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Effects of Multiple-Session Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on Behavioral, Physiological, and Electrophysiological Measures With Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

NCT06495684 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2026-01-16

No results posted yet for this study

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.

Conditions

Interventions

DEVICE

Anodal tDCS + Social Learning

Anodal tDCS lowers neuronal membrane potentials, leading to increased probability of depolarization from incoming stimuli.

BEHAVIORAL

Placebo 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.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)

    collaborator NIH

  • University of New Mexico

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Bill Shuttleworth, Ph.D. · University of New Mexico

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
35 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-03-12
Primary Completion
2026-06-30
Completion
2027-06-30
FDA Device
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06495684 on ClinicalTrials.gov