Attenuated contact heat-evoked potentials associated with sensory and social-emotional symptoms in individuals with autism spectrum disorder

Sensory disturbance is associated with socio-emotional problems in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Most studies assess sensory symptoms by self-reports, which are largely limited by the language ability and self-awareness of the individuals. This study aims to investigate sensory disturbance by contact heat-evoked potentials (CHEP) in ASD individuals, and to examine the clinical correlates of CHEP parameters. We compared the CHEP parameters and reported pain between 31 ASD individuals (aged 20.5 ± 5.2 years) and and 22 typically-developing controls (TD, aged 21.4 ± 2.6), and correlated the CHEP parameters with self-reported sensory symptoms and attention/socio-emotional symptoms. We found that ASD individuals showed smaller P2-wave amplitudes than TD, even though they reported a similar level of pain. In TD individuals, a smaller P2-wave amplitude was related to higher scores on ‘low registration,’ ‘attention to detail,’ and ‘attention switching difficulties.’ In ASD individuals, longer N2-wave latency was related to higher scores on ‘sensory sensitivity’ and socio-emotional problems; while higher reported pain was associated with higher scores on ‘low registration,’ overall autistic severity, and longer N2-wave latency. Our findings of attenuated CHEP response in ASD, which was associated with sensory symptoms and socio-emotional problems, suggest a potential role for CHEP in studying sensory disturbances in ASD.