Gray matter volumes of early sensory regions are associated with individual differences in sensory processing

Abstract

Sensory processing (i.e., the manner in which the nervous system receives, modulates, integrates, and organizes sensory stimuli) is critical when humans are deciding how to react to environmental demands. Although behavioral studies have shown that there are stable individual differences in sensory processing, the neural substrates that implement such differences remain unknown. To investigate this issue, structural magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired from 51 healthy adults and individual differences in sensory processing were assessed using the Sensory Profile questionnaire (Brown et al.: Am J Occup Ther 55 (2001) 75–82). There were positive relationships between the Sensory Profile modality-specific subscales and gray matter volumes in the primary or secondary sensory areas for the visual, auditory, touch, and taste/smell modalities. Thus, the present results suggest that individual differences in sensory processing are implemented by the early sensory regions. Hum Brain Mapp 38:6206–6217, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.