1. Assessing and stabilizing atypical plasticity in autism spectrum disorder using rTMS: Results from a proof-of-principle study
- Author
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Meng-Chuan Lai, Stephanie H. Ameis, Pushpal Desarkar, Daniel M. Blumberger, Yona Lunsky, Zafiris J. Daskalakis, and Tarek K. Rajji
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,Autism Spectrum Disorder ,medicine.medical_treatment ,Stimulation ,Inhibitory postsynaptic potential ,behavioral disciplines and activities ,050105 experimental psychology ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Physiology (medical) ,mental disorders ,medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Autistic Disorder ,Cross-Over Studies ,Neuronal Plasticity ,Intelligence quotient ,business.industry ,musculoskeletal, neural, and ocular physiology ,05 social sciences ,Motor Cortex ,Long-term potentiation ,Small sample ,medicine.disease ,Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ,Sensory Systems ,Transcranial magnetic stimulation ,nervous system ,Neurology ,Autism spectrum disorder ,Female ,Neurology (clinical) ,business ,Neuroscience ,Single session ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Objectives Emerging evidence implicates atypical plasticity in the neurophysiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Specifically, autistic people demonstrated hyperplasticity in response to theta-burst stimulation (TBS). We hypothesized that autistic adults would display hyperplasticity to TBS and that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) – which potentiates brain inhibitory mechanisms – would ‘stabilize’ hyperplasticity. Methods Using a randomized, cross-over design, plasticity was assessed using TBS in the left motor cortex (M1) in 31 autistic adults and 30 sex-, intelligence quotient-, and age-matched controls. Autistic adults (n = 29) were further randomized (1:1) to receive a single session of active (n = 14) or sham (n = 15) rTMS (6000 pulses at 20 Hz) over left M1 and plasticity was reassessed on the next day following rTMS. Results Both long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) were significantly increased in the ASD group, indicating hyperplasticity. Active, but not sham rTMS, attenuated LTD in autistic adults. Conclusions We provided further evidence for the presence of brain hyperplasticity in ASD. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show preliminary evidence that an excessive LTD in ASD can be ‘stabilized’ using rTMS. Such ‘stabilizing’ effect of rTMS on LTP was not observed, likely due to small sample size or a more specific ‘attenuating’ effect of rTMS on LTD, compared to LTP. Significance These findings indicate atypical brain inhibitory mechanisms behind hyperplasticity in ASD. Utilizing a larger sample, future replication studies could investigate therapeutic opportunities of ‘mechanism-driven’ rTMS.
- Published
- 2022