Brain Wiring Differences Found in Kids with Autism, Sensory Processing Disorders

Research recently published in the journal PLOS ONE found that children with sensory processing disorders (SPD) have decreased structural brain connections in specific sensory regions different than those in autism; further establishing SPD as a clinically important neurodevelopmental disorder. The study, conducted by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, is the first to compare structural connectivity in the brains of children with an autism diagnosis versus those with an SPD diagnosis. “One of the most striking new findings is that the children with SPD show even greater brain disconnection than the kids with a full autism diagnosis in some sensory-based tracts,” said one of the study’s corresponding authors. During the study, researchers examined the structural connectivity of specific white matter tracts in 16 boys with SPD and 15 boys with autism between the ages of eight and 12, and then compared them with 23 typically developing boys of the same age range. The researchers found that both the SPD and autism groups showed decreased connectivity in multiple parieto-occipital tracts, the areas that handle basic sensory information in the back area of the brain. To read more about this study, click here.