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The aim of this study was to evaluate the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), and Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) after anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in individuals with autism. Twenty patients with autism received 5 consecutive days of both sham and active tDCS stimulation (1 mA) in a randomized double-blind crossover trial over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (F3) for 20 minutes in different orders. Measures of CARS, ATEC, and CGAS were administered before treatment and at 7 days posttreatment. The result showed statistical decrease in CARS score (P < 0.001). ATEC total was decreased from 67.25 to 58 (P < 0.001). CGAS was increased at 7 days posttreatment (P = 0.042). Our study suggests that anodal tDCS over the F3 may be a useful clinical tool in autism.

Abnormal synaptic maturation and connectivity are possible etiologies of autism. Previous studies showed significantly less alpha activity in autism than normal children. Therefore, we studied the effects of anodal tDCS on peak alpha frequency (PAF) related to autism treatment evaluation checklist (ATEC). Twenty male children with autism were randomly assigned in a crossover design to receive a single session of both active and sham tDCS stimulation (11 mA) over F3 (left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex). Pre- to postsession changes in a measure of cortical activity impacted by tDCS (PAF) and ATEC were compared between groups. We also examined the associations between pre- and postsession changes in the PAF and ATEC. The results show significant pre- to postsession improvements in two domains of ATEC (social and health/behavior domains) following active tDCS, relative to sham treatment. PAF also significantly increased at the stimulation site, and an increase in PAF was significantly associated with improvements in the two domains of ATEC impacted by tDCS. The findings suggest that a single session of anodal tDCS over the F3 may have clinical benefits in children with autism and that those benefits may be related to an increase in PAF.

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