Sensory Processing in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: A Scoping Review

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a range of developmental differences following the exposure of alcohol in utero. Although not a stand-alone diagnostic criterion for FASD, sensory processing deficits are commonly observed in individuals with FASD. The purpose of this scoping review was to review the existing evidence regarding the sensory processing differences in individuals with FASD compared to neurotypical individuals. A scoping review of the literature was conducted investigating studies of human participants with FASD and neurotypical participants. Studies were included if they reported on sensory processing differences between FASD and neurotypical participants. Any measures of sensory processing and in-utero exposure to alcohol were included. APA Psycinfo, Embase, Medline, Scopus, and CINAHL were searched for relevant studies. A total of 1192 studies were screened for inclusion, of which 42 were extracted. Studies investigated sensory processing differences in unisensory visual, auditory, olfactory, and somatosensory processing, multisensory integration, and sensorimotor processing. Measures of sensory processing included imaging measures (fMRI, MRI), clinical interviews, questionnaires, behavioural tasks, psychometric tests, and electrophysiological measures (EEG, MEG, DTI). Results indicate that differences in sensory processing exist in individuals with FASD when compared to neurotypical controls; however, these differences may vary depending on the age of participants, the type of sensory processing being measured, and other individual participant factors.