A pilot study of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for autonomic dysregulation in individuals with the developmental disabilities

This study is examining whether a non-invasive device called vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) improves symptoms related to intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). VNS involves applying mild electrical stimulation through the skin around the neck. The vagus nerve sends communications between the brain and many parts of the body. It regulates many cognitive, emotional and bodily functions. VNS is FDA-approved for headaches in people 12-years and older.

What are the goals of the study?

The purpose of the study is to examine whether a device called vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) can help with autonomic symptoms commonly seen in developmental disabilities, including autism.

What will happen during the visit or online?

The participant will undergo several behavioral, neurocognitive, and EEG tests and attend regularly scheduled study appointments. The study duration will be between 9-11 months, which includes 1, 3, 6-month follow-up appointments.

How will this help families?

Possible improvements in some symptoms related to developmental disabilities and ASD with the use of VNS.

Researchers in Baltimore, MD at Johns Hopkins University and Kennedy Krieger Institute are interested in investigating the underlying neural mechanisms associated with perceiving social interactions. We are recruiting adults (ages 18-35 years) with and without autism. Participation in this study includes a 90–120-minute MRI scan, a 10-minute recall task, a 30-minute IQ assessment, and six questionnaires. Participants with autism will also be asked to complete a 1-hour interview. Participants will be compensated with a $60 VISA gift card at the end of their research appointment.

What are the goals of the study?

The purpose of this study is to investigate the feeding difficulties of infants who are later diagnosed with autism compared to their neurotypical sibling to identify any feeding characteristics that would warrant increased monitoring for autism in infancy.

What will happen during the visit or online?

Completion of a 90-120-minute MRI scan, brief questionnaires, 10-minute recall task and 30-minute IQ assessment

How will this help families?

We are investigating the neural mechanisms underlying perceptions of social interactions which will enable researchers to develop better informed therapies and trainings focused on social skills acquisition

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This research study aims to find out more about adults with autism spectrum disorder, including how adults with autism think, how their brains work, and how these things change as they get older.

What are the goals of the study?

The main goal of the study is to understand the aging process in people with autism.

What will happen during the visit or online?

The study involves autism diagnostic evaluation at the SDSU Center for Autism, and a neuropsychological battery testing the individual’s memory, attention span, and other cognitive skills. Participants are also asked to undergo an MRI scan at the SDSU Imaging Center, which allows us to collect information about the brain anatomy and function. Because we are aiming to understand how people with autism age, we hope to repeat this evaluation in about 3-5 years, inviting participants to return for another scan and a set of assessments.

How will this help families?

Participants in this study report that they learn important information about their memory and other cognitive abilities from participating in the study. Broadly, the results of this study should help us understand how people with autism age – something that has not been studied nor well understood thus far.

Six-to-ten year old children with autism spectrum disorders are invited to participate in a fun study, which involves wearing an actigraphy watch for two weeks (to estimate the quality and other characteristics of the child’s sleep) and participation in one MRI session at SDSU Imaging Center. Both children and parents are asked to keep sleep diaries for the two weeks when the child is wearing the actigraphy watch. Finally, children are asked to take part in a brief cognitive testing session. The study aims to understand the links between sleep (problems) and brain development in children with autism.

What are the goals of the study?

This study aims to understand potential mechanisms underlying sleep disturbances in autism.

What will happen during the visit or online?

Children will be asked to wear an actigraphy watch for two weeks, keep sleep diaries, take part in one MRI scan, and complete a brief behavioral assessment session.

How will this help families?

Sleep problems affect 50-80% of individuals with autism and can have cascading effects on development, everyday function, and quality of life. However, the mechanisms underlying sleep disturbances in ASD are not understood. A better insight into the potential mechanisms of sleep disturbances in autism may ultimately help with developing new treatments targeting sleep in children with autism.

Researchers at Seattle Children’s are looking for caregivers of 2 to 12 year old children without autism spectrum disorder or challenging behaviors (e.g., aggression, destruction) that require intervention to take part in an online survey study and an optional in-person EEG visit. Parents will be compensated with a $50 gift card for completing the questionnaires and a $50 gift card for completing the in-person visit.

What are the goals of the study?

The goal of this study is to study parent and child problem-solving and emotions in an intervention that includes parents.

What will happen during the visit or online?

Parents will complete an online survey (about 30 minutes) about their and their child’s problem-solving and emotions and in a one-time in-person EEG and cognitive visit that includes problem-solving and other tasks.

How will this help families?

The study is being done to learn more about parents’ emotion and mental processes.

In this study, we will present a series of validated eye tracking paradigms (e.g., images of faces, videos of social interactions) while we monitor eye movements and physiological arousal. Two research assistants will also collect behavioral reports of ASD and ADHD symptoms from 8-12 years old participants. These data will allow us to examine how and if eye movements, arousal, and questionnaire outcomes differ between children with ASD and ADHD. By combining eye tracking/arousal measures and behavioral assessments, we will then draft a map of how these social cognitive traits manifest in eye movements.

What are the goals of the study?

The primary aim of this study is to test the utility of a social cognitive battery incorporating psychophysiological measures to differentiate between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

What will happen during the visit or online?

A brief telephone screening will be conducted to determine if the child and family are interested in the study. Then, a research team member will schedule a time for the family to come into the lab for approximately 90 minutes. Prior to the visit, parents will be asked to send a copy of a recent diagnostic assessment to confirm diagnosis. During the visit, the participant will come to our lab with their parent. Upon completion of the consent and assent, cognitive screener will be conducted first to the child and then the eye tracking tasks will be administered using the Eyelink 1000. We will ask the child to sit in front of a computer screen, and we will be showing the child some videos and images while the computer will track the child’s physiological response and their eye movements. Parent and caregivers will complete a few questionnaires by the time. Upon completion of all measures, the participant will be given a $20 gift card for their time.

