Pain Perception in Autism. Quantitative sensory testing and psychophysiological correlates, to study sensory reactivity of children and adolescents with autism

Valentina Nicolardi ¹ Isabella Fanizza ² Giuseppe Accogli ¹ Sara Scoditti ² ANTONIO TRABACCA ^1*

• ¹ Eugenio Medea (IRCCS), Bosisio Parini, Italy
• ² Associazione “La Nostra Famiglia” – IRCCS “E. Medea” - Scientific Hospital for Neurorehabilitation - Unit for Severe Disabilities in Developmental Age and Young Adults (Developmental Neurology and Neurorehabilitation), Brindisi, Italy, Associazione La Nostra Famiglia, Ponte Lambro, Italy

Background: 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 for patients' quality of life.When considering neurodevelopment, the sensory reactivity in autism is often assessed through parental reports, and only few evidences have been collected through standardized protocols. The Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST), is a standardized protocol used to quantify the sensory function by the assessment of perceptive and pain threshold with calibrated sensory stimuli. To date, only few study investigated sensory reactivity in autism through QST, and only one considered adolescent, while none included children in the sample.We aimed at study pain and sensory reactivity perception in children diagnosed with autism, through the QST protocol. Moreover, we wanted to measure central reactivity to painful stimuli, by measuring electroencephalographic (EEG) responses to painful thermal stimuli, in order 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 aim at explore the relationship between parents reports, the subjective reports and the EEG responses.Discussion: With this study, we can expand previous knowledge concerning the sensory profile of children and adolescents with autism. Moreover, to deepen the relationship between perceptive threshold in children with autism, with the reactivity of the central nervous system, could contribute to understand causal mechanism of perceptual differences observed in autism.: NCT06659731 1 Cohen et al., 2021) and thus it is for clinical population, as people with autism. Recently, it has been highlighted (Moore, 2015) the need for a systematic investigation of pain in autism through standardized and more reproducible methodologies. Previously, it has been reported that different outcome measures have been considered by different studies, such as parent reports, self reports, sensory threshold, but also objective measures, increasing variability and reducing consistency across Eliminato: : (1) sensory adaptive, (2) generalized sensory 61 differences (3) taste and smell sensitivity, (4) under-responsive and 62 sensation seeking, and (5) movement difficulties with low energy.