Zapping the brain to unravel Autism's social secrets
NCT ID NCT01648868
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This completed study used a non-invasive brain stimulation technique called rTMS to investigate how a specific brain area (the superior temporal sulcus) influences social perception in people with autism and healthy controls. Researchers measured changes in eye-gaze patterns and voice recognition after stimulation. The goal was to better understand the brain's role in social cognition, not to treat autism.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) device
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help explain how the brain processes social cues, potentially guiding future therapies for autism.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed study focused on understanding brain function, not a treatment. Results may not lead to direct clinical benefits.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
97 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Apr 2011
- Finished
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May 2019
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 30 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: Patients with autism * Age from 18 to 30 years old * Autism diagnosed by DSM-IV and ADI-R * IQ \> 60 or able to have an MRI * Social security registration * Consent form signed by patient or legal tutor Healthy controls * Age from 18 to 30 years old * Medical exam previous to the interventions * Social security registration * Consent form signed Exclusion Criteria: All Patients * Indication against MRI (pace-maker, metallic pieces in the body, working with metals) * Indications against rTMS (epilepsy, epilepsy family history, craniotomy scarf, pace maker or neuron stimulator, intraocular or intra-cerebral strange metallic piece, cochlear implant, cardiac valve, chirurgical metallic arterial material, metallic material susceptible to concentrate radio-frequency impulse) * Claustrophobia * Pregnant woman * Women in a fertile age with no efficient contraception method * Use of drugs diminishing cortical excitability * Participation in another clinical trial that forbids the participation in this one * Have already being treated by some electrical or magnetic stimulation technique ( transcutaneous or radicular stimulation)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades
Paris, 75015, France
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