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The Plasticity of Social Brain Network in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder

The Plasticity of Social Brain Network in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05884853
Enrollment
120
Registered
2023-06-01
Start date
2021-01-01
Completion date
2027-12-31
Last updated
2026-07-31

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Brief summary

"Social brain" refers to brain regions dedicated to processing social information and enabling us to recognize and evaluate others' mental states. The social brain hypothesis suggests that our brains evolve to navigate complex social systems. The social brain is hypothesized to consist of a distributed network including the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), the dorsal and ventral medial prefrontal cortices (dmPFC and vmPFC), ACC and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), the amygdala, the orbital frontal cortex (OFC), and the fusiform gyrus (FG), TPJ, inferior occipital gyrus (IOG), and the insula. Each region serves distinct role while works together to support social processing, including perceiving, interpreting, and generating responses to the intentions, dispositions, and behaviors of others.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALPEERS

The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) studies is an evidence-based 16-week group-based social skill training program developed for adolescents and young adults with ASD.

Sponsors

National Taiwan University Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

40 autistic adolescents are recruited with their care givers. Also, 40 healthy controls.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* age between 18 and 50 * diagnosed with ASD from licensed mental health or medical professional based on DSM5 * have social problems * motivated to participate in the treatment * fluent in chinese * caregiver also fluent in chinese and motivated to participate * had a full-scale IQ \> 70 on WAIS-IV * scored ≧ 26 on the caregiver-reported Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), indicating clinical impairment associated with ASD.

Exclusion criteria

* history of major mental illness, such as bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia, psychosis, or neurological diseases * visual impairment and/or hearing impairment * any metal, electronic part that cannot be removed from the body, or being pregnant, which may not be able to use fMRI scan.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Autism Diagnostic Interview Revised, ADIR16 weeksInterview of the caregivers that covers most developmental and behavioral aspects of ASD. Range from 0 to 8, higher the score, worse the symptom.
The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, ADOS16 weeksDiagnosing and assess autism. Range from 0 to 8, higher the score, worse the symptom.
Autism Spectrum Quotient16 weeks50 items, total score range from 0 to 50. Higher the score, worse the symptom
Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition (SRS-2)16 weeks65 items, total score range from 65 to 260. Higher the score, worse the symptom
Quality of Socialization Questionnaire (QSQ)16 weeks12 items, total score range from 0 to 12.Higher the score, better the frequency and quality of socialization
The Empathy Quotient (EQ)16 weeks40 items, total score range from 0 to 80. Higher the score, worse the empathy

Countries

Taiwan

Contacts

CONTACTYi-Ling Chien, MD, PhD
chienyiling@gmail.com+886223123456

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Aug 1, 2026