Autism & Auditory: Low Inhibition + High Excitation = Sensory Overload

Starting with von Békésy’s traveling wave and the cochlea’s +80 mV biological battery, we move millisecond-by-millisecond through the auditory brainstem response (ABR Waves I–V), auditory nerve, cochlear nucleus, superior olivary complex, inferior colliculus, thalamic reticular nucleus, and finally primary auditory cortex (A1). The Endocochlear Potential (EP) is the highest DC voltage in the human body. As signals travel, excitation-inhibition attempts to balance that. When intact, brains can filter noise and locate meaningful sound. In Autism, reduced GABAergic sculpting (parvalbumin, somatostatin, and VIP interneuron dysfunction) plus lower myelination and a delayed Wave V — already detectable on the newborn hearing screen — turn ordinary environments into an unfiltered flood. The result is listening dissonance: a moment-to-moment perceptual struggle that collapses 40-Hz gamma, recruits massive frontal effort and emotional regions of the brain, frequently ends in sensory overload, shutdown, or literal pain. We close with the exact equation the pathway reveals: Low Inhibition + High Excitation = Sensory Overload.Daylight Computer Company, use "autism" for $50 off at https://buy.daylightcomputer.com/autismChroma Light Devices, use "autism" for 10% discount at https://getchroma.co/?ref=autismFig Tree Christian Golf Apparel & Accessories, use "autism" for 10% discount at https://figtreegolf.com/?ref=autismCognity AI for Autistic Social Skills, use "autism" for 10% discount at https://thecognity.com0:00 Chroma Light Devices and Daylight Computer Company01:56 Audition & Autism; von Békésy Traveling Wave & Tonotopy; Hair Cells & Cochlear Amplifier04:20 Endocochlear Potential (+80 mV Battery); Bioelectric Currents06:30 Stria Vascularis, Melanin, & Water Role08:15 Auditory Nerve – ABR Wave I (1.6 ms)08:36 ABR Wave II (2.7 ms)09:00 Cochlear Nucleus & Early E:I12:10 ABR Wave III – Superior Olivary Complex (3.8 ms)12:13 Binaural Processing & Calyx of Held15:00 ABR Wave V – Inferior Colliculus (5.6 ms)15:42 Inferior Colliculus Gamma & Cell Types18:00 Thalamus MGN & TRN Noise-Canceling21:30 2021 Newborn ABR Study – Prolonged Wave V Biomarker24:30 Listening Dissonance Explained28:30 Auditory Cortex Gamma Collapse in Autism32:30 Primary Auditory Cortex A1 Mini-Columns36:00 Parvalbumin, Somatostatin & VIP Interneurons39:00 Formula: Low GABA + High Excitation = Overload & PainX: https://x.com/rps47586YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGxEzLKXkjppo3nqmpXpzuAemail: info.fromthespectrum@gmail.com