“Today’s episode reviews and simplifies a 2024 study, “Retinal GABAergic Alterations in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.” The study confirmed what many autistic individuals have reported for years: sensory overload, particularly to light, is a physiological reality. The study used electroretinograms (ERGs) to measure the eye’s electrical response to light, finding that autistic participants’ retinas produced a significantly larger initial response compared to non-autistic individuals, indicating light hits them harder from the outset. Furthermore, administering arbaclofen, a drug impacting the GABA-B system that regulates sensory signals, reduced this heightened response in autistic participants, suggesting a difference in their inhibitory systems. This research implies that sensory processing differences in autism extend beyond vision, affecting multiple senses and correlating with broader autistic traits, validating the need for sensory accommodations in everyday environments.”
Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/the-lights-were-always-brighter-new
Let me know what you think.
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