TY - JOUR
T1 - Intermittent theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation for autism spectrum disorder
T2 - An open-label pilot study
AU - Abujadi, Caio
AU - Croarkin, Paule E.
AU - Bellini, Biancab
AU - Brentani, Helena
AU - Marcolin, Marcoa
N1 - Funding Information:
PEC acknowledges support from National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) under award number K23 MH100266 and a Brain and Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Award. The content of this report is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the US Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, or the NIMH.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, Associacao Brasileira de Psiquiatria. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/7/1
Y1 - 2018/7/1
N2 - Objective: Theta-burst stimulation (TBS) modulates synaptic plasticity more efficiently than standard repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation delivery and may be a promising modality for neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). At present there are few effective interventions for prefrontal cortex dysfunction in ASD. We report on an open-label, pilot study of intermittent TBS (iTBS) to target executive function deficits and restricted, repetitive behaviors in male children and adolescents with ASD. Methods: Ten right-handed, male participants, aged 9-17 years with ASD were enrolled in an open-label trial of iTBS treatment. Fifteen sessions of neuronavigated iTBS at 100% motor threshold targeting the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were delivered over 3 weeks. Results: Parent report scores on the Repetitive Behavior Scale Revised and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale demonstrated improvements with iTBS treatment. Participants demonstrated improvements in perseverative errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and total time for the Stroop test. The iTBS treatments were well tolerated with no serious adverse effects. Conclusion: These preliminary results suggest that further controlled interventional studies of iTBS for ASD are warranted.
AB - Objective: Theta-burst stimulation (TBS) modulates synaptic plasticity more efficiently than standard repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation delivery and may be a promising modality for neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). At present there are few effective interventions for prefrontal cortex dysfunction in ASD. We report on an open-label, pilot study of intermittent TBS (iTBS) to target executive function deficits and restricted, repetitive behaviors in male children and adolescents with ASD. Methods: Ten right-handed, male participants, aged 9-17 years with ASD were enrolled in an open-label trial of iTBS treatment. Fifteen sessions of neuronavigated iTBS at 100% motor threshold targeting the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were delivered over 3 weeks. Results: Parent report scores on the Repetitive Behavior Scale Revised and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale demonstrated improvements with iTBS treatment. Participants demonstrated improvements in perseverative errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and total time for the Stroop test. The iTBS treatments were well tolerated with no serious adverse effects. Conclusion: These preliminary results suggest that further controlled interventional studies of iTBS for ASD are warranted.
KW - Autism spectrum disorder
KW - Intermittent theta burst stimulation
KW - Noninvasive brain stimulation
KW - Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation
KW - Theta-burst stimulation
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U2 - 10.1590/1516-4446-2017-2279
DO - 10.1590/1516-4446-2017-2279
M3 - Article
C2 - 29236921
AN - SCOPUS:85050560828
SN - 1516-4446
VL - 40
SP - 309
EP - 311
JO - Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria
JF - Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria
IS - 3
ER -