Therapeutic potential of low-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation in children with autism spectrum disorder: sensory and behavioral outcomes—a randomized trial

Journal Article

Published in: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.172…

Background:

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects individuals across multiple life domains. Despite this, therapeutic options remain scarce, with none officially approved for its treatment. One recently explored treatment modality is repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a noninvasive neurostimulation intervention. This study examines the effectiveness of low-frequency rTMS in improving social, cognitive, and sensory function in individuals with ASD.

Method:

The study included 35 children aged 5 to 10 years who had been diagnosed with ASD. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups: 17 children received rTMS treatment twice weekly (active group), while the remaining 18 served as a waitlist (WTL) control group. Outcome measures were collected at baseline (preintervention) and 3 weeks after the completion of the 9-week rTMS intervention (postintervention).

Results:

Significant (p < 0.05) improvements in cognitive, social, and sensory functions were observed in the active group measures 3 weeks after the 9-week rTMS intervention (postintervention). This was evidenced by their Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), and Short Sensory Profile (SSP) scores (27.47 ± 7.95, 71.59 ± 11.55, and 156.47 ± 20.17, respectively), with a highly significant reduction in sensory hypersensitivity (p = 0.001) compared to the WLT group, which presented more severe scores on CARS (35.89 ± 8.96), SRS (81.72 ± 7.68), and SSP (133.67 ± 11.65). Additionally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were analyzed. CARS, SRS, and SSP recorded poor areas under the curve (AUCs) in the active pre-rTMS group (0.557, 0.565, and 0.574, respectively), while all ROC curves showed significantly higher AUCs in post-rTMS (0.775, 0.753, and 0.825, respectively).

Conclusion:

The findings of this study suggest that low-frequency rTMS may have potential as an adjunctive intervention for specific ASD-related symptoms in social, cognitive, and sensory domains. However, further research is warranted to validate and expand these preliminary observations.