Date of Award
5-11-2025
Date Published
June 2025
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Psychology
Advisor(s)
Natalie Russo
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder;detection threshold;inhibition;tactile processing
Subject Categories
Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
Research on tactile psychophysics among autistic people has examined inhibitory pathways within the primary somatosensory cortex (S1). Both adults and children with autism are equally able to detect vibrotactile stimuli in dynamic and static task conditions. In contrast, typically developing peers find dynamic tasks harder than static tasks due to pre-stimulus inhibition. Task performance has been linked to sensory overresponsivity in children with autism (McKernan et al., 2020); however, recent literature suggests that sensory processing (e.g., overresponsivity) in autism may be better defined within sensory modalities. Here, I utilized a cross-sectional design to 1) replicate findings of similarities and differences between neurotypically developing children and children with autism on static and dynamic detection tasks and 2) explore the relationship between dynamic-static processing ratios (D-S ratio) and caregiver-reported tactile processing, both generally and then specifically within overresponsivity. Participants included children with autism (N = 32) and neurotypically developing children (N = 43) between the ages of 6-18, with no group differences in age and WASI-II PRI index scores. Participants completed a tactile psychophysics battery while caregivers completed the Sensory Profile Caregiver report. Age was significantly correlated with D-S ratio. There were no between-group differences in dynamic, static, or D-S ratio thresholds. Differences in within- group task performance for both the autism and neurotypically developing group were marginally significant, with the static task harder than the dynamic task. In addition, prediction models were not significant though age predicted performance. Exploratory analyses revealed a negative correlation between age and static detection threshold as well as a significant positive correlation between age and dynamic detection threshold. Findings suggest that modality- and quadrant-specific sensory processing scores may provide a better model fit and stronger predictive power for D-S ratio threshold; however, replication with larger samples is required.
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Shuter, Marie, "PREDICTING DETECTION THRESHOLD PERFORMANCE WITH MODALITY-SPECIFIC SENSORY PROFILE SCORES" (2025). Theses - ALL. 914.
https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/914
