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Autism Research : Official Journal of... Jan 2019Sensory integration is one of the most highly utilized interventions in autism, however, a lack of consensus exists regarding its evidence base. An increasing number of...
Sensory integration is one of the most highly utilized interventions in autism, however, a lack of consensus exists regarding its evidence base. An increasing number of studies are investigating the effectiveness of this approach. This study used the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Standards for Evidence-based Practices in Special Education to evaluate the effectiveness research from 2006 to 2017 on Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI) intervention for children with autism. A systematic review was conducted in three stages. Stage 1 involved an extensive database search for relevant studies using search terms related to sensory integration and autism, interventions suggesting a sensory integration approach, and high-quality study designs. Searches yielded 19 studies that were evaluated in Stage 2. Six of these met inclusion criteria of being peer-reviewed, written in English, description of intervention this is consistent with ASI intervention, and comparison group design or single subject method employed. Prior to analysis using CEC standards, three articles were excluded because intervention details were not consistent with the core principles of ASI, or because of major methodological flaws. In Stage 3, the remaining three studies were rated using the CEC quality indicators and standards for an evidence-based practice. Two randomized controlled trials respectively met 100% and 85% of the CEC criteria items. One additional study met more than 50% of the criteria. Based on CEC criteria, ASI can be considered an evidence-based practice for children with autism ages 4-12 years old. Autism Research 2019, 12: 6-19. © 2018 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Ayres Sensory Integration intervention is one of the most frequently requested and highly utilized interventions in autism. This intervention has specific requirements for therapist qualifications and the process of therapy. This systematic review of studies providing Ayres Sensory Integration therapy to children with autism indicates that it is an evidence-based practice according to the criteria of the Council for Exceptional Children.
Topics: Autistic Disorder; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Occupational Therapy; Perception; Sensation; Sensation Disorders; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 30548827
DOI: 10.1002/aur.2046 -
The Journal of Clinical Investigation Nov 2010To paraphrase Cole Porter's famous 1926 song, "What is this thing called pain? This funny thing called pain, just who can solve its mystery?" Pain, like love, is all... (Review)
Review
To paraphrase Cole Porter's famous 1926 song, "What is this thing called pain? This funny thing called pain, just who can solve its mystery?" Pain, like love, is all consuming: when you have it, not much else matters, and there is nothing you can do about it. Unlike love, however, we are actually beginning to tease apart the mystery of pain. The substantial progress made over the last decade in revealing the genes, molecules, cells, and circuits that determine the sensation of pain offers new opportunities to manage it, as revealed in this Review series by some of the foremost experts in the field.
Topics: Humans; Pain; Syndrome
PubMed: 21041955
DOI: 10.1172/JCI45178 -
The Journal of Clinical Investigation Nov 2010Specialized peripheral sensory neurons known as nociceptors alert us to potentially damaging stimuli at the skin by detecting extremes in temperature and pressure and... (Review)
Review
Specialized peripheral sensory neurons known as nociceptors alert us to potentially damaging stimuli at the skin by detecting extremes in temperature and pressure and injury-related chemicals, and transducing these stimuli into long-ranging electrical signals that are relayed to higher brain centers. The activation of functionally distinct cutaneous nociceptor populations and the processing of information they convey provide a rich diversity of pain qualities. Current work in this field is providing researchers with a more thorough understanding of nociceptor cell biology at molecular and systems levels and insight that will allow the targeted design of novel pain therapeutics.
Topics: Animals; Hot Temperature; Humans; Ion Channels; Mechanotransduction, Cellular; Nervous System; Nociceptors; Pain; Pain Threshold; Sensation; Signal Transduction; Skin
PubMed: 21041958
DOI: 10.1172/JCI42843 -
Journal of Medical Internet Research Oct 2019Brain-machine interfaces hold promise for the restoration of sensory and motor function and the treatment of neurological disorders, but clinical brain-machine...
Brain-machine interfaces hold promise for the restoration of sensory and motor function and the treatment of neurological disorders, but clinical brain-machine interfaces have not yet been widely adopted, in part, because modest channel counts have limited their potential. In this white paper, we describe Neuralink's first steps toward a scalable high-bandwidth brain-machine interface system. We have built arrays of small and flexible electrode "threads," with as many as 3072 electrodes per array distributed across 96 threads. We have also built a neurosurgical robot capable of inserting six threads (192 electrodes) per minute. Each thread can be individually inserted into the brain with micron precision for avoidance of surface vasculature and targeting specific brain regions. The electrode array is packaged into a small implantable device that contains custom chips for low-power on-board amplification and digitization: The package for 3072 channels occupies less than 23×18.5×2 mm. A single USB-C cable provides full-bandwidth data streaming from the device, recording from all channels simultaneously. This system has achieved a spiking yield of up to 70% in chronically implanted electrodes. Neuralink's approach to brain-machine interface has unprecedented packaging density and scalability in a clinically relevant package.
