Recruiting

tDCS

Sponsor:

University of New Mexico

Code:

NCT06495684

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism or Autistic Traits

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 35

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Anodal tDCS + Social Learning

Placebo Anodal tDCS + Social Learning

Study Details

Brief 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

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism or Autistic Traits

Study ID

NCT06495684

Start date

Mar 12, 2024

Status verified date

Jan, 2026

Completion date

Jun 30, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jun 30, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 35

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age 18-35 years
2. Proficient in English
3. Classification of autism or autism spectrum disorder on Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale, 2nd Edition (ADOS-2) or score of >= 17 on Autism Quotient (AQ)
4. Good or corrected vision and hearing
5. Right-handed based on the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory
6. Score of >= 85 on Shipley-2

Exclusion Criteria

1. No known loss of consciousness for > 5 minutes
2. No immediate biological family members with a history of epilepsy or seizure disorder
3. No major medical needs (e.g., neurological disorders such as a seizure disorder; long-term illness)
4. No surgically implanted metal above the neck (example: metal pins or plates, cochlear implants, aneurysm clips, brain electrodes)
5. No hospitalization for depression, anxiety, or substance abuse in the past 12 months
6. No individuals who are currently pregnant
7. No pacemakers
8. No history of neurological disorders such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, bipolar disorder, encephalitis, epilepsy, seizure disorder, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Study Design

Enrollment

20 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Anodal tDCS + Social Learning

In this arm, participants will undergo 5 sessions of 30 minutes anodal tDCS combined with social learning tasks on consecutive weekdays.

sham comparator: Placebo anodal tDCS + Social Learning

In this arm, participants will undergo 5 sessions of 30 minutes placebo anodal tDCS combined with social learning tasks on consecutive weekdays.

Interventions

Anodal tDCS + Social Learning

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

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.

Primary outcome measure

  • Measure of Emotional Distress - Anxiety [ Time Frame: Before and after each 5-day block of tDCS stimulation ]
  • Measure of Social Anxiety [ Time Frame: Before and after each 5-day block of tDCS stimulation ]
  • Measure of Social Anxiety/Anxiety [ Time Frame: Before and after each 5-day block of tDCS stimulation ]
  • Measure of Social Anxiety [ Time Frame: Before and after each 5-day block of tDCS stimulation ]
  • Measure of Social Impairment [ Time Frame: Before and after each 5-day block of tDCS stimulation ]
  • Measure of Empathy [ Time Frame: Before and after each 5-day block of tDCS stimulation ]
  • Measure of Prosodic Alignment [ Time Frame: Before and after each 5-day block of tDCS stimulation ]
  • Measure of Emotion Expression Entrainment [ Time Frame: Before and after each 5-day block of tDCS stimulation ]
  • Measure of Social Learning [ Time Frame: Before and after each 5-day block of tDCS stimulation ]
  • Measure of Quality of Life [ Time Frame: Before and after each 5-day block of tDCS stimulation ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Joan Esse Wilson, Ph.D.

575-646-4313joanwilson@unm.edu

Locations

University of New Mexico

Recruiting

Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, 87131

Contacts

Davin Quinn

DQuinn@salud.unm.edu

More Information

Sponsor

University of New Mexico

Last update posted

Jan 16, 2026

Last verified

Jan, 2026

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-08. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of New Mexico on 2026-01-16.