SENSORY DYSREGULATION IN POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

Abstract

Sensory processing is an umbrella term used to describe the process by which an individual organizes sensory information from both their external and internal world to interact effectively within their physical, emotional and social environments (Costa-López et al., 2021). Well established research in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has found significant impairments in the quality of life of individuals who experience sensory processing dysfunction (Costa-López et al.,2021; DuBois et al., 2017). Notably, nascent research suggests that sensory processing dysfunction may also underlie, in part, the cognitive, emotional and overall daily impairment experienced by those with neuropsychiatric conditions, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Boogert er al., 2022). Here, basic principles of cognition and of emotional regulation suggest that integration of information from our senses, known as multisensory integration, to form an understanding of our environment is crucial for appropriate behavioural response to stressors. In the present thesis, we investigated the effects of sensory processing dysfunction on daily functioning in psychological-trauma-exposed samples in relation to the domains of dissociation and cognition. This thesis contributes key findings to the PTSD literature by first providing an overview of the current neural and behavioural understanding of sensory processing in PTSD, as well as providing a summation of current somatic therapeutic interventions. Secondly, empirical evidence was found that individuals who are trauma exposed/ diagnosed with PTSD self-report higher sensory sensitivity in raw and in affective sensory processing. Finally, sensory processing and its relation to cognitive functioning among trauma-exposed individuals was investigated. The results of this study suggest that measures of visuospatial processing and of spatial working memory may moderate, in part, of the relation between dissociation and functional impairment. On balance, these findings suggest that that alterations in sensory processing alterations among trauma-exposed populations warrant further investigation to address the relative paucity of research that currently exists within this critical area of functioning necessary to navigate the social world.