Topics: Brain-Computer Interfaces; Humans; Sensation
PubMed: 31642810
DOI: 10.2196/16194 -
Nature Sep 2022The nervous system uses various coding strategies to process sensory inputs. For example, the olfactory system uses large receptor repertoires and is wired to recognize...
The nervous system uses various coding strategies to process sensory inputs. For example, the olfactory system uses large receptor repertoires and is wired to recognize diverse odours, whereas the visual system provides high acuity of object position, form and movement. Compared to external sensory systems, principles that underlie sensory processing by the interoceptive nervous system remain poorly defined. Here we developed a two-photon calcium imaging preparation to understand internal organ representations in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), a sensory gateway in the brainstem that receives vagal and other inputs from the body. Focusing on gut and upper airway stimuli, we observed that individual NTS neurons are tuned to detect signals from particular organs and are topographically organized on the basis of body position. Moreover, some mechanosensory and chemosensory inputs from the same organ converge centrally. Sensory inputs engage specific NTS domains with defined locations, each containing heterogeneous cell types. Spatial representations of different organs are further sharpened in the NTS beyond what is achieved by vagal axon sorting alone, as blockade of brainstem inhibition broadens neural tuning and disorganizes visceral representations. These findings reveal basic organizational features used by the brain to process interoceptive inputs.
Topics: Brain Stem; Calcium; Posture; Sensation; Sensory Receptor Cells; Solitary Nucleus; Vagus Nerve
PubMed: 36045291
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05139-5 -
Annals of Agricultural and... 2013Pain is defined "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage". Pain is a...
INTRODUCTION
Pain is defined "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage". Pain is a sensation of the body, and is always an unpleasant emotional experience. The role of psychology is auxiliary and supplemental to medicine. This is an aid addressed to the patient, physician and patient's caregivers: professional caregivers, family members and significant others. At each stage of the diagnostic and therapeutic process, psychology offers help, both from the cognitive and practical aspects.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the article is to present important psychological aspects of studies concerning pain, and the psychological methods and techniques of pain treatment.
STATE OF KNOWLEDGE
Pain is the leading reason for patients seeking medical care and is one of the most disabling, burdensome, and costly conditions. Pain accompanies many diseases, each one of which generates unique/separate diagnostic, therapeutic and research problems. DEPRESSION AND RELATED PSYCHICAL DISORDERS: There is a significant relationship between depression and pain symptoms, as well as between pain and suicidal thoughts. Patients with a long history of pain disorders also have increased depression and anxiety symptoms, as well as suicidal thoughts. Patients with more severe depression and anxiety symptoms also have an increase in pain problems. The intensity of pain correlates with the intensity of psychopathological symptoms - both with mood lowering and with anxiety symptoms and worry. Active pain coping strategies strive to function in spite of pain, or to distract oneself from pain, are associated with adaptive functioning. Passive strategies involve withdrawal or relinquishing control to an external force or agent and are related to greater pain and depression. Pain catastrophizing is a negatively distorted perception of pain as awful, horrible and unbearable. Catastrophizing is strongly associated with depression and pain. Studies in which functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used showed that pain catastrophizing, independent of the influence of depression, was significantly associated with increased activity in brain areas related to anticipation of pain, attention to pain, emotional aspects of pain and motor control. Pain behaviour is a conditioned pain. Care and concern on the part of others, secondarily enhance a patient's pain behaviours, which lead to an increase in the intensity of the pain experienced. A history of early life adversity (ELA) - rejection, neglect, physical or sexual abuse is related to the development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in adulthood. Ovarian hormones have been shown to modulate pain sensitivity. IMAGING OF THE HUMAN BRAIN IN CHRONIC PAIN: Acute pain and chronic pain are encoded in different regions of the brain. Chronic pain can be considered a driving force that carves cortical anatomy and physiology, creating the chronic pain brain/ mind state. Cognitive-behavioural methods of pain treatment in domains of pain experience, cognitive coping and appraisal (positive coping measures), and reduced pain experience are effective in reducing pain in patients.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Anxiety; Depression; Humans; Pain; Pain Management; Pain Perception
PubMed: 25000837
DOI: No ID Found -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Jan 2014Emotions are often felt in the body, and somatosensory feedback has been proposed to trigger conscious emotional experiences. Here we reveal maps of bodily sensations...
