The effect of Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation (TDCS) on Neuropsychological indices Associated with Social Skills in Children with Autism

Authors
omid hosseinpanahi
mehdi zemestani
The University of Kordestan
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are developmental neurological disorders characterized by defects in social interactions, communication, and repetitive behaviors. This study attempted to examine the efficacy of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on social skills in children with ASD.Thirty-two children with confirmed ASD diagnoses were randomly allocated into a tDCS treatment group or a control group. The tDCS treatment group underwent 10 sessions of anodal tDCS stimulation applied simultaneously over the left DLPFC (F3) area, whereas the control group underwent the same procedures but with the use of sham tDCS stimulation.Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS) and Social Skills Rating System was used to measure the Social Skills in two pre-test and post-test stages. Finally, the data were analyzed by the SPSS software using repeated measures analysis.Results showed that anodal tDCS significantly increased social skills in the experimental group after treatment compared to the control group.
Keywords
transcranial stimulation
Social Skills
Autism spectrum disorder
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