Electrical Brain Stimulation and Pharmacological Treatments in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Comparable Efficacy of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Pharmacological Treatments in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

This project aims to comparing the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation with common pharmacological treatments on behavioral problems and cognitive deficits of children with autism spectrum disorder

45 children with autism spectrum disorder are recruited in Fatemi Hospital at Ardabil University of Medical Sciences. The patients will be randomized into 3 Intervention groups of 15 with tDCS stimulation, risperidone, and placebo medication as the interventions. The study will be a randomized double-blind controlled design. The experimenter and the patient are blinded and are not aware of the study. Intervention group 1: TDCS intervention protocol consists of 10 sessions of 20 minutes of 1.5 mA electrical stimulation on consecutive days. Anodal electrode will be placed over the F3 and cathodal electrode will be placed over the Fp2. They will also receive a placebo tablet (Galenus pharmaceutical company) in each stimulation session. Intervention group 2: Participants in this group will receive two daily Risperidone 1 mg tablets (Sobhan Pharmaceutical Company) for 10 consecutive days. Intervention group 3: Participants in this group undergo 10 daily sessions of sham tDCS concurrent with a placebo tablet (Galenus pharmaceutical company) for 10 consecutive days.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder by a psychiatrist and behavioral checklist
• being 6-16 years old
• providing written informed consent signed by parents

Exclusion Criteria:

• comorbidity with other neurodevelopmental disorders
• comorbidity with other neurological disorders
• previous history of neurosurgery
• presence of any ferromagnetic metal in the head
• implanted medical devices in the head or neck region
• history of noncontrolled epilepsy with seizures in the last year