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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for Depression in Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study is exploring if transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) using the MAGSTIM Rapid2 TMS system could help with depression in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Researchers want to see how brain activity and eye movements change after a single TMS session. You could be eligible if you are 18-40 years old and have ASD, with or without depression, or if you are 18-40 years old with or without depression from the Yale University community. The study will look for changes in brain responses to sad faces (measured by Electroencephalogram or EEG) and eye-tracking (ET) to sad faces, as well as changes in Auditory Steady State Response (ASSR) up to two weeks after treatment. The study is planning to enroll 60 participants.

Study design
This is an interventional study with 60 planned participants. It involves two separate sessions where participants will receive either active TMS or a sham (inactive) stimulation, with the order being random.
What's involved
You would complete two separate sessions, about one week apart. Each session includes assessments, brain and eye-tracking tests, and a single TMS or sham stimulation.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Researchers will measure changes in brain responses and eye-tracking up to two weeks after treatment.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

NCT06142955

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to Treat Depression in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Recruiting
NAAges 18–40InterventionalPrevention
Yale University
~60 participants
Updated 2026-07-16 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:MAGSTIM Rapid2 TMS system

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Change in Electroencephalogram (EEG) brain responses to sad faces
Measured over baseline and up to week 2
+2 more outcomes measured

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Explore related trials

Autism Spectrum DisorderDepression

NCT06142955

Where you'd take part

This study runs at 1 site. They're the same protocol — you choose where, and that choice sets who your contact draft is addressed to.

  • Yale Psychiatric Hospital

    New Haven, Connecticutno site contact published

    Recruiting

Sites open and close at different times, so the status above is per site — it can differ from the study's overall status.

Study leadership

  • Sherab Tsheringla, MD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Yale University

Who to contact

Sherab Tsheringla, MD
[email protected]
2032158046
Email the study team

Opens a ready-to-send draft in your own email app — review before sending.

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

Individuals from Yale University and the surrounding community who are between the ages of 18 and 40 years old with or without a diagnosis of depression. Or individuals between the ages of 18 and 40 years old with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, autistic disorder, PDD NOS, or Asperger syndrome with or without a diagnosis of depression.
A depression score on the HDRS-17 of at least 20 will be used as a cut-off for depression.
Participants are unmedicated or on stable medication treatment for at least two weeks.
Willingness and ability to participate in an EEG and eye-tracking procedure.
Provision of signed and dated informed consent.

Exclusion

Participants reporting significant head trauma or serious brain illness.
Participants unable to provide signed informed consent.
Participants with major psychiatric illness that would preclude completion of study measures. Participants with diagnosis of a psychotic or bipolar illness with be excluded.
Participants with a history of serious medical illness, stroke, seizures, epileptiform EEG abnormalities, or family history of epilepsy.
Participants taking prescription medications that may affect cognitive processes under study.
Participants taking any medication that may increase their risk of seizures.
Participants who have taken alcohol or recreational drugs within the preceding 24 hours prior to the scheduled study visit as determined by the urine toxicology test.
Participants with a history of substance or alcohol abuse or dependence in the past 6 months.
Participants with a significant risk of suicide or a h/o suicide attempt in the last 6 months. Participants with active suicidal ideation will be excluded from the study.
Females of known/suspected pregnancy or who test positive on a pregnancy test.
Participants with a history of metalworking or injury by shrapnel or metallic objects.
Participants with a history of prior TMS therapy or use of an investigational drug within 12 weeks of visit
Participants with an IQ below 80 (as confirmed by the WASI, Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence)

What this trial measures

  • Change in Electroencephalogram (EEG) brain responses to sad facesbaseline and up to week 2

    As measured by amplitude and latency of event related potentials (ERP) (the right lateralized P100, P200 and amplitude of N170) to sad faces. EEG: an electrophysiological assay that measures brain activity from the scalp.

  • Change in eye tracking (ET) to sad facesbaseline and up to week 2

    ET will measure participant attention to the screen and be used to ensure that participants are looking at the stimulus display screen during the course of the experimental paradigms. Change in Proportion of fixation (POF) to the eye region in sad faces as measured by ET.

  • Change in Auditory Steady State Response (ASSR)baseline and up to week 2

    ASSR measures an electrophysiological response in the human cortex after presenting stimulation consisting of pure tones at certain frequencies. For assessment of ASSRs, subjects will sit in an acoustically shielded booth in front of a computer monitor with eyes open, while passively listening to click trains presented through Etymotic insert ER-1 earphones (Etymotic Research, Elk Grove Village, IL). Stimuli will consist of standard, unattended (nontarget) auditory click trains from a three-stimulus oddball tasks. The output is thus measured in the EEG recording which is analyzed in the frequency domain. Measures of inter-trial coherence (ITC) are used to determine neural synchrony through the ASSR task, by quantifying the degree of phase consistency across trials. ASSR Power is the magnitude of the brain's voltage response to a stimulus and the consistency across trials of the time course of this time-locked response.