Atypical sensory processing and altered sensory network connectivity associated with autistic traits in adults

Atypical sensory processing is increasingly recognized as a prominent feature of autism-related phenotypes, yet it remains unclear whether such sensory differences are specific to clinically diagnosed autism or vary dimensionally with autistic traits in the general population. Here, we examined associations among self-reported sensory processing patterns, resting-state electroencephalographic (EEG) functional connectivity, and autistic trait levels in a large sample of adults. Adults with elevated autistic traits showed atypical sensory processing patterns and altered resting-state functional connectivity within unimodal sensory (olfactory, gustatory, somatosensory, auditory, and visual) and multisensory integration networks. Sensory processing patterns statistically accounted for the association between altered connectivity and autistic trait levels, and emerged as the strongest predictor of trait variation in both classification and continuous prediction frameworks, outperforming resting-state EEG connectivity alone. These findings suggest that sensory atypicalities and altered sensory-network organization covary with autistic traits in adulthood, supporting dimensional accounts of autism-related variation. The findings further identify candidate neurobehavioral correlates linking sensory processing differences to autistic trait expression.