The Plasticity of Social Brain Network in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Social brain refers to brain regions dedicated to processing social information and enabling us to recognize and evaluate others' mental states. The social brain hypothesis suggests that our brains evolve to navigate complex social systems. The social brain is hypothesized to consist of a distributed network including the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), the dorsal and ventral medial prefrontal cortices (dmPFC and vmPFC), ACC and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), the amygdala, the orbital frontal cortex (OFC), and the fusiform gyrus (FG), TPJ, inferior occipital gyrus (IOG), and the insula. Each region serves distinct role while works together to support social processing, including perceiving, interpreting, and generating responses to the intentions, dispositions, and behaviors of others.

Official Title
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The Plasticity of Social Brain Network in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Conditions
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Autism Spectrum Disorder

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: PEERS


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: age between 18 and 50 diagnosed with ASD from licensed mental health or medical professional based on DSM5 have social problems motivated to participate in the treatment fluent in chinese caregiver also fluent in chinese and motivated to participate had a full-scale IQ > 70 on WAIS-IV scored ≧ 26 on the caregiver-reported Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), indicating clinical impairment associated with ASD. Exclusion Criteria: history of major mental illness, such as bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia, psychosis, or neurological diseases visual impairment and/or hearing impairment any metal, electronic part that cannot be removed from the body, or being pregnant, which may not be able to use fMRI scan.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 50 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: 40 autistic adolescents are recruited with their care givers. Also, 40 healthy controls.
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: ASD group<br>autistic adolescents with their caregiver | Behavioral: PEERS<br>* The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) studies is an evidence-based 16-week group-based social skill training program developed for adolescents and young adults with ASD.<br>|
| Sham Comparator: Control group<br>healthy control without their caregiver | Behavioral: PEERS<br>* The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) studies is an evidence-based 16-week group-based social skill training program developed for adolescents and young adults with ASD.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Autism Diagnostic Interview Revised, ADIR | Interview of the caregivers that covers most developmental and behavioral aspects of ASD. Range from 0 to 8, higher the score, worse the symptom. | 16 weeks | 
| The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, ADOS | Diagnosing and assess autism. Range from 0 to 8, higher the score, worse the symptom. | 16 weeks | 
| Autism Spectrum Quotient | 50 items, total score range from 0 to 50. Higher the score, worse the symptom | 16 weeks | 
| Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition (SRS-2) | 65 items, total score range from 65 to 260. Higher the score, worse the symptom | 16 weeks | 
| Quality of Socialization Questionnaire (QSQ) | 12 items, total score range from 0 to 12.Higher the score, better the frequency and quality of socialization | 16 weeks | 
| The Empathy Quotient (EQ) | 40 items, total score range from 0 to 80. Higher the score, worse the empathy | 16 weeks |