease MRL/lpr mice.

Behaviors indicative of anxiety have been suggested to emerge with the onset of autoimmune disease in MRL/MpJ-Fas(lpr) (MRL/lpr) mice. This study extends the behavioral characterization of MRL/lpr and congenic MRL/MpJ+/+ (MRL/+) mice using the elevated plus maze (EPM), acoustic startle response, and foot-shock sensitivity tasks. In the elevated plus maze, predisease MRL/lpr mice exhibited less anxiety while MRL/lpr mice in the early stage of autoimmunity did not differ from age-matched control MRL/+ mice.

Alterations in the auditory startle response in Fmr1 targeted mutant mouse models of fragile X syndrome.

Fragile X syndrome results from inadequate production of the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). Mice with a mutation targeted to the Fmr1 gene lack FMRP and thus are a valuable animal model for studying the behavioral and neural phenotype of this human disorder. Mice of two genetic backgrounds containing the Fmr1 mutation, C57BL/6J (C57-KO) and an F1 hybrid (C57BL/6J mutant x FVB/NJ; F1-KO) did not differ from control mice in behavior in the elevated plus maze or the open field.