A dynamic approach to sensory processing in autism (360G-Wellcome-204685_Z_16_Z)

The importance of sensory symptoms in autism is clear, but we do not yet understand why they occur. Previous research has concentrated on the end-point of sensory processing, failing to consider the dynamic process and confounding multiple stages leading to atypical responses. It is therefore unclear whether autistic individuals show altered accumulation of sensory evidence and/or altered decision bounds. This Fellowship will characterise better sensory processing in autism, with three objectives. First, I will pinpoint the mechanisms of sensory processing differences by quantifying sensory and decisional parameters and their relationships with action. Second, I will investigate how these parameters relate to everyday sensory symptoms in autism. Third, I will assess whether co-occurring symptoms moderate sensory processing differences in autism. I will use a model-based cognitive neuroscience approach. Autistic and typical children will make decisions on sensory stimuli while electroencephalography (EEG) is recorded. I will use hierarchical drift-diffusion models to jointly model behavioural and neural data to identify the components of sensory processing affected in autism. I will relate these components to parent-reported sensory symptoms and co-occurring symptoms. I will use Bayesian statistics to ensure the robustness of my findings. The findings will help to guide the design of future interventions.