Chewing on Sensory Over-responsivity and Anxiety in People with Autism and ADHD: A Review
Journal: Journal of Clinical Medicine Research DOI: 10.32629/jcmr.v5i4.3290
Abstract
There is a high occurrence of sensory over-responsivity in people with developmental disorders, especially those with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It was hypothesized that anxiety and sensory over-responsivity may share a common neurobiological mechanism and result from suboptimal regulation of the autonomic nervous system. In this review, the physiology of chewing, the effects of chewing on cortisol levels and autonomic activity, and the potential application of gum chewing on reducing sensory over-responsivity in people with developmental disorders were discussed. Positive effect of gum chewing on enhancing parasympathetic activity and reducing anxiety was found, and 15 minutes of chewing seems to be more effective than short periods of chewing in reducing anxiety. Further study of gum chewing on reducing sensory over-responsivity of people with developmental disorders is recommended.
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, sensory over-responsivity, anxiety, parasympathetic nervous system
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[3]Ben-Sasson A, Soto TW, Heberle AE, Carter AS, Briggs-Gowan MJ. Early and Concurrent Features of ADHD and Sensory Over-Responsivity Symptom Clusters. J Atten Disord. 2017;21(10):835-45. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054714543495
[4]Lane SJ, Reynolds S. Sensory Over-Responsivity as an Added Dimension in ADHD. Front Integr Neurosci. 2019;13:40. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2019.00040
[5]Vasa RA, Keefer A, McDonald RG, Hunsche MC, Kerns CM. A Scoping Review of Anxiety in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Res. 2020;13(12):2038-57. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2395
[6]Lane SJ, Reynolds S, Thacker L. Sensory Over-Responsivity and ADHD: Differentiating Using Electrodermal Responses, Cortisol, and Anxiety. Front Integr Neurosci. 2010;4:8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2010.00008
[7]C. Diverse Autonomic Nervous System Stress Response Patterns in Childhood Sensory Modulation. Front Integr Neurosci. 2020;14:6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2020.00006
[8]Schaaf RC, Benevides T, Blanche EI, Brett-Green BA, Burke JP, Cohn ES, et al. Parasympathetic functions in children with sensory processing disorder. Front Integr Neurosci. 2010;4:4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2010.00004
[9]Chang HA, Fang WH, Wan FJ, Tzeng NS, Liu YP, Shyu JF, et al. Attenuated vagally-mediated heart rate variability at rest and in response to postural maneuvers in patients with generalized anxiety disorder. Psychol Med. 2020;50(9):1433-41. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2017.00052
[10]Kim K, Lee S, Kim JH. Diminished autonomic neurocardiac function in patients with generalized anxiety disorder. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2016;12:3111-8. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S121533
[11]Yuan H-L, Lai CYY, Wong MNK, Kwong TC, Choy YS, Mung SWY, et al. Possible Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sensory Over-Responsivity in Individuals with ASD. Current Developmental Disorders Reports. 2022;9(4):89-97. doi.org/10.1007/s40474-022-00257-1
[12]Levine JC, Fleming R, Piedmont JI, Cain SM, Chen WJ. Heart rate variability and generalized anxiety disorder during laboratory-induced worry and aversive imagery. J Affect Disord. 2016;205:207-215. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.07.019
[13]Maini K, Dua A. Temporomandibular Syndrome. StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023.
[14]National Academies of Sciences E, Medicine, Health, Medicine D, Board on Health Care S, Board on Health Sciences P, et al. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. In: Yost O, Liverman CT, English R, Mackey S, Bond EC, editors. Temporomandibular Disorders: Priorities for Research and Care. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2020
[15]Inoue T. Neural mechanisms of mastication. Brain Nerve. 2015;67(2):141-56.
[16]Donga R, Lund JP. Discharge patterns of trigeminal commissural last-order interneurons during fictive mastication in the rabbit. J Neurophysiol. 1991;66(5):1564-78. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.1991.66.5.1564
[17]Chapleau MW, Sabharwal R. Methods of assessing vagus nerve activity and reflexes. Heart Fail Rev. 2011;16(2):109-27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10741-010-9174-6
[18]Buchholz B, Kelly J, Bernatene EA, Méndez Diodati N, Gelpi RJ. Antagonistic and Synergistic Activation of Cardiovascular Vagal and Sympathetic Motor Outflows in Trigeminal Reflexes. Front Neurol. 2017;8:52. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2017.00052
[19]Tapiainen AA, Zaproudina N, Lipponen JA, Tarvainen MP, Vierola A, Rissanen SM, et al. Autonomic responses to tooth clenching and handgrip test. Acta Odontol Scand. 2022;80(5):389-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/00016357.2022.2027514
[20]Chiou SS, Kuo CD. Effect of chewing a single betel-quid on autonomic nervous modulation in healthy young adults. J Psychopharmacol. 2008;22(8):910-7. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881107083840
[21]Koizumi S, Minamisawa S, Sasaguri K, Onozuka M, Sato S, Ono Y. Chewing reduces sympathetic nervous response to stress and prevents poststress arrhythmias in rats. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2011;301(4):H1551-8. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.01224.2010
[22]Tahara Y, Sakurai K, Ando T. Influence of chewing and clenching on salivary cortisol levels as an indicator of stress. J Prosthodont. 2007;16(2):129-35. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-849X.2007.00178.x
[23]Tasaka A, Kikuchi M, Nakanishi K, Ueda T, Yamashita S, Sakurai K. Psychological stress-relieving effects of chewing - Relationship between masticatory function-related factors and stress-relieving effects. J Prosthodont Res. 2018;62(1):50-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpor.2017.05.003
[24]Konečná M, Urlacher SS. Effect of chewing betel nut (Areca catechu) on salivary cortisol measurement. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2015;158(1):151-4. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22766
[25]Tasaka A, Takeuchi K, Sasaki H, Yoshii T, Soeda R, Ueda T, et al. Influence of chewing time on salivary stress markers. J Prosthodont Res. 2014;58(1):48-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpor.2013.10.00
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