Teams Led by Ti-Fei Yuan and Fei Li Report Improved Social Communication in Children with Autism following Accelerated Non-invasive Brain Stimulation

An impressive study from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine on non-invasive neuromodulation for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has recently been published online in The BMJ. The intervention could serve as an important adjunct to established behavioural therapies for children with ASD.

The study was completed through a close collaboration involving Professor Fei Li’s team at Xinhua Hospital, Professor Ti-Fei Yuan’s team at the School of Psychology and Shanghai Mental Health Center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Director Aihua Cao’s team at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, and Director Shuanfeng Fang’s team at Henan Children’s Hospital. In a large, multicentre, randomised, sham-controlled trial, the intervention significantly reduced social communication impairment and showed a favourable safety and tolerability profile.

In China, children with autism are sometimes poetically referred to as “children of the stars.” ASD is a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by persistent difficulties in social communication and interaction, together with restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour. Although medications can help manage associated symptoms such as irritability, no pharmacological treatment is currently approved for the core social communication and behavioural symptoms of ASD. Behavioural interventions remain the cornerstone of treatment, but they often require prolonged and intensive engagement, and responses vary substantially across individuals, underscoring the need for additional therapeutic approaches.

Building on nearly a decade of clinical research, the team identified the primary motor cortex as a potential target for social communication difficulties in autism. This target can be located rapidly in children by measuring motor evoked potentials (MEP). The team then combined this targeting approach with an accelerated continuous theta burst stimulation (a-cTBS) protocol adapted from Stanford accelerated stimulation framework, consisting of brief, frequent sessions delivered over five consecutive days.

The MEP guided five-day protocol offers a practical treatment option for children with ASD. Its streamlined targeting procedure and short treatment course could support wider implementation of non-invasive neuromodulation, including in community and primary care settings.

Paper doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2025-086295