Sex Differences in Salience Network Connectivity and its Relationship to Sensory Over-Responsivity in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Kaitlin K Cummings, Katherine E Lawrence, Leanna M Hernandez and 4 others
PMID 32860348WHAT IT FOUND
In autistic youth, girls and boys had similar sensory over-responsivity, but brain connections tied to it differed: in boys, sensory areas; in girls, frontal areas.
Anxiety was higher in girls.
Key findings
01Total sensory over-responsivity did not differ between males and females with ASD, while females had higher anxiety.
02In males with ASD, sensory over-responsivity was linked to greater right anterior insula connectivity with temporal regions involved in auditory and language processing, the left hippocampus, and the inferior frontal gyrus.
03In females with ASD, sensory over-responsivity was linked to greater right anterior insula connectivity with frontal regions, including the frontal pole, superior frontal gyrus, paracingulate, and anterior cingulate cortex.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The female group was small, with 16 participants, so the sex difference in brain connectivity needs replication in larger samples. The paper describes only youth with ASD, so it does not show whether these patterns are specific to autism. The study examined relationships between sensory over-responsivity and brain connectivity, not treatment effects, so it cannot show that a therapy works. Sensory over-responsivity was analysed as a total score from parent report, not separately by auditory, tactile, or visual modality. Anxiety was included as a control variable, but the study did not determine whether sensory symptoms are better explained by anxiety or autism severity.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The publication types indicate NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that sensory therapies should differ for boys and girls with autism. This study found brain connectivity associations, not treatment effects, it did not test therapy, and the female group was small.