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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2024 Dec;38(12):1147-1156.
doi: 10.1177/02698811241271972. Epub 2024 Aug 24.

High-dose Vitamin-B6 reduces sensory over-responsivity

Rebekah O Cracknell  1 , Teresa Tavassoli  1 , David T Field  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

High-dose Vitamin-B6 reduces sensory over-responsivity

Rebekah O Cracknell et al. J Psychopharmacol. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Sensory reactivity differences are experienced by between 5% and 15% of the population, often taking the form of sensory over-responsivity (SOR), in which sensory stimuli are experienced as unusually intense and everyday function is affected. A potential mechanism underlying over-responsivity is an imbalance between neural excitation and inhibition in which inhibitory influences are relatively weakened. Therefore, interventions that boost neural inhibition or reduce neural excitation may reduce SOR; Vitamin-B6 is the coenzyme for the conversion of excitatory glutamate to inhibitory gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and in animal models, it both increases the concentration of GABA and reduces glutamate.

Aims: To discover whether taking a high dose of Vitamin-B6 reduces SOR and other aspects of sensory reactivity.

Methods: We recruited 300 adults (249 females) from the general population who completed the Sensory Processing 3-Dimensions Scale (SP-3D) first at baseline, and again following randomisation to either 1 month's supplementation with 100 mg Vitamin-B6, or one of two control conditions (1000 µg Vitamin-B12 or placebo). To focus on individuals who experience SOR, we analysed the effects of supplementation only on individuals with high baseline SOR scores (above the 87th percentile).

Results: In individuals with SOR at baseline, Vitamin-B6 selectively reduced SOR compared to both placebo and Vitamin-B12. We also found that Vitamin-B6 selectively reduced postural disorder in individuals with high scores on this subscale at baseline, but there were no effects on the four remaining SP-3D subscales.

Conclusions: Clinical trials and mechanistic studies should now be conducted in autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other groups with SOR.

Keywords: GABA; autism; excitation–inhibition balance; glutamate; sensory hyperreactivity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
A significant reduction in sensory over-reactivity scores in the Vitamin-B6 group between baseline and post-test. Error bars indicate ±1 SEM.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Male participants who took Vitamin-B6 experienced a greater reduction in sensory reactivity than females. Error bars indicate ±1 SEM.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
A significant reduction in postural disorder scores in the Vitamin-B6 group between baseline and post-test. Error bars indicate ±1 SEM.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Update of

  • doi: 10.31219/osf.io/94zxm

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