How will this help families?

Families will receive a feedback summary compiling information regarding their responses on questionnaires, including the Conners, SRS, and CBCL. Families will learn about their children’s current condition in behavior performances and cognitive development. If requested by contacting the lab via phone or email (or indicating during the study visit), a 15 minute phone feedback session will be scheduled for the parents with the PI, clinical psychologist, to discuss the results from the questionnaires. This will also offer the PI a chance to address any other questions the parents may have. Participants will also be compensated $20 for their time.

Dr. Eggebrecht and researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are mapping brain function in children with autism spectrum disorder with diffuse optical tomography.

What are the goals of the study?

Dr. Eggebrecht and researchers at Washington University in St. Louis aim to investigate brain function underlying development in children who have or are at risk for developing Autism Spectrum Disorder.

What will happen during the visit or online?

Children will complete a 1-hour brain imaging scan and developmental testing at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Parents will complete online and phone surveys from home. Families will be compensated $25/hour for their participation.

How will this help families?

We hope that, in the future, society may benefit from study results which increase our understanding of typical and altered development of brain function. We hope that in the future, optical imaging will complement the current brain imaging technologies in the management of a variety of patient populations.

The genetic changes we study in TIGER3 have been connected with autism and developmental disabilities, but we are just beginning to learn how those changes might affect each person and family differently, and what effects might be shared versus unique across those genetic variants. By learning more about the shared and unique effects of these rare variants, we aim to contribute to (1) better understanding of co-occurring medical and behavioral conditions, and (2) development of individualized supports for affected individuals and their families.

What are the goals of the study?

In the TIGER research study, we are learning more about individuals with genetic events associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability (ID), and/or developmental delay (DD). We hope to better understand and describe how different gene changes influence the development, behavior, and experiences of children and adults. Individuals with these genetic changes may have neurodevelopmental differences that we would like to better understand.

What will happen during the visit or online?

Eligible families participate in a consent phone call, and are then invited to complete a series of video- or phone calls to assess for autism-associated features, adaptive skills, cognitive skills, and medical history. Caregivers are also invited to complete a variety of online questionnaires, including measures of adaptive behavior, treatment history, sleep habits, gastrointestinal symptoms, social-emotional functioning, and executive function. Biospecimen (blood or saliva) collection is completed remotely. Finally, families are offered a feedback session with a clinician and a written report of standardized measures and recommendations.

How will this help families?

Families will be compensated $100 for their participation. Participants may receive feedback about their family’s genetic event(s). Families will also receive written and/or verbal feedback regarding adaptive behavior, social communication skills, language skills, and cognitive skills as available from completed study activities.

Researchers at Deakin University are seeking participants for an online study investigating how and why personality traits, characteristics, and behaviours associated with autism and anorexia are related.

What are the goals of the study?

We are doing this research because there is evidence that autism and anorexia might overlap, and we want to understand this overlap better. Better understanding of factors that contribute to the overlap between autism and anorexia will help us to better detect these conditions and offer appropriate support to those who require it.

What will happen during the visit or online?

If you choose to participate in this study, you will be invited to complete an online survey and computerised tasks. The study will take approximately 1 hour to complete, and upon completion, participants will go into the draw to win one of 10 AUD$150 gift cards.

How will this help families?

Improving understanding of these disorders will help us identify appropriate support for individuals with autism and improve clinical practice.

The study of people with new onset face blindness points to a particular brain circuit. We are investigating if this same brain circuit is involved in face recognition difficulty in individuals with autism. If successful, this study may identify new ways to improve face recognition ability.

What are the goals of the study?

Some individuals with autism have difficulties related to face processing and recognition, which can have substantial effects on everyday life. For this study, we hope to figure out where these face processing difficulties arise in the brain. This research could help us provide targets for treatment and could aid in the development of biomarkers for future detection.

What will happen during the visit or online?

The study involves one virtual visit and one visit to Boston Children’s Hospital. The first study visit will involve a series of computer activities designed to measure face processing and should last around 2 hours. The second study visit will involve an MRI, during which the participant will complete additional face processing tasks. This second visit may last up to 3 hours. In between these two visits, we will also share a link to some questionnaires to be completed online by the participant and a caregiver.

How will this help families?

It may lead to new treatments for face recognition difficulties which may help social development.

This is the first study to consider the neural indices of cognitive inflexibility in autism. Since cognitive inflexibility is related to core autism features, we hope that findings from this project will support the field’s goal to inform prevention and treatment interventions to inform personalized interventions that address specific outcomes.

What are the goals of the study?

This study seeks to examine core behavioral and neural presentations associated with cognitive inflexibility (CI) in both autistic and non-autistic youth. The current project is also aimed at validating specific neural indices associated with CI and better understand links between neural indices and behavioral presentations of CI. This study will further examine relations of CI to core autism symptoms (i.e., social communication deficits and RRBs), as well as co-occurring psychopathology that cause significant impairment.

What will happen during the visit or online?

Participants will complete behavioral assessments (ADOS, DKEFS, EFCT), cognitive assessment (KBIT), an EEG task, and self-report measures. Parents will also complete parent-report measures.

How will this help families?

Upon request, the research team will provide a research report of all assessment results (including ADOS) that can be shared with other service providers, schools, etc.