Sensory responsivity and its connection to sympathetic activation and deactivation: implications for stress and attention

This study introduces sensory responsivity (SR), which describes individual differences in sensory stimuli response strength and is hypothesised to affect stress responses in students and, in turn, their attention. To investigate this, a scale to assess SR was developed and linked to physiological responses. To this end, electrodermal activity (EDA) and sensory gating data was collected from a laboratory study with 100 students (12-21 y) and EDA data was collected in a classroom study with 35 students (17-18 y). In the lab study, sympathetic activation was generally lower for high SR groups, whilst in the classroom study, sympathetic activation was higher for high SR groups in line with the differential susceptibility theory. The high SR groups demonstrated higher sensory gating values, indicating a potential attentional benefit in low sensory input contexts. Thus, sensory responsivity moderates sympathetic activation based on the environmental sensory-intensiveness, which may impact attention and stress-related outcomes.