Effects of prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation on social functioning in autism spectrum disorder: A randomized clinical trial.
Gentle brain stimulation plus social brain games lifted social skills in teens with autism.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Han et al. (2023) tested a new brain-boost combo. They gave 105 teens and young adults with autism 20 minutes of mild brain stimulation called tDCS. At the same time the kids played computer games that train social thinking.
Sessions ran three times a week for six weeks. Half the group got real stimulation; the rest got sham. No one knew which was which.
What they found
The real-stimulation group gained social skills. Parents and clinicians both saw clearer gains than in the sham group. No serious side effects showed up.
How this fits with other research
Aydin et al. (2025) tried the same brain spot but without the games. They also saw social gains in 265 younger kids, yet had no control group. Together the two studies hint that tDCS itself may matter most.
Ni et al. (2023) flips the story. Their RCT used a cousin stimulation called cTBS on the same brain area and found zero benefit. The difference may be the type of current: tDCS gently primes cells; cTBS tries to slow them down.
Van Gaasbeek et al. (2026) show we already have strong tools. A meta of 29 early ABA trials found large social gains without wires or machines. tDCS could add a tech layer, but classic ABA still leads the evidence pack.
Why it matters
You now have a safe, tech-aided option for older clients who still struggle socially. Pairing brief tDCS with social-cognitive games is easy to add after school or between ABA blocks. Watch for replication first, but consider it for motivated teens who plateau with standard methods.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Currently available pharmacological and behavioral interventions for adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) yield only modest effect in alleviating their core behavioral and cognitive symptoms, and some of these treatment options are associated with undesirable side effects. Hence, developing effective treatment protocols is urgently needed. Given emerging evidence shows that the abnormal connections of the frontal brain regions contribute to the manifestations of ASD behavioral and cognitive impairments, noninvasive treatment modalities that are capable in modulating brain connections, such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), have been postulated to be potentially promising for alleviating core symptoms in ASD. However, whether tDCS can reduce behavioral symptoms and enhance cognitive performance in ASD remains unclear. This randomized controlled trial involving 105 adolescents and young adults with ASD showed that multiple sessions of a tDCS protocol, which was paired up with computerized cognitive training, was effective in improving social functioning in adolescents and young adults with ASD. No prolonged and serious side effects were observed. With more future studies conducted in different clinical settings that recruit participants from a wider age range, this tDCS protocol may be potentially beneficial to a broad spectrum of individuals with autism.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2023 · doi:10.1177/13623613231169547