Effects of Multiple-Session Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on Behavioral, Physiological, and Electrophysiological Measures With Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
University of New Mexico
Summary
The purpose of this clinical trial is to investigate the effects of multiple sessions of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) delivered while participants complete tasks that target social learning with high functioning adults with ASD and/or high traits of ASD. The main question it aims to answer is: What are the effects of multiple sessions of active compared to sham tDCS, with tDCS simultaneously paired with social learning tasks, from employing a within-subject, cross-over randomized controlled trial design? Participants will: * Complete a randomly assigned block of 5 sessions of active and a block of 5 sessions of sham tDCS, with a four-week break occurring between the two blocks. * Complete social learning tasks simultaneously during receipt of tDCS at each session (whether receiving active or sham tDCS). * Complete behavioral, physiological, and electrophysiological testing before and after each block of active or sham tDCS. * Complete a social validity questionnaire after completion of the study.
Description
Our long-term goal is to develop safe and effective treatments to reduce negative symptoms of social communication impairments to improve overall quality of life. Our central hypotheses are (1) active, anodal tDCS over the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) paired with social learning activities will result in improved performance on behavioral and physiological measures, when compared to sham stimulation, (2) these improvements in performance will be correlated with changes in electrophysiological measures that contribute to successful participant social alignment after receipt of anodal t…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–35 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age 18-35 years 2. Proficient in English 3. Classification of autism or autism spectrum disorder on Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale, 2nd Edition (ADOS-2) or score of \>= 17 on Autism Quotient (AQ) 4. Good or corrected vision and hearing 5. Right-handed based on the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory 6. Score of \>= 85 on Shipley-2 Exclusion Criteria 1. No known loss of consciousness for \> 5 minutes 2. No immediate biological family members with a history of epilepsy or seizure disorder 3. No major medical needs (e.g., neurological disorders such as a seizure disorder…
Interventions
- DeviceAnodal tDCS + Social Learning
Anodal tDCS lowers neuronal membrane potentials, leading to increased probability of depolarization from incoming stimuli.
- BehavioralPlacebo Anodal tDCS + Social Learning
Social learning tasks are completed on a computer and consist of viewing video modeling of social interactions, facial emotion detection practice, and videos for emotion and empathy learning.
Location
- University of New MexicoAlbuquerque, New Mexico