Some individuals who suffer from obsessive–compulsive (OC) disorder (OCD), report disturbing sensory preoccupations. The inability to stop obsessing over stimuli resonates with a difficulty in sensory habituation. Impaired sensory habituation, to a degree that clearly dysregulates response to sensory stimuli, and impairs participation in everyday activities, can be part of a disorder known as sensory over-responsivity (SOR). Although previous studies indicated a correlation between OCD and SOR, physiological experiments show that individuals with OCD are not more sensitive to sensory stimuli than controls. In the current study, we (1) validated a sensory habituation psycho-physiological protocol and (2) tested whether a “slow to habituate” mechanism can explain the occurrence of elevated SOR and OC symptoms.

We designed a protocol to test auditory sensory habituation through electrodermal activity (EDA) recording. The protocol included two randomly ordered aversive and neutral sound conditions; each set of six everyday life sounds was presented as a continuous stimulus. During the presentation of sounds, EDA was measured and participants could press a button to shorten the stimuli. Participants also completed sensory and OC symptom questionnaires. Participants included 100 typically developing adults that were divided into high versus low OC symptom groups. Mixed models analysis was used throughout to meet the need for capturing the temporal nature of habituation.

Distinct physiological indices were computed to measure sensitivity versus habituation. Habituation was slower in the aversive versus neutral condition. Sensitivity was higher for the aversive stimuli. Self-report of sensory habituation and sensitivity partially correlated with the physiological habituation indices. A comparison of the physiological pattern between those with high versus low OC symptoms revealed significant differences in the habituation and sensitivity indices, across conditions.

The interplay between SOR and OC symptoms can be explained by a “slow to habituate” mechanism. Identifying behavioral and physiological markers of sensory problems in OCD is important for assessment, intervention and the discovery of underlying mechanisms.

一些患有强迫症 (OCD) 的人报告称存在令人不安的感官成见。无法停止对刺激的痴迷与感觉习惯的困难产生共鸣。感觉习惯受损，达到明显失调对感觉刺激的反应并损害日常活动参与的程度，可能是感觉过度反应（SOR）疾病的一部分。尽管之前的研究表明强迫症和 SOR 之间存在相关性，但生理实验表明强迫症患者对感觉刺激并不比对照组更敏感。在当前的研究中，我们 (1) 验证了感觉习惯心理生理方案，并 (2) 测试了“缓慢习惯”机制是否可以解释 SOR 和 OC 症状升高的发生。

我们设计了一个协议，通过皮肤电活动 (EDA) 记录来测试听觉感觉习惯。该协议包括两个随机排序的厌恶和中性声音条件；每组六个日常生活声音被呈现为连续的刺激。在声音呈现过程中，EDA 被测量，参与者可以按下按钮来缩短刺激。参与者还完成了感觉和 OC 症状调查问卷。参与者包括 100 名正常发育的成年人，他们被分为高 OC 症状组和低 OC 症状组。整个过程中使用了混合模型分析，以满足捕获习惯的时间性质的需要。

计算不同的生理指数来测量敏感性与习惯性。与中性条件相比，厌恶条件下的习惯化较慢。对厌恶刺激的敏感性较高。感觉习惯和敏感性的自我报告与生理习惯指数部分相关。对具有高 OC 症状和低 OC 症状的人之间的生理模式进行比较，发现不同条件下的习惯和敏感性指数存在显着差异。

SOR 和 OC 症状之间的相互作用可以用“缓慢适应”机制来解释。识别强迫症感觉问题的行为和生理标志对于评估、干预和发现潜在机制非常重要。