Accelerated continuous theta burst stimulation targeting left primary motor cortex for children with autism spectrum disorder: multicentre randomised sham controlled trial

BMJ 2026 Open access

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Authors: Hangyu Tan, Tai Ren, Aihua Cao, Shuanfeng Fang, Lin Deng, Bo Hu, M M Wang, Ye Cheng, Xi Zhang, Y L Li, Yixia Zhang, Lingli Zhang
+11 more Luan Chen, Wei Zhou, Qianlong Zhang, Jiong Li, Xin Zhou, Christelle Langley, Qiang Luo, J Zhang, Barbara J. Sahakian, Ti-Fei Yuan, Fēi Li
DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2025-086295
Cited by: 5
References: 71

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the efficacy and safety of a five day accelerated continuous theta burst stimulation (a-cTBS) protocol in improving social communication impairment in children with autism spectrum disorder. DESIGN: Multicentre randomised sham controlled trial. SETTING: Three academic hospitals across three provinces in China, conducted from July 2023 to October 2024. PARTICIPANTS: 200 children aged 4-10 years with autism spectrum disorder (167 boys and 33 girls) all with a full scale intelligence quotient ≥50. INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomised 1:1 to receive active a-cTBS (n=100) or sham (n=100) treatment stratified by full scale intelligence quotient (≥70 or

Fields of Study & Subjects

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies Pain Management and Treatment Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

Publication details

Journal / source
BMJ
Publisher
BMJ
Volume
393
Pages
e086295–e086295
Publication date
29 April 2026
Language
EN