Kimberly Lynn Hills Carpenter, Ph.D., at Duke University Medical Center will investigate the relationship between anxiety and a phenomenon called sensory over-responsivity (SOR. SOR is characterized by heightened and unusual reactivity to sensory stimuli, such as touch and sound. Carpenter hypothesizes that SOR reflects dysregulation in the brain systems linking sensory processing to threat appraisal and that this dysregulation is moderated by a diminished ability to (1 reduce one’s response to repeated or irrelevant sensory stimuli and (2 shift attention away from sensory stimuli. Dr. Carpenter will explore this hypothesis by assessing preschool aged children with and without ASD using parental report, child observation, and EEG measures.