Phenomenological Dimensions of Sensory Gating

Abstract

Contemporary sensory gating definitions are generally tied to the perceptual and attentional phenomenology described by McGhie and Chapman, including abnormalities in the quality of sensory input, heightened awareness of background noises, and poor selective attention reported by individuals with schizophrenia. Despite these explicit phenomenological origins, little is known about the experiential phenomena underlying contemporary operationalizations of the sensory gating construct, such as whether the construct is restricted to experiences associated with the modulation of sensory percepts includes selective attention and distractibility or even whether the construct is accessible via self-report. Because clarification of these issues has important implications for the development and testing of psychological theories and the study of psychopathology, a series of studies was conducted to (a) empirically identify the major dimensions of sensory gating-like perceptual and attentional phenomenology in healthy young adults and (b) develop a psychometrically sound self-report rating scale to capture these dimensions, the Sensory Gating Inventory (SGI). Factor analyses of Likert items measuring a broad range of sensory gating-like subjective experiences revealed 1 primary factor that encompassed anomalies of perceptual modulation (eg, perceptions of heightened stimulus sensitivity and sensory inundation) and 3 other factors measuring disturbances in the processes of focal and radial attention as well as exacerbation of sensory gating-like anomalies by fatigue and stress. Psychometrically, the SGI demonstrated strong reliability and validity. An empirically based conceptual demarcation of the sensory gating construct is offered, and directions for future research are described.Key words: sensory gating/phenomenology/self-report/ schizophrenia Introduction Sensory gating is of widespread importance to the study of both pathological and normative psychological conditions. In the case of schizophrenia, much of the observed psychopathology may be ''the result of abnormalities in filtering stimuli, focusing attention, or sensory gating. '' 1 Similarly, McGhie and Chapman 2 proposed that symptoms of schizophrenia indicate a primary deficit in mechanisms of attention related to selection and inhibition. In their now-classic interview study, patients with schizophrenia reported anomalies in attention and perception, such as, ''I just can't shut things out,'' ''Everything seems to grip my attention although I am not particularly interested in anything,'' and ''. noises all seem to be louder. It is as if someone has turned up the volume..'' The authors reasoned that these experiential phenomena could be logically sorted into (a) disturbances in the process of ''perception,'' including abnormalities in the quality of sensory input, perceived increases in stimulus intensity, and heightening of sensory vividness, and (b) disturbances in the process of ''attention,'' including distractibility, inability to focus attention, and...

When it’s quiet, it’s nice: Noise sensitivity in schizophrenia

“…Similar descriptions (Freedman & Chapman, 1973;McGhie & Chapman, 1961) remain largely ignored despite being relatively common and related to stress and fatigue (see also Landon et al, 2012) that on their own have been shown to increase sensitivity to sounds in nonclinical samples (Hasson, Theorell, Bergquist, & Canlon, 2013). These descriptions are consistent with a failure of sensory gating (Hetrick et al, 2012) and feature in many clinical populations (Stansfeld et al, 2000). However, to date little has been done at the clinical level to recognize these difficulties and support improved coping (Landon et al, 2012;Stansfeld et al, 2000).…”

“…The historical focus of schizophrenia diagnostics on first-rank symptoms (Andreasen & Flaum, 1991;Peralta & Cuesta, 1999) has likely contributed to other aspects, including NS, being overlooked (Cutting & Dunne, 1989;Hetrick, Erickson, & Smith, 2012). Stansfeld et al (2000) emphasize the limited research on NS, psychiatric symptoms, and treatment outcome, suggesting research should extend to general well-being and coping strategies of those with mental health conditions who experience NS.…”

“…Stansfeld et al (2000) emphasize the limited research on NS, psychiatric symptoms, and treatment outcome, suggesting research should extend to general well-being and coping strategies of those with mental health conditions who experience NS. The few studies examining NS at a descriptive level have done so in a broader context of perceptual disturbances (Bunney et al, 1999;Hetrick et al, 2012). Thus, at present little is known about the subjective experience of NS in people with schizophrenia.…”

Impaired auditory selective attention ameliorated by cognitive training with graded exposure to noise in patients with traumatic brain injury

“…As proposed in our introductory model, mood, fatigue and stress, exacerbate symptoms of sensory gating. In fact, previous studies have reported heightened incidence of gating impairment during stressor tasks, indexed by both electrophysiological (White and Yee, 1997) and phenomenological (Hetrick et al, 2012) metrics. A compromise between supplementary challenge and deleterious attrition may therefore be the present block-adaptive protocol.…”

Perception in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

“…The Sensory Gating Inventory (SGI; Hetrick et al 2012), a self-report measurement, assesses (1) perceptual modulation (e.g., ''My hearing is so sensitive that ordinary sounds become uncomfortable''), (2) over-inclusion (e.g., ''I notice background noises more than other people''), (3) distractibility by sensory stimuli (e.g., ''There are times when I can't concentrate with even the slightest sounds going on''), and (4) fatigue-stress modulation (e.g., ''it seems that sounds are more intense when I'm stressed''). Two studies utilized this questionnaire and reported significantly deviant scores for participants with ADHD on all subscales compared to NCs, with large effect sizes; Cohen's d ranged from 1.26 to 3.28 (Micoulaud-Franchi et al 2015a, b).…”