Effects of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) on Cognitive Functions and Behavior in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder ( ASD)

Detailed Summary

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with core symptoms that include impairments in social communication and restricted and repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities. Social cognition is a broad term used to understand, perceive, and interpret information about others and ourselves in a social context. Impairments in social cognition are often highlighted as a potential mechanism underlying social disability in autism spectrum disorder. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is a noninvasive technique that modulates brain activity through targeted electromagnetic pulses. It's one of the methods used to deliver electrical stimuli through the scalp in conscious humans. Recently, rTMS has not only been used for the treatment of major depressive disorders, but it has also been advanced as a potential therapeutic technique to treat neurologic disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and multiple sclerosis, and many other neuropsychiatric disorders. High-order cognitive functions, such as Executive function (EF) and social cognition, rely on neural network oscillations in the gamma frequency (30-80 Hz) band. It has been proposed that GABA-inhibitory interneurons in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) contribute to the synchronization of pyramidal neurons, which is necessary for EF performance. Additionally, given the theory of abnormal synaptic plasticity and excitation/inhibition ratio in ASD, as well as the ability of TMS to modify cortical excitability and plasticity, it leads to exploring the therapeutic potential of rTMS in ASD. This study examines the effectiveness of low-frequency rTMS in improving social, cognitive, and sensory function in individuals with ASD. Further understanding of the effect of low-frequency rTMS in altering the cognitive function in ASD individuals with ASD may help to achieve some answers related to the mechanism behind ASD.

Study Details

Timeline

Interventions