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The problem
Intervention: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), specifically left dorsolateral prefrontal tDCS protocol
Who it was tested with: Children and adolescents aged 4-21 years with autism spectrum disorder (N=357 across 13 RCTs).
Children or communities are compared with a group that did not receive the intervention, or followed over years. This is the design that best separates what the intervention did from everything else that changed.
"Thirteen RCTs were included (N = 357, ages 4-21 years). tDCS significantly improved social functioning (SMD = -0.51, I2 = 0%, p = 0.0002) and induced significant overall neurofunctional modulations (SMD = 1.03, I2 = 71.9%, p = 0.004)." The randomized controlled trial design with meta-analysis of multiple studies provides experimental-level evidence, though the mixed outcomes across measurement types and lack of correlation between neural and behavioral changes indicate the intervention's mechanisms and consistency remain unclear.
High heterogeneity in some neurophysiological subgroups (I2 up to 85.8%); inconsistency between brain changes and behavioral improvements across studies; small numbers of studies in some measurement modalities (ERP k=2); limited sample representativeness and potential unmeasured effects of gender and neurodevelopmental stage.
Across countries and designs
1 study · 0 countries
