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Annals of General Psychiatry
Published in: Annals of General Psychiatry 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Primary research

Sensory cognitive abnormalities of pain in autism spectrum disorder: a case–control study

Authors: Yuka Yasuda, Ryota Hashimoto, Aya Nakae, Hongling Kang, Kazutaka Ohi, Hidenaga Yamamori, Michiko Fujimoto, Satoshi Hagihira, Masatoshi Takeda

Published in: Annals of General Psychiatry | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) recently included sensory processing abnormalities in the diagnostic criteria for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, there is no standard method for evaluating sensory abnormalities in individuals with ASD.

Methods

Fifteen individuals with ASD and 15 age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled in this study. We compared objective pain sensitivity by measuring the pain detection threshold and pain tolerance to three different stimuli (electricity, heat, and cold). Then, we compared both subjective pain sensitivity, assessed by the visual analog scale (VAS), and quality of pain, assessed by the short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), to determine the maximum tolerable pain intensities of each stimulation.

Results

The pain detection threshold and pain tolerance of individuals with ASD were not impaired, indicating that there were no differences in the somatic perception of pain between groups. However, individuals with ASD were hyposensitive to subjective pain intensity compared to controls (VAS; electrical: p = 0.044, cold: p = 0.011, heat: p = 0.042) and hyposensitive to affective aspects of pain sensitivity (SF-MPQ; electrical: p = 0.0071, cold: p = 0.042).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that the cognitive pathways for pain processing are impaired in ASD and, furthermore, that our methodology can be used to assess pain sensitivity in individuals with ASD. Further investigations into sensory abnormalities in individuals with ASD are needed to clarify the pathophysiologic processes that may alter sensory processing in this disorder.
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Metadata
Title
Sensory cognitive abnormalities of pain in autism spectrum disorder: a case–control study
Authors
Yuka Yasuda
Ryota Hashimoto
Aya Nakae
Hongling Kang
Kazutaka Ohi
Hidenaga Yamamori
Michiko Fujimoto
Satoshi Hagihira
Masatoshi Takeda
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Annals of General Psychiatry / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1744-859X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12991-016-0095-1

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