Role of GABAergic Transmission in Auditory Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Summary
Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental syndrome. Researchers think brain development may be controlled by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). They want to learn how abnormalities in the GABA system may contribute to ASD. Objective: To see if repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) creates short-term changes in how different parts of the brain communicate. Eligibility: Right-handed people ages 11-17 with ASD, and healthy volunteers ages 18-25. Design: Participants will be screened with: Medical history Physical exam Medicine review Neurological exam Psychological tests and rating scales Forms and surveys. Participants will have a hearing test and ear exam. Participants will have magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. They will lie on a table that moves in and out of the MRI scanner. They may look at a screen while in the scanner. A coil will be placed over their head. Participants will have magnetic resonance spectroscopy. It takes pictures of chemicals in the brain using the MRI scanner. Participants will have magnetoencephalography. They will sit in a chair. A helmet with magnetic field sensors will be placed on their head. Participants will have TMS. A wire coil will be held on their scalp. A brief electrical current will pass through the coil. Participants will have electromyography. Sticky pad electrodes will be placed on the skin during TMS. The electrical activity of their muscles will be measured. Participants will have rTMS. It uses short bursts of magnetic pulses to affect brain activity. ASD participants may have visits scheduled as often as 1 time a week or as far apart as 2 months based on the participants or study team's availability. Healthy volunteers will have 3 visits over 3-4 weeks....
Description
Study Description: This will be a within-subject, controlled, proof-of-mechanism study. Objectives: The study aims to evaluate the relationship between local GABA concentration, structural and functional network connectivity and MEG measures of auditory and language processing in adolescents with ASD and the acute impact of a single session of continuous theta burst stimulation over left posterior superior temporal cortex (pSTC) on these measures. We hypothesize that GABA concentrations, DWI measures of tissue microstructure and fcMRI obtained BOLD correlations within the language network w…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 11–25 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
* INCLUSION CRITERIA: Pilot Phase Inclusion criteria * Ability to provide informed consent * Age: 18-25 years * Must meet the definition of "Healthy Control" having completed the screening assessment under protocol 01-M-0254, "The Evaluation of Patients with Mood and Anxiety Disorders and Healthy Volunteers" or under protocol 17-M-0181, "Recruitment and Characterization of Research Volunteers for NIMH Intramural Studies". Main Study Phase Inclusion criteria * Ability to provide informed assent and parent consent (Parents of children enrolling on the study do not need to be able to speak…
Interventions
- DeviceContinuous Theta Burst Stimulation
Continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) will be applied using a MagPro X100 (MagVenture, Inc. Alpharetta, GA). The cTBS protocol consists of bursts of three pulses of 50 Hz stimulation repeated at 200 ms intervals (5 times per second) for 40 seconds (for a total of 600 pulses). Stimulation will be applied at an intensity of 80% of active motor threshold (AMT). Brainsight (Rogue Research) frameless neuronavigation system will be used to target the specific structural MRI-defined region of stimulation.
Location
- National Institutes of Health Clinical CenterBethesda, Maryland