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Medial Prefrontal Cortex Brain Magnetic Stimulation in Autism

NCT07770451 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2026-08-18

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Despite decades of research, no definitive, effective biological treatments exist for core symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Emerging evidence suggests that conventional Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or posterior superior temporal sulcus may reduce repetitive behaviors, but its efficacy on social communication remains inconsistent.

Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (dTMS) allows for the stimulation of deeper brain structures. Deep social brain networks, such as the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), play a critical role in social cognition and mentalizing processes. Targeting the mPFC with dTMS holds potential for improving core impairments in social cognition among individuals with ASD. This pilot study aims to evaluate the efficacy of dTMS on social cognition, mPFC-related functional connectivity, and clinical symptoms (autism severity, stereotyped behaviors, sensory symptoms, and emotion regulation).

Conditions

Interventions

DEVICE

TMS

The TMS device (Brainsway Deep TMS system with an H1 coil device, Brainsway Ltd, Israel) emits brief, noninvasive electromagnetic pulses through the skull, inducing an electrical current in a specific cortical region to affect neuronal function. Subjects will receive 10 once-daily high-frequency repetitive TMS sessions on 10 consecutive work days. To stimulate the mPFC, the H1 coil helmet will be placed symmetrically bilaterally and with its zero mark 3 cm above the nasion on the sagittal rule. The stimulation parameters follow the standard protocol cleared by the USFDA. Each session consists of 55 trains of 2-sec 18-Hz stimulation, given every 20 sec (2-sec on and 18-second off, inter-train interval 20 sec), and the stimulation intensity is 120% resting motor threshold (rMT). As such 1980 pulses will be given in around 20 minutes each session. The rMT is the minimal stimulation intensity that can induce observable muscle contraction in at least 5 out of 10 consecutive stimulations.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Taiwan University Hospital

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

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

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-12-01
Primary Completion
2028-12-31
Completion
2028-12-31

Countries

  • Taiwan

Study Locations

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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 NCT07770451 on ClinicalTrials.gov