Autism spectrum disorder is associated with sensory processing alterations, such as sensory hyper- and hypo-responsiveness. Twin studies are scarce in this field, but they are necessary in order to disentangle the genetic and environmental contributions to this association. Furthermore, it is unclear how different neurodevelopmental/psychiatric conditions contribute to altering sensory processing. We investigated the association between autistic traits/autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and sensory processing alterations in twins (N = 269), using the adult/adolescent sensory profile, which differentiates four sub-domains: Low Registration, Sensation Seeking, Sensory Sensitivity, and Sensation Avoiding. While the associations between autistic traits and Low Registration and Sensation Avoiding persisted within monozygotic (genetically identical) twins, Sensory Sensitivity was only associated with autistic traits within dizygotic twins. In multivariate analyses with different neurodevelopmental/psychiatric diagnoses as predictor variables, autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were the strongest predictors for two adult/adolescent sensory profile sub-domains each. The results suggest that the association between autistic traits and Sensory Sensitivity is influenced by genetics while non-shared environmental factors influence the associations between autistic traits and Low Registration and Sensation Avoiding. They further indicate that altered sensory processing is not specific to autism spectrum disorder, while autism spectrum disorder is a strong predictor of certain sensory processing alterations, even when controlling for other (comorbid) neurodevelopmental/psychiatric conditions.

Lay abstract

Individuals diagnosed with autism often describe that they process sensory information differently from others, and many experience sensory issues as problematic. For instance, an increased sensitivity to smells or sounds can make participating in social settings challenging. While sensory issues are now part of the diagnostic criteria for autism, they also co-occur with other psychiatric diagnoses such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety disorders. It is unclear to what extent the relationship between autism and alterations in sensory processing are due to genetics or environment. In addition, more research is needed on how autism, as compared to other diagnoses, is associated with sensory issues. Using a twin study, we found that genetic factors influenced self-reported reactivity to sensory stimuli in autism while environmental factors influenced other sensory issues (e.g. difficulties in detecting or differentiating sensory input). Hence, sensory hyper-reactivity might be an early onset core feature of autism, while other domains of alterations in sensory processing might develop later, influenced by the environment. Moreover, autism was more strongly associated with sensory issues related to increased sensitivity/reactivity as compared to other psychiatric diagnoses. However, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was more strongly related to deficits in detecting/differentiating sensory stimuli and with an increased drive to seek sensory input. Our results indicate that sensory issues are not specific to autism, but that some aspects of altered sensory processing are more relevant for autism than for other diagnoses.

中文翻译：

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自闭症感觉加工改变的双胞胎对照研究

自闭症谱系障碍与感觉处理改变有关，例如感觉高反应和低反应。该领域的双胞胎研究很少，但它们是必要的，以便解开遗传和环境对这种关联的贡献。此外，尚不清楚不同的神经发育/精神状况如何有助于改变感觉处理。我们研究了自闭症特征/自闭症谱系障碍诊断与双胞胎（N  = 269）感觉处理改变之间的关联，使用成人/青少年感觉档案，区分四个子域：低注册、感觉寻求、感觉敏感性和感觉避免。而自闭症特征与低注册之间的关联和感觉避免在单卵（基因相同）双胞胎中持续存在，感觉敏感性仅与双卵双胞胎的自闭症特征相关。在以不同的神经发育/精神病学诊断作为预测变量的多变量分析中，自闭症谱系障碍和注意力缺陷多动障碍是两个成人/青少年感觉轮廓子域的最强预测因子。结果表明，自闭症特征与感觉敏感性之间的关联受遗传影响，而非共同的环境因素影响自闭症特征与低注册和感觉避免之间的关联. 他们进一步表明，感觉处理的改变并不是自闭症谱系障碍所特有的，而自闭症谱系障碍是某些感觉处理改变的强预测因子，即使在控制其他（共病）神经发育/精神疾病时也是如此。

抽象

被诊断患有自闭症的人经常描述他们处理感官信息的方式与其他人不同，并且许多人将感官问题视为有问题的。例如，对气味或声音的敏感性增加会使参与社交环境变得具有挑战性。虽然感觉问题现在是自闭症诊断标准的一部分，但它们也与其他精神疾病诊断同时发生，例如注意力缺陷多动障碍和焦虑症。目前尚不清楚自闭症与感觉处理改变之间的关系在多大程度上是由遗传或环境引起的。此外，与其他诊断相比，自闭症如何与感觉问题相关，还需要更多的研究。使用双胞胎研究，我们发现遗传因素影响自闭症患者自我报告的对感觉刺激的反应，而环境因素影响其他感觉问题（例如难以检测或区分感觉输入）。因此，感觉过度反应可能是自闭症的早期核心特征，而感觉处理的其他改变领域可能会在以后发展，受环境影响。此外，与其他精神病学诊断相比，自闭症与与敏感性/反应性增加有关的感觉问题更密切相关。然而，注意力缺陷多动障碍与检测/区分感觉刺激的缺陷以及寻求感觉输入的动力增加密切相关。我们的结果表明，感觉问题并不是自闭症所特有的，