Abstract
Recently, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been applied to relieve symptoms in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this prospective, parallel, single-blinded, randomized study, we investigate the modulation effect of three-week tDCS treatment at the left dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in children with ASD. 47 children with ASD were enrolled, and 40 (20 in each group) completed the study. The primary outcomes are Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC), and the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R). We found that children with ASD can tolerate three-week tDCS treatment with no serious adverse events detected. A within-group comparison showed that real tDCS, but not sham tDCS, can significantly reduce the scores of CARS, Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), and general impressions in CARS (15th item). Real tDCS produced significant score reduction in the CSHQ and in CARS general impressions when compared to the effects of sham tDCS. The pilot study suggests that three-week left DLPFC tDCS is well-tolerated and may hold potential in relieving some symptoms in children with ASD.
Highlights
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder with no cure
There is no significant association between the baseline Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC)/Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R) score and ABC/RBS-R score change after sham Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
We found no signifiant difference in pre- and posttreatment changes for ABC, RSB, and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) scores between the real and sham tDCS groups
Summary
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder with no cure Multiple interventions such as behavioral analysis (ABA), occupational therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy, and pharmacological therapy have been used to relieve the symptoms of ASD [1, 2]. Accumulating evidence suggests that tDCS application to a certain brain region, such as the frontal cortex, can significantly modulate attention [8], learning [8,9,10], memory [9, 11], vigilance [12], brain activity/connectivity/plasticity/ dynamics [13,14,15,16,17], conditioning/placebo effect [18, 19], and neurotransmitter levels ([13]) These unique characteristics make tDCS a promising tool for ASD treatment
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