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Scientists Pinpoint Main Cause of Sensory Hypersensitivity in Autism (scitechdaily.com)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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This study has identified the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) as a key area in the brain responsible for sensory hypersensitivity in autism spectrum disorders. Utilizing a mouse model with a Grin2b gene mutation, heightened neural activity and connectivity in the ACC was observed. Suppressing this hyperactivity normalized the sensory hypersensitivity, offering new insights into treatment options

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-024-02572-y (open access)

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Does this only apply to autistic sensory issues? I have been diagnosed with a sensory disorder, but I have ADHD. It's debilitating, so it would be neat to experience life without constant overload

[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I would take diagnosis around Neurodiversity with a grain of salt. I suspect both conditions might be the same brain differences presenting differently, and I don't think science has really gotten to the ground of this yet.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I was going to comment the same. I'd add that that it's also important to remember that (as opposed to physical diagnosis) mental health diagnoses are descriptive, rather than predictive.

You can think of a mental health diagnosis like a bucket, where we put different symptoms that often occur together (but rarely all the same time) and then label the bucket, as in "depression". Then we try to figure out why there seems to be this relationship of symptoms, where they are coming from, and how to make it better; with part of the object of study being intangible.

With physical medicine, you can follow a tangible path from the symptom to the cause. If you have symptoms of Covid, you can test for the specific virus. And then "predict" what's going to happen and what to do about it.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

This isn't quite true. Physical medicine also has many diseases that are just grouped together symptoms with unknown etiology. They are referred to as syndromes: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syndrome

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

I guess my confusion with that lies with an additional diagnosis I have: AvPD. Treatment for the pd has been hugely beneficial for me, where I don't think treating social issues in autism can/should be beneficial or necessary. I'm not disagreeing with your take, I think similar brain structures can have similar symptoms. I just would hate to put anyone with autism through the therapy I have solely because it helped me navigate the world better.

If I had been diagnosed with autism, I would never gone through this treatment. I guess, as my therapist puts it "we don't want to change autism" where the world does want to change personality disorders

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