NCT01031407

Cognitive Neuroscience of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Completed Last updated 7 April 2026

What this trial tests

trial in Asperger's Disorder in 678 participants. Completed.

Timeline

21 February 2010

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Status	Completed
Study type	OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment	678
Start date	21 February 2010
Sites	1 location across United States

Conditions studied

• Asperger's Disorder — all drugs for Asperger's Disorder →
• Mental Retardation — all drugs for Mental Retardation →
• Children — all drugs for Children →
• Adult — all drugs for Adult →

Sponsor

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Who can join

Adults 5 to 89, any sex, with Asperger's Disorder or Mental Retardation. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Background:

* Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of developmental disorders that affect communication, social interaction, and behavior. Relatively little is known about the relationship between genetics and behavior among these individuals and their close relatives. Researchers are interested in using interviews and rating scales to better understand these issues, as well as collecting brain scan data and genetic samples for testing and comparison.
* By comparing test results and genetic samples from healthy volunteers, people with ASD, and parents (or caregivers or legal guardians) of the first two groups, researchers hope to better understand the neuroscience of ASD.

Objectives:

* To learn more about the brain in healthy people and in people with autism spectrum disorders.
* To study genes that might be involved in autism spectrum disorders by collecting DNA samples from participants.

Eligibility:

The following groups of participants will be eligible for the study:

* Individuals between 5 and 89 years of age who have autism spectrum disorders.
* Healthy volunteers between 5 and 89 years of age.
* Cognitively impaired children between 5 and 17 years of age.
* Parents/caregivers/legal guardians of individuals in the above three groups.

Design:

* Participants will visit the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center for research tests, which will be administered over multiple visits. Researchers will determine the specific tests to be administered based on the medical history of the study participant.
* Researchers will study the brain through interviews, tests of thinking and memory (neuropsychological tests), brain imaging with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and magnetoencephalography (MEG).
* The study will also collect blood or saliva to obtain a DNA sample.

Publications & conference data

8 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Sources and implications of whole-brain fMRI signals in humans.
   Power JD, Plitt M, Laumann TO, Martin A. · · 2017 · cited 489× · PMID 27751941 · DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.09.038
2. Two distinct forms of functional lateralization in the human brain.
   Gotts SJ, Jo HJ, Wallace GL, Saad ZS, et al · · 2013 · cited 297× · PMID 23959883 · DOI 10.1073/pnas.1302581110
3. Ridding fMRI data of motion-related influences: Removal of signals with distinct spatial and physical bases in multiecho data.
   Power JD, Plitt M, Gotts SJ, Kundu P, et al · · 2018 · cited 243× · PMID 29440410 · DOI 10.1073/pnas.1720985115
4. The perils of global signal regression for group comparisons: a case study of Autism Spectrum Disorders.
   Gotts SJ, Saad ZS, Jo HJ, Wallace GL, et al · · 2013 · cited 222× · PMID 23874279 · DOI 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00356
5. GRAPES-Grounding representations in action, perception, and emotion systems: How object properties and categories are represented in the human brain.
   Martin A. · · 2016 · cited 206× · PMID 25968087 · DOI 10.3758/s13423-015-0842-3
6. Functional connectivity classification of autism identifies highly predictive brain features but falls short of biomarker standards.
   Plitt M, Barnes KA, Martin A. · · 2015 · cited 168× · PMID 25685703 · DOI 10.1016/j.nicl.2014.12.013
7. Distinctions among real and apparent respiratory motions in human fMRI data.
   Power JD, Lynch CJ, Silver BM, Dubin MJ, et al · · 2019 · cited 121× · PMID 31344484 · DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116041
8. A simple but useful way to assess fMRI scan qualities.
   Power JD. · · 2017 · cited 114× · PMID 27510328 · DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.08.009