the Big Catch 22 ---- Hey now . . . MicrogliaL Dysregulation, idiosyncratic Sensory Processing & an Insufficient energy Supply

​Val's Take/Conjecture

• ​The CATCH-22 is that Microglial Dysregulation as a result of Maternal Immune Activation:
  • Ramps up Sensory Processing with INCREASED ENERGY NEEDS
  • While at the same time Microglia is playing a role in Mitochondria Dysfunction.
    • ​Making ENERGY production LESS EFFICIENT.

​So what you end up with are people with IDIOSYNCRATIC Sensory Processing --- that does have the potential to benefit the society and themselves --- BUT

• those kids, adolescents and adults are more vulnerable to BURNOUTS and BREAKDOWNS.

BUT that is very hard for the Society to understand --- because you look fine or fine enough.
​
Further, it is generally not clear to the person either --- which can result in the person pushing themselves more --- only to find that they are making things worse.  

​Understood
ADHD, Dyslexia Advice for Kids:
​Try Smarter, Not Try Harder

​​MIGRAINE

• Migraine has a documented association with Neuro-Developmental & Psychiatric Disorders.​
• Neuro-Developmental & Psychiatric Disorders often come with Sensory Processing Disorders.
• Migraine is now viewed as a "LOSS OF CONTROL" by the Hypothalamus over the limbic system.
• Further, some researchers have maintained that "Migraine" is a "LOSS OF CONTROL OF INPUTS."

• I had 3 or 4 years of MIGRAINES that I certainly found painful and inconvenient --- but didn't view them as a precursor to more serious psychiatric problems.

​

• Then I had something that may or may not have been a MINI STROKE ---- but created a situation in which I was unable to tell the difference between fantasy and reality.
  • THAT IS DANGEROUS.

• At the time, I was hospitalized and had a kind of crash landing to reality with the help of various anti-psychotics.

​​

• That was 18 years ago, and I haven't had a similar episode.
  • But it does illustrate the problem that Mental Health America identified which was STAGE 4 diagnosis of serious mental health problems.

• It is why we need biomarkers and we're getting them.  I also think we need to take MIGRAINES more seriously than we do.

​

• Finally, Microglial Dysregulation, Sensory Processing and Mitochondria Dysfunction are keys to understanding Neuro-Developmental & Psychiatric Disorders.

​Migraine as an inflammatory disorder with microglial activation as a prime candidate (2023)

​The status of knowledge on migraines: The role of microglia (2023)

​Migraine attacks as a result of hypothalamic loss of control (2021)
 
​"The hypothalamus as a metronome of internal processes is suggested to control these limbic circuits: migraine attacks may occur as a result of the hypothalamus losing control over the limbic system."

​Grateful Dead
IKO IKO

​Atypical Sensory Processing in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Clinical Phenotypes in Preschool-Aged Children (2024)

​"​A positive correlation was found between sensory processing abnormalities and behavioral problems.

. . .

"Our results suggest that sensory processing difficulties should be considered regardless of developmental level and in children with behavioral problems."

Sensory processing difficulties in psychiatric disorders: A meta-analysis (2022)

​Highlights

•  Many individuals with psychiatric disorders report difficulties in sensory processing.

*  This meta-analysis examined sensory processing patterns in psychiatric conditions.
​
•  We detected a general pattern of sensory processing difficulties in psychopathology.

•  Sensory processing difficulties are considered to be a transdiagnostic phenotype.

•  Further research may improve long-term prognosis and treatment in psychiatry.

"In clinical practice, many individuals with psychiatric disorders report difficulties in sensory processing, including increased awareness or sensitivity to external stimuli.

. . .

"In conclusion, sensory processing difficulties can be considered as a non-specific transdiagnostic phenotype associated with a broad spectrum of psychiatric conditions.

"Further research into the relevance and role of sensory processing difficulties in psychiatric disorders may improve long-term prognosis and treatment."

​​Development and sensory experience dependent regulation of microglia in barrel cortex (2020)

​*Researchers at City University of New York

"Findings suggest that both developmental age and sensory experience has profound impact on microglia morphology.

"Following chronic sensory deprivation, microglia undergo a morphological transition from a monitoring or resting state to an altered morphological state, by exhibiting expanded cell body size and retracted processes.

. . .

​"Our results indicate that microglia may be recruited to participate in the modulation of neuronal structural remodeling during developmental critical periods and in response to alteration in sensory input."​