# Neural mechanisms of sensory reactivity and regulation in autism across development

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2022 · $687,877

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 Sensory over-responsivity (SOR) is an impairing condition manifested as extreme sensitivity to stimuli
such as loud noises or being touched. SOR is present across neurodevelopmental disorders, but is particularly
prevalent in youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with rates of at least 56-70%. SOR is a fundamental
limitation to individuals’ ability to participate in the community, succeed in school, complete daily living tasks, and
interact socially. Despite this, there are almost no empirically-based treatments for SOR, in part due to the lack
of understanding of its underlying biological mechanisms. Furthermore, while SOR tends to decline across
adolescence into adulthood, there is little understanding as to why and for whom it improves. Thus, the primary
goals of this study are to identify the developmental course of SOR as well as neurobiological mechanisms
through which it can be attenuated, both essential to developing interventions. Our team has conducted some
of the first studies identifying key neural mechanisms of SOR across youth with ASD, including 1) over-reactive
brain responses/reduced habituation in primary sensory cortices and amygdala, 2) reduced thalamic GABA, and
3) reduced prefrontal cortex (PFC)-amygdala functional connectivity during aversive sensory stimulation. Our
prior studies also indicate that the subset of youth with ASD but low SOR show heightened amygdala-prefrontal
connectivity during sensory stimulation, suggesting a mechanism for resilience against SOR. Our preliminary
data also suggest that amygdala reactivity to aversive sensory stimulation declines with age while PFC activation
increases. This proposal seeks to build on this foundation by examining biological mechanisms through which
SOR may be attenuated either through natural development or through direct intervention, with the goal of
proximate translation to treatment. Using a combined cross-sectional and longitudinal design, we will examine:
1) developmental changes in sensory reactivity in ASD compared to typically developing (TD) children; 2)
developmental changes in two candidate neural mechanisms of sensory regulation (thalamic GABA and PFC-
amygdala connectivity), and 3) the relative ability of two different emotion regulation strategies (attention cuing
vs. reappraisal) in engaging sensory regulation. Based on our prior studies and preliminary data, we expect to
see that behavioral and neural markers of SOR decrease with age, but that this decline happens later than is
typical for youth with ASD, indicating a developmental delay in sensory regulation. We further expect that of our
two candidate top-down mechanisms of sensory regulation that prefrontal-amygdala connectivity but not
thalamic GABA will improve with development, which will inform our understanding of why SOR decreases with
age and how best to treat it at different stages of development. Finally, we will compare the relative ability of
attention cuing vs. ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10378475
- **Project number:** 5R01MH124977-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Shulamite Abra Green
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $687,877
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-04-01 → 2026-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10378475

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10378475, Neural mechanisms of sensory reactivity and regulation in autism across development (5R01MH124977-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10378475. Licensed CC0.

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