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

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Interventions
Behavioral: PEERS
Registration Number
NCT05884853
Lead Sponsor
National Taiwan University Hospital
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.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
120
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.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
ASD groupPEERSautistic adolescents with their caregiver
Control groupPEERShealthy control without their caregiver
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Autism Diagnostic Interview Revised, ADIR16 weeks

Interview of the caregivers that covers most developmental and behavioral aspects of ASD. Range from 0 to 8, higher the score, worse the symptom.

The Empathy Quotient (EQ)16 weeks

40 items, total score range from 0 to 80. Higher the score, worse the empathy

The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, ADOS16 weeks

Diagnosing and assess autism. Range from 0 to 8, higher the score, worse the symptom.

Autism Spectrum Quotient16 weeks

50 items, total score range from 0 to 50. Higher the score, worse the symptom

Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition (SRS-2)16 weeks

65 items, total score range from 65 to 260. Higher the score, worse the symptom

Quality of Socialization Questionnaire (QSQ)16 weeks

12 items, total score range from 0 to 12.Higher the score, better the frequency and quality of socialization

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

National Taiwan University Hospital

🇨🇳

Taipei, Zhongzheng Dist., Taiwan

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