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Objective: Children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders often report disturbances in autonomic nervous system (ANS) related behavioral regulation such as sensory sensitivity, anxiety, and emotion dysregulation. Cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) is a method of non-invasive transcranial current stimulation presumed to modify behavioral regulation abilities via ANS modulation. Methods: To begin to address this knowledge gap, we examined the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a 4-week CES intervention on behavioral regulation in a mixed neurodevelopmental sample of children and adolescents currently receiving care at clinical centers operated by Cortica. We first aimed to evaluate adherence, side effects, and tolerance of CES device use. Second, we aimed to evaluate pre-post change in three PNS-associated behavioral regulation conditions: sensory sensitivities, emotion dysregulation, and anxiety. Results: Feasibility results demonstrated moderate adherence, tolerability, and satisfaction with CES usage. Further, preliminary efficacy results demonstrated a significant reduction in sensory sensitivity, anxiety, and emotion dysregulation. Conclusion: Results from this pilot study provide justification for future randomized control trials using CES in children and adolescents with behavioral dysregulation.

Background: Children with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDC) often have sensory reactivity differences, such as being overwhelmed by sounds, which can elicit distress in their everyday life. Furthermore, children with an NDC often present with a greater frequency of mental health symptoms compared to their typically developing peers. However little research has examined the relationship of these sensory reactivity differences on broader mental health. Aims: This study set out to explore the relationship between sensory reactivity and mental health symptoms. Methods: Data from parent-reported measures of sensory reactivity and mental health symptoms were collected for 49 children presenting with a neurodevelopmental condition and 42 typically developing (TD) controls. Procedures: Partial correlational analyses, controlling for IQ, were used to elucidate the relationship between sensory reactivity and mental health symptoms. Results: Children with an NDC were significantly more likely to present with a sensory reactivity difference or mental health symptom. Sensory seeking was found to be the sensory subtype most related to mental health symptoms, especially in externalising conditions. There was evidence also found for a relationship between depression, sensory seeking and sensory hypo-reactivity, and GAD and hyper-reactivity. Conclusions: Findings suggest a relationship between sensory reactivity and mental health symptoms in children with a neurodevelopmental condition. There is also preliminary evidence of unique sensory-based profiles of mental health. Implications: Assessment of sensory difficulties as part of more rigorous mental health assessments within mental health services will support more accurate diagnoses and intervention.

The “sensory processing disorder” (SPD) refers to brain's inability to organize sensory input for appropriate use. In this study, we determined the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) microstructural and connectivity correlates of SPD, and apply machine learning algorithms for identification of children with SPD based on DTI/tractography metrics. A total of 44 children with SPD and 41 typically developing children (TDC) were prospectively recruited and scanned. In addition to fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and radial diffusivity (RD), we applied probabilistic tractography to generate edge density (ED) and track density (TD) from DTI maps. For identification of children with SPD, accurate classification rates from a combination of DTI microstructural (FA, MD, AD, and RD), connectivity (TD) and connectomic (ED) metrics with different machine learning algorithms – including naïve Bayes, random forest, support vector machine, and neural networks – were determined. In voxel-wise analysis, children with SPD had lower FA, ED, and TD but higher MD and RD compared to TDC – predominantly in posterior white matter tracts including posterior corona radiata, posterior thalamic radiation, and posterior body and splenium of corpus callosum. In stepwise penalized logistic regression, the only independent variable distinguishing children with SPD from TDC was the average TD in the splenium (p

BackgroundSensory processing differences are common across neurodevelopmental disorders. Thus, reliable measures are needed to understand biologic underpinnings of these differences. This study aims to define a scoring methodology specific to tactile (TOR) and auditory (AOR) over-responsivity. Second, using MRI Diffusion Tensor Imaging, we seek to determine whether children with AOR show measurable differences in their white matter integrity.MethodsThis study includes children with AOR and TOR from a mixed neurodevelopmental disorders cohort including autism and sensory processing dysfunction (n= 176) as well as neurotypical children (n= 128). We established cut-off scores for over-responsivity using the parent report: Short Sensory Profile (SSP), and the direct assessment: Sensory Processing-Three Dimensions:Assessment (SP-3D:A). Group comparisons, based on AOR phenotype, were then conducted comparing the white matter fractional anisotropy in 23 regions of interest.ResultsUsing the direct assessment, 31% of the children with neurodevelopmental disorders had AOR and 27% had TOR. The Inter-test-agreement between SSP and SP-3D:A for AOR was 65% and TOR was 50%. Children with AOR had three white matter tracts showing decreased fractional anisotropy relative to children without AOR.ConclusionsThis study identified cut scores for AOR and TOR using the SSP parent report and SP-3D:A observation. A combination of questionnaire and direct observation measures should be used in clinical and research settings. The SSP parent report and SP-3D:A direct observation ratings overlapped moderately for sensory related behaviors. Based on these initial structural neuroimaging results, we suggest a putative neural network may contribute to AOR.

Background In children with sensory processing dysfunction (SPD), who do not meet criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or intellectual disability, the contribution of de novo pathogenic mutation in neurodevelopmental genes is unknown and in need of investigation. We hypothesize that children with SPD may have pathogenic variants in genes that have been identified as causing other neurodevelopmental disorders including ASD. This genetic information may provide important insight into the etiology of sensory processing dysfunction and guide clinical evaluation and care. Methods Eleven community-recruited trios (children with isolated SPD and both biological parents) underwent WES to identify candidate de novo variants and inherited rare single nucleotide variants (rSNV) in genes previously associated with ASD. Gene enrichment in these children and their parents for transmitted and non-transmitted mutation burden was calculated. A comparison analysis to assess for enriched rSNV burden was then performed in 2377 children with ASD and their families from the Simons Simplex Collection. Results Of the children with SPD, 2/11 (18%), were identified as having a de novo loss of function or missense mutation in genes previously reported as causative for neurodevelopmental disorders (MBD5 and FMN2). We also found that the parents of children with SPD have significant enrichment of pathogenic rSNV burden in high-risk ASD candidate genes that are inherited by their affected children. Using the same approach, we confirmed enrichment of rSNV burden in a large cohort of children with autism and their parents but not unaffected siblings. Conclusions Our findings suggest that SPD, like autism, has a genetic basis that includes both de novo single gene mutations as well as an accumulated burden of rare inherited variants from their parents. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12920-018-0362-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.