# Pain perception in autism. A study of sensory reactivity in children and adolescents with autism using quantitative sensory testing and psychophysiological correlates

## TL;DR

This study explores how children and adolescents with autism perceive pain and react to sensory stimuli using standardized testing and brain activity measurements.

## Contribution

The study introduces a comprehensive approach to assess sensory reactivity in autism using QST and EEG in children and adolescents.

## Key findings

- Pain perception thresholds were measured using QST in children with autism.
- EEG responses were recorded to evaluate central nervous system reactivity to painful stimuli.
- The study explores the relationship between subjective sensory reactivity and objective brain responses.

## Abstract

Hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory input is a diagnostic criterion for autism spectrum disorder; however, it is still not fully characterized, despite its relevance to patients' quality of life. When considering neurodevelopment, sensory reactivity in autism is often assessed through parental reports, with only a few pieces of evidence acquired using standardized protocols. Quantitative sensory testing (QST) is a standardized protocol used to quantify sensory function by assessing perceptive and pain thresholds with calibrated sensory stimuli. To date, only a few studies have used QST to investigate sensory reactivity in autism, with only one taking into account adolescents and none including children in the sample.

We aimed to study pain perception and in children diagnosed with autism using the QST protocol. Moreover, we sought to measure central reactivity to painful stimuli by recording electroencephalographic (EEG) responses to painful thermal stimuli to explore the relationship between subjective reactivity (i.e., reactions to sensory stimuli) and central processing of sensory stimuli (i.e., EEG responses). Finally, we aimed to explore the relationship between parents' reports, subjective reports, and EEG responses.

This study will help to expand our previous knowledge concerning the sensory profile of children and adolescents with autism. Deepening our understanding of the relationship between perceptive thresholds in children with autism and the reactivity of the central nervous system, could help us understand the causal mechanism of the perceptual differences observed in autism.

NCT06659731