OBJECTIVES: There are currently no biomedical treatments targeting the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Considering evidence for cortical dysfunction in ASD, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been discussed as a potential therapeutic technique. METHODS: We describe the application of a new type of rTMS, deep rTMS, to the bilateral medial prefrontal cortex in a young woman with a high-functioning ASD. High-frequency rTMS was applied for 15 minutes each consecutive weekday for an 11-day period (9 treatments in total). Self-reported assessments were conducted before the first rTMS session, immediately after the last rTMS session, and 1-month after the last rTMS session. RESULTS: Self-reported assessments revealed a number of improvements after deep rTMS. These were primarily in the domain of social relating and interpersonal understanding and were corroborated by family members. CONCLUSIONS: Deep rTMS in ASD may serve to remediate aspects of cortical dysfunction (as standard rTMS seems to do in depression and schizophrenia) and provides a potential new avenue for the development of a biomedical treatment of impaired social relating in ASD.
OBJECTIVES: There are currently no biomedical treatments targeting the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Considering evidence for cortical dysfunction in ASD, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been discussed as a potential therapeutic technique. METHODS: We describe the application of a new type of rTMS, deep rTMS, to the bilateral medial prefrontal cortex in a young woman with a high-functioning ASD. High-frequency rTMS was applied for 15 minutes each consecutive weekday for an 11-day period (9 treatments in total). Self-reported assessments were conducted before the first rTMS session, immediately after the last rTMS session, and 1-month after the last rTMS session. RESULTS: Self-reported assessments revealed a number of improvements after deep rTMS. These were primarily in the domain of social relating and interpersonal understanding and were corroborated by family members. CONCLUSIONS: Deep rTMS in ASD may serve to remediate aspects of cortical dysfunction (as standard rTMS seems to do in depression and schizophrenia) and provides a potential new avenue for the development of a biomedical treatment of impaired social relating in ASD.
Authors: Lindsay M Oberman; Peter G Enticott; Manuel F Casanova; Alexander Rotenberg; Alvaro Pascual-Leone; James T McCracken Journal: Autism Res Date: 2015-11-04 Impact factor: 5.216
Authors: Simone Rossi; Andrea Antal; Sven Bestmann; Marom Bikson; Carmen Brewer; Jürgen Brockmöller; Linda L Carpenter; Massimo Cincotta; Robert Chen; Jeff D Daskalakis; Vincenzo Di Lazzaro; Michael D Fox; Mark S George; Donald Gilbert; Vasilios K Kimiskidis; Giacomo Koch; Risto J Ilmoniemi; Jean Pascal Lefaucheur; Letizia Leocani; Sarah H Lisanby; Carlo Miniussi; Frank Padberg; Alvaro Pascual-Leone; Walter Paulus; Angel V Peterchev; Angelo Quartarone; Alexander Rotenberg; John Rothwell; Paolo M Rossini; Emiliano Santarnecchi; Mouhsin M Shafi; Hartwig R Siebner; Yoshikatzu Ugawa; Eric M Wassermann; Abraham Zangen; Ulf Ziemann; Mark Hallett Journal: Clin Neurophysiol Date: 2020-10-24 Impact factor: 4.861