• Dan Wang, Sabrina Casares, Karen Eilers, Shannon Hitchcock, Ryan Iverson, Ethan Lahn, Megan Loux, Colton Schnetzer, and Laura A Frey-Law.
• Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
• J Pain. 2022 Feb 1; 23 (2): 276288276-288.

AbstractMultisensory sensitivity (MSS), observed in some chronic pain patients, may reflect a generalized central nervous system sensitivity. While several surveys measure aspects of MSS, there remains no gold standard. We explored the underlying constructs of 4 MSS-related surveys (80 items in total) using factor analyses using REDCap surveys (N = 614, 58.7% with pain). Four core- and 6 associated-MSS factors were identified from the items assessed. None of these surveys addressed all major sensory systems and most included additional related constructs. A revised version of the Somatosensory Amplification Scale was developed, encompassing 5 core MSS systems: vision, hearing, smell, tactile, and internal bodily sensations: the 12-item Multisensory Amplification Scale (MSAS). The MSAS demonstrated good internal consistency (alpha = 0.82), test-retest reliability (ICC3,1 = 0.90), and construct validity in the original and in a new, separate cohort (R = 0.54-0.79, P < .0001). Further, the odds of having pain were 2-3.5 times higher in the highest sex-specific MSAS quartile relative to the lowest MSAS quartile, after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and pain schema (P < .03). The MSAS provides a psychometrically comprehensive, brief, and promising tool for measuring the core-dimensions of MSS. PERSPECTIVE: Multiple multisensory sensitivity (MSS) tools are used, but without exploration of their underlying domains. We found several measures lacking core MSS domains, thus we modified an existing scale to encompass 5 core MSS domains: light, smell, sound, tactile, and internal bodily sensations using only 12 items, with good psychometric properties.Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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