Touch Processing and Social Behavior in ASD

Helga O Miguel; Adriana Sampaio; Rocío Martínez-Regueiro; Lorena Gómez-Guerrero; Cristina Gutiérrez López-Dóriga; Sonia Gómez; Ángel Carracedo; Montse Fernández-Prieto

doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3163-8

Touch Processing and Social Behavior in ASD

J Autism Dev Disord. 2017 Aug;47(8):2425-2433. doi: 10.1007/s10803-017-3163-8.

Authors

Helga O Miguel¹, Adriana Sampaio², Rocío Martínez-Regueiro³, Lorena Gómez-Guerrero⁴, Cristina Gutiérrez López-Dóriga⁴, Sonia Gómez⁵, Ángel Carracedo⁴, Montse Fernández-Prieto⁶

Affiliations

¹ Neuropsychophysiology Lab, CiPsi, Department of Basic Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal. helga.miguel@gmail.com.
² Neuropsychophysiology Lab, CiPsi, Department of Basic Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal.
³ Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Santiago de Compostela, Xosé María Suárez Núñez Street, s/n. Campus Vida, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
⁴ Fundación Pública Galega de Medicina Xenomica-SERGAS, Grupo U711 - CIBERER., Travesía da Choupana, s/n, Hospital Clínico Universitario, Edificio de, Consultas, Planta-2, 15706, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
⁵ CiMUS (Centro Singular de Investigación en Medicina Molecular e Enfermidades Crónicas), Barcelona Avenue, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
⁶ Grupo de Genética de Enfermedades Neurológicas, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago IDIS-SERGAS., CiMUS (Centro Singular de Investigación en Medicina Molecular e Enfermidades Crónicas), Barcelona Avenue, s/n, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

PMID: 28534141
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3163-8

Abstract

Abnormal patterns of touch processing have been linked to core symptoms in ASD. This study examined the relation between tactile processing patterns and social problems in 44 children and adolescents with ASD, aged 6-14 (M = 8.39 ± 2.35). Multiple linear regression indicated significant associations between touch processing and social problems. No such relationships were found for social problems and autism severity. Within touch processing, patterns of hyper-responsiveness and hypo-responsiveness best predicted social problems, whereas sensory-seeking did not. These results support that atypical touch processing in individuals with ASD might be contributing to the social problems they present. Moreover, it the need to explore more in depth the contribution of sensory features to the ASD phenotype.

Keywords: ASD; Sensory processing; Social behavior; Touch processing.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Autism Spectrum Disorder / physiopathology*
Autism Spectrum Disorder / psychology
Child
Female
Humans
Male
Social Behavior*
Touch
Touch Perception*