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Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE B 2024 Vol.25 No.11 P.996-1008

http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B2300462


Pupillometry reveals hyper-arousal in response to auditory stimuli in autistic children


Author(s):  Ci SONG, Runsheng MA, Wei NI, Xinyue PENG, Xue LI, Ruoxi SHI, Yuanping ZHANG, Li YI

Affiliation(s):  School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing100871, China; more

Corresponding email(s):   yilipku@pku.edu.cn

Key Words:  Autism spectrum disorder, Arousal, Habituation, Auditory, Pupillometry


Ci SONG, Runsheng MA, Wei NI, Xinyue PENG, Xue LI, Ruoxi SHI, Yuanping ZHANG, Li YI. Pupillometry reveals hyper-arousal in response to auditory stimuli in autistic children[J]. Journal of Zhejiang University Science B, 2024, 25(11): 996-1008.

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publisher="Zhejiang University Press & Springer",
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Abstract: 
Atypical sensory responsivity is widely reported in autistic individuals and is related to elevated functional difficulties. Dynamically, altered initial responses and/or habituation rates could underlie their atypical averaged responses to repeated sensory stimuli. In this study we aimed to measure the arousal level in response to different types of auditory stimuli and the dynamic change of atypical arousal level using pupillometry in autistic children. In Experiment 1, 43 autistic children and 49 neurotypical (NT) children were asked to passively listen to a mild sound and an aversive sound repeatedly. In Experiment 2, 39 autistic children and 44 NT children who went through Experiment 1 listened to a gradually emerging non-startling sound and a suddenly emerging startling sound in a random order. We found that the autistic group showed hyper-arousal in response to the aversive sound and the startling sound as reflected by their larger change in pupil area. In comparison, these autistic children demonstrated normal arousal in response to the mild sound and the non-startling sound. Dynamically, the autistic group had a larger peak pupil area change than the NT group in the first trial and a normal habituation rate to the aversive sound. In summary, our results suggest hyper-arousal to aversive and startling stimuli and the role of larger initial responses in hyper-arousal in autism. Minimizing aversive and startling sensory stimuli or gradually increasing the volume of aversive auditory stimuli to allow autistic children to adapt using the principle of habituation is recommended to reduce the arousal level and problematic behaviors of autistic children.

瞳孔测量揭示孤独症儿童对听觉刺激的过高唤醒反应

宋词1,2, 马润升1,2, 倪玮1,2, 彭新玥1,2, 李雪3,4,5, 石若玺6, 张原平7, 易莉1,2,8
1北京大学心理与认知科学学院, 中国北京市, 100871
2行为与心理健康北京市重点实验室, 中国北京市, 100871
3北京大学精神卫生研究所, 中国北京市, 100191
4卫生部精神卫生学重点实验室(北京大学), 中国北京市, 100191
5国家精神心理疾病临床医学研究中心(北京大学第六医院), 中国北京市, 100191
6青岛市自闭症研究会, 中国青岛市, 266107
7天津市宜童自闭症研究服务中心, 中国天津市, 300392
8北京大学IDG麦戈文脑科学研究所, 中国北京市, 100871
摘要:异常的感官反应在孤独症个体中被广泛报道,且与更多的功能困难有关。动态地看,他们对重复出现的感官刺激的反应平均值异常的背后因素可能是异常的首次反应和/或习惯化速率。本研究旨在使用瞳孔测量法测量不同类型听觉刺激引起的孤独症儿童的唤醒水平以及他们异常唤醒水平的动态变化。在实验一中,43名孤独症儿童和49名典型发展儿童被动地听重复出现的温和声音和负向声音。在实验二中,参加过实验一的39名孤独症儿童和44名典型发展儿童听按随机顺序出现的逐渐出现的无惊跳声音和突然出现的惊跳声音。研究发现,孤独症组在听负向声音和惊跳声音时瞳孔面积变化过大,这表明他们出现过高唤醒,而这些孤独症儿童在听温和声音和无惊跳声音时的唤醒水平正常。动态地看,在听负向声音时,孤独症组在首次反应中瞳孔面积变化的最大值过大,而该组的习惯化速率是正常的。总之,上述结果表明,负向和惊跳刺激可使孤独症儿童产生过高唤醒,且过高的首次反应在孤独症的过高唤醒中起到作用。因此,我们建议尽量减少负向和惊跳感官刺激或逐渐增加负向听觉刺激的音量来让孤独症儿童通过习惯化适应,从而降低他们的唤醒水平并减少问题行为。

关键词:孤独症谱系障碍;唤醒;习惯化;听觉的;瞳孔测量

Darkslateblue:Affiliate; Royal Blue:Author; Turquoise:Article

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