View clinical trials related to Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Filter by:Social cognition impairment is critical to the pathology and morbidity of a number of psychiatric disorders, including the schizophrenia spectrum, the autism spectrum and the personality disorders, thus representing a dimension consistent with RDoC. As such, this study aims to a) further characterize the unique deficits in social cognition (recognition and interpretation of social cues and representation of thoughts, intentions, and feelings of others) across disorders, including the schizophrenia spectrum (which includes schizophrenia, SCZ, schizoaffective disorder, SAD, bipolar disorder, BD, and schizotypal personality disorder, SPD), the autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and borderline personality disorder (BPD) compared to healthy controls (HC); b) assess the effect of intranasal oxytocin (OXT) as a regulator and novel treatment of social cognition impairment in these disorders; and c) enhance our understanding of the specificity and exact mechanisms of impairment to inform the accurate dosing of OXT required to modulate social cognition in these disorders and identify a model of optimum social cognitive function. Addressing these questions will further catalyze research into a model of optimum social cognitive activity, and accelerate industry development of agents suited to routine clinical administration.
This is a randomized, double-blind, 2-arm, placebo-controlled crossover study in pediatric patients with autism spectrum disorder with all patients receiving 16-weeks of TSO treatment and 16 weeks of placebo.
This study is designed to pilot an intervention technique to reduce the self-stimulating behaviors seen in individuals with autism spectrum disorders using intervention with ProFoveate pellets. Self-stimulating behaviors like hand flapping, eye blinking, and rocking, can interfere with the individual's ability to interact with their peers. Participants will wear the pellets for four week and measures with taken again. Another group of participants will not get the pellets. Both groups will be tested at the beginning and end of the study. Any variations in self-stimulating behaviors will be documented through parent report, Observational data. The investigators hypothesize that they will see changes in self- stimulating behaviors as a result of the strategic placement of the ProFoveate™ pellets on the ears of one group of the participants.
This study is design to evaluate the influence of oxytocin in some aspects of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), such as, repetitive and stereotyped behavior, social skills, quality of life and disruptive behaviors. Null hypothesis: social skills, quality of life, disruptive behaviors and repetitive behaviors do not improve with the use of oxytocin. Experimental Hypothesis: social skills, quality of life, disruptive behaviors and repetitive and stereotyped behaviors improve with the use of oxytocin.
The major objective of this research protocol is to directly compare two parent intervention conditions of Early Social Interaction (ESI) for 9 months on developmental trajectories of infants showing early risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Participants will be randomized to receive an information, education and support group (Group) ESI intervention offered weekly, or a parent-implemented intervention (Individual) ESI intervention offered in twice-weekly, in combination with the Group ESI intervention.
The proposed project will pilot the use of IGF-1 as a novel treatment for core symptoms of autism. We will use a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial design in five children with autism to evaluate the impact of IGF-1 treatment on autism-specific impairments in socialization, language, and repetitive behaviors. We expect to provide evidence for the safety and feasibility of IGF-1 in ameliorating social withdrawal in children with Autistic Disorder. Further, we expect to demonstrate that IGF-1 is associated with improvement on secondary outcomes of social impairment, language delay, and repetitive behavior, as well as on functional outcomes of global severity.
Background: - Some children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) do not have normal sleep cycles. Some of these children spend very little time in the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep. Some studies suggest that less time in REM sleep can be associated with learning and behavior problems. Donepezil is a medication used to treat Alzheimer s disease. Donepezil can increase REM sleep in some adults with different disorders. A small study showed that Donepezil can also increase REM sleep in children with ASD. Researchers now want to see if Donepezil can improve communication skills and social interaction in children with ASD. They also want to see if any change in symptoms seems to come from changes in REM sleep. Objectives: - To see if a medication, Donepezil, can improve the way communication skills and social interaction develop in young children with autism spectrum disorders. Eligibility: - Children 22 to 44 months of age with ASD. Design: - Participants will be screened with a blood test, heart tests, and a sleep study. During the sleep study, children will sleep in a darkened room for 2 nights with electrodes on their body and a tube under their nose. Parents can sleep in the room with their child. A technician will monitor the room all night. - Participants will take the study medication once a day. - Treatment will be monitored at visits every 3 months. At each visit the participant will take blood tests, heart tests, or behavior tests. Participants will have 2 more sleep studies. - Participation will end after 18 months.
Background: - Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a functional imaging technique that can be uses light to study brain function while allowing for movement. To look at blood flow in the brain, NIRS uses a low-power light source with detectors that see how the light changes as it passes through brain tissue. Brain blood flow can indicate which parts of the brain are active during different tasks. Researchers want to study children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and will use NIRS to compare the blood flow in the brain of children with ADHD and ASD with that of typically developing children. Objectives: - To see how well NIRS can detect changes in brain blood flow during tests of thinking and memory in children. - To compare blood flow in the brains of typically developing children and those with ADHD or ASD. Eligibility: - Children between 4 and 8 years of age with ASD, ADHD, or children with no psychiatric diagnoses. Design: - Participants will be screened for eligibility. Those who are taking stimulant medication for ADHD or ASD will need to stop taking it for 3 days before the study visit. - After participating in a screening assessment, all participants will have one study visit. At this visit, they will have be asked to complete two tasks during a NIRS scan. For both tasks, they will react to images on a computer screen. This visit will last about 2 hours. - This is a testing study only. No blood or other samples will be needed for this study.
Researchers at Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute are conducting a study looking at the effects of Folinic Acid on language in Autism Spectrum Disorder and language impairment. The study has 3 phases. Phase 1 confirms that your child has language impairment (there is no compensation for this visit). If language impairment is verified in the phase 1 screening, then your child will be eligible for phase 2. Phase 2 consists of receiving 12 weeks of folinic acid or an inactive placebo, in addition to several evaluations of your child's abilities and a single blood test. Children that complete phase 2 will be eligible for a 12 week open-label trial of folinic acid which is phase 3.
This study uses functional brain imaging and noninvasive brain stimulation techniques to study the brain basis of developmental disorders like Autism Spectrum Disorder and Asperger Disorder. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and recently approved FDA treatment of depression, Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) will be used to study the neurocircuitry of certain symptom clusters in developmental disorders.