Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Children With Autism

Recruiting now · Not applicable · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Executive Dysfunction

In brief

Although many children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) make significant progress in learning and their cognitive skills improve with applied behavior analysis (ABA), there are a significant number of children who show an absence or a plateau in various skills. Deficits in executive functioning are likely to be involved in many of these cognitive and learning disabilities due to poor functioning of the prefrontal cortex. Currently, the use of biological methods for improving learning and cognition is largely unexplored in research and practice. The aim of this study is to use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in combination with ABA to improve the acquisition of educational programs for students with ASD. tDCS is a low-level electrical neurostimulation and is most effective when used in combination with an active training or teaching, facilitating the neuronal circuits used for that task. tDCS has been used for various indications over a couple of decades and has been shown to be very safe and has been well-tolerated by children with ASD. The mechanism of tDCS is not clear, however animal studies show that tDCS can stimulate the flow of calcium ions through channels in the astrocytes, activating them, and facilitating their role in synapse formation and therefore learning.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT07092280
Run by: New York State Institute for Basic Research
People needed: 24
Starts: 2026-04-01
Expected to finish: 2029-12-01
Last updated by the study team: 2026-02-23

Who can join

Age: 5 and older, up to 12. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

Males and females between 5 and 12 years with autism
Enrolled in an ABA program (school or in-home) supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)
Stable medical and behavioral treatments for at least 4 weeks prior to, and during the study
Able to tolerate wearing tDCS as determined during a week-long daily desensitization training.

You may not qualify if…

Any implanted metal device (heart pacemaker, cochlear implant, surgical clips, etc.)
Severe neurological disorders such as TBI, brain tumor, intracranial infection
Seizure disorder with a seizure within the last two years
Skull defect
Peripheral blindness or deafness
Medication that might affect tDCS: There have been a few studies concerning the effect of various medications on tDCS. Some may block and others may enhance the effects depending on many factors. The assay used to test these medications was its effect on the motor cortex after stimulation and this may not apply to our montages, however, in order to minimize the chances of having medication affect our results, participants taking the following medications will be excluded:
Na or Ca channel blockers which will include all anti-seizure medications
Medications that affect the NMDA receptors including dextromethorphan, cycloserine
Serotonin reuptake inhibitors
Dopamine stimulating or blocking medications including pergolide, bromocriptine and all antipsychotic medications
Norepinephrine stimulating or blocking agents including propranolol and the stimulants
Drugs that can lower seizure threshold [imipramine, amitriptyline, doxepin, nortriptyline, maprotiline, chlorpromazine, clozapine, foscarnet, ganciclovir, ritonavir, amphetamines, phencyclidine, ketamine, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), alcohol, theophylline]
Barbiturates, benzodiazepines, meprobamate, chloral hydrate in the past 4 weeks
Acute skin disease
History of magnetic or electrical stimulation

Where it is running

New York State Institute for Basic Research — Staten Island, New York, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.