TY - JOUR AU - Luckhardt, Christina AU - Schütz, Magdalena AU - Mühlherr, Andreas AU - Mössinger, Hannah AU - Boxhoorn, Sara AU - Dempfle, Astrid AU - Salvador, Ricardo AU - Ruffini, Giulio AU - Pereira, Helena C. AU - Castelo-Branco, Miguel AU - Latinus, Marianne AU - Bonnet-Brilhault, Frédérique AU - Siemann, Julia AU - Siniatchkin, Michael AU - Ecker, Christine AU - Freitag, Christine M. PY - 2021 DA - 2021/04/06 TI - Phase-IIa randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, parallel group trial on anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left and right tempo-parietal junction in autism spectrum disorder—StimAT: study protocol for a clinical trial JO - Trials SP - 248 VL - 22 IS - 1 AB - Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impaired social communication and interaction, and stereotyped, repetitive behaviour and sensory interests. To date, there is no effective medication that can improve social communication and interaction in ASD, and effect sizes of behaviour-based psychotherapy remain in the low to medium range. Consequently, there is a clear need for new treatment options. ASD is associated with altered activation and connectivity patterns in brain areas which process social information. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a technique that applies a weak electrical current to the brain in order to modulate neural excitability and alter connectivity. Combined with specific cognitive tasks, it allows to facilitate and consolidate the respective training effects. Therefore, application of tDCS in brain areas relevant to social cognition in combination with a specific cognitive training is a promising treatment approach for ASD. SN - 1745-6215 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-021-05172-1 DO - 10.1186/s13063-021-05172-1 ID - Luckhardt2021 ER -