Thermoception in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Concise Systematic Review

Sensory processing atypicalities have been demonstrated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Thermoception, a component of the somatosensory system crucial for survival, can benefit from an overview of the state-of-art in ASD. In this work, a PROSPERO registered (CRD42023412663) systematic review on thermoception in ASD is presented, following PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines. Our search encompassed databases including Pubmed, Scopus, PsycInfo, and Google Scholar (n = 1261). Included articles (n = 9) were written in English, experimental, peer-reviewed documents on thermoception in autism. As the ASD group shows hypo- (n = 3) or hypersensitivity (n = 2) or no discernible difference at times (n = 8) to either warm and/or cold innocuous stimuli, definitive conclusions are difficult to draw. Nevertheless, these aggregated results build cumulative knowledge and guide future research regarding the evaluation of thermoception in autistic individuals which could further increase their quality of life.