Emotions are often felt in the body, and somatosensory feedback has been proposed to trigger conscious emotional experiences. Here we reveal maps of bodily sensations associated with different emotions using a unique topographical self-report method. In five experiments, participants (n = 701) were shown two silhouettes of bodies alongside emotional words, stories, movies, or facial expressions. They were asked to color the bodily regions whose activity they felt increasing or decreasing while viewing each stimulus. Different emotions were consistently associated with statistically separable bodily sensation maps across experiments. These maps were concordant across West European and East Asian samples. Statistical classifiers distinguished emotion-specific activation maps accurately, confirming independence of topographies across emotions. We propose that emotions are represented in the somatosensory system as culturally universal categorical somatotopic maps. Perception of these emotion-triggered bodily changes may play a key role in generating consciously felt emotions.
Topics: Adult; Emotions; Female; Finland; Humans; Male; Psychophysiology; Self Report; Sensation
PubMed: 24379370
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1321664111 -
Cell Oct 2020Ophthalmic, maxillary, and mandibular branches of the trigeminal nerve provide sensory innervation to orofacial tissues. Trigeminal sensory neurons respond to a diverse...
Ophthalmic, maxillary, and mandibular branches of the trigeminal nerve provide sensory innervation to orofacial tissues. Trigeminal sensory neurons respond to a diverse array of sensory stimuli to generate distinct sensations, including thermosensation, mechanosensation, itching, and pain. These sensory neurons also detect the distinct sharpness or pungency of many foods and beverages. This SnapShot highlights the transduction ion channels critical to orofacial sensation.
Topics: Cranial Nerves; Humans; Neurons, Afferent; Pain; Sensation; Trigeminal Nerve
PubMed: 33007264
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.08.014 -
Nutrients Jan 2020The sensation of flavour reflects the complex integration of aroma, taste, texture, and chemesthetic (oral and nasal irritation cues) from a food or food component....
The sensation of flavour reflects the complex integration of aroma, taste, texture, and chemesthetic (oral and nasal irritation cues) from a food or food component. Flavour is a major determinant of food palatability-the extent to which a food is accepted or rejected-and can profoundly influence diet selection, nutrition, and health. Despite recent progress, there are still gaps in knowledge on how taste and flavour cues are detected at the periphery, conveyed by the brainstem to higher cortical levels and then interpreted as a conscious sensation. Taste signals are also projected to central feeding centers where they can regulate hunger and fullness. Individual differences in sensory perceptions are also well known and can arise from genetic variation, environmental causes, or a variety of metabolic diseases, such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and cancer. Genetic taste/smell variation could predispose individuals to these same diseases. Recent findings have also opened new avenues of inquiry, suggesting that fatty acids and carbohydrates may provide nutrient-specific signals informing the gut and brain of the nature of the ingested nutrients. This special issue on "Taste, Nutrition, and Health" presents original research communications and comprehensive reviews on topics of broad interest to researchers and educators in sensory science, nutrition, physiology, public health, and health care.
Topics: Diet; Food Preferences; Humans; Nutritional Status; Smell; Taste; Taste Perception
PubMed: 31935855
DOI: 10.3390/nu12010155 -
Consciousness and Cognition Nov 2015This paper considers communication in terms of inference about the behaviour of others (and our own behaviour). It is based on the premise that our sensations are... (Review)
Review
This paper considers communication in terms of inference about the behaviour of others (and our own behaviour). It is based on the premise that our sensations are largely generated by other agents like ourselves. This means, we are trying to infer how our sensations are caused by others, while they are trying to infer our behaviour: for example, in the dialogue between two speakers. We suggest that the infinite regress induced by modelling another agent - who is modelling you - can be finessed if you both possess the same model. In other words, the sensations caused by others and oneself are generated by the same process. This leads to a view of communication based upon a narrative that is shared by agents who are exchanging sensory signals. Crucially, this narrative transcends agency - and simply involves intermittently attending to and attenuating sensory input. Attending to sensations enables the shared narrative to predict the sensations generated by another (i.e. to listen), while attenuating sensory input enables one to articulate the narrative (i.e. to speak). This produces a reciprocal exchange of sensory signals that, formally, induces a generalised synchrony between internal (neuronal) brain states generating predictions in both agents. We develop the arguments behind this perspective, using an active (Bayesian) inference framework and offer some simulations (of birdsong) as proof of principle.
Topics: Animals; Attention; Communication; Humans; Models, Theoretical; Perception; Sensation; Theory of Mind; Thinking
PubMed: 25563935
DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2014.12.003