Award
National Institute of Mental Health 5R01MH132044-04
Modulating Temporoparietal Junction Mentalizing-Related Activity in Autism Spectrum Disorder using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Recipient
Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT, United States
Award Amount
$767,568.00
Ceiling
$767,568.00
Awarded
June 08, 2026
Identifier
5R01MH132044-04
The NIH-funded project studies the modulation of mentalizing-related brain activity in adults with autism using transcranial magnetic stimulation, aiming to improve social communication skills through neural modulation techniques.
Description
This project aims to investigate the effects of inhibitory vs. excitatory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ) on mentalizing neural activity in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to typically developing controls. The study involves 40 adults with ASD and 40 matched typically developing adults, ages 18-35, IQ > 80, undergoing four sessions with different rTMS sequences and fMRI scans to assess changes in mentalizing-related neural activity and evaluate rTMS as an intervention to improve social communication skills in ASD.