An interventional study of Active-tDCS with computerized cognitive training and Sham-tDCS with computerized cognitive training in Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, sponsored by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Recruiting at 1 site in Hong Kong. Open to male participants aged 12 Years to 21 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-12.
Sponsored by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Among 15 studies in Autistic Disorder with a site in Hong Kong — 6 open to participants now, 6 under way, none of them phase 3. Autistic Disorder · Hong Kong.
Among the 15 studies in Autistic Disorder with a site in Hong Kong, this one is the 11th largest by planned enrollment of the 14 interventional ones that give a count, is the only one that started in 2026, is one of 10 with no phase, and was the 15th registered.
1,030 studies on the registry are indexed under Autistic Disorder; 266 are open to participants now.
Browse Autistic Disorder studies →6 of the 15 studies in Autistic Disorder with a site in Hong Kong are open now. Recruiting first, the newest first:
Education University of Hong Kong · Sites in Hong Kong
Ages 6–11
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University · Sites in Hong Kong
Ages 12–21
Chinese University of Hong Kong · Sites in Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong · Sites in Hong Kong
Ages 6–18
Education University of Hong Kong · Sites in Hong Kong
Ages 8–12
A study can be open while its sites in Hong Kong have not opened yet or have stopped. Only those recruiting at a site in Hong Kong →
Of the 181 Autistic Disorder studies recruiting now, 33 (18%) set no upper age limit and 141 (78%) stop at 75 or younger; 146 take children under 18; 56 take healthy volunteers.
This study: 12 Years to 21 Years · male · no healthy volunteers.
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15 studies; the count open now beside each. This study's row is marked.
First in 2005; this study’s year is marked. 1 started in 2026.
This study's planned enrollment of 40 is below the median of 49 across 811 interventional studies indexed under Autistic Disorder.
Median enrollment 73 across the 14 interventional studies, 320 across the 1 observational. Of the 8 that completed or were terminated, 0 (0%) have results posted.
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None of the 15 has an industry lead sponsor. The 4 most frequent:
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is the lead sponsor of 681 studies on the registry; 259 are open to participants now.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has 2 studies filed under Autistic Disorder — fewer than ten, so there is no comparison to draw.
2 of the studies in Autistic Disorder with a site in Hong Kong that are under way reach primary completion within a year, 0 of them phase 3. Phase 3 first, then by date:
| Study | Primary completion |
|---|---|
| NCT07931781The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityEffects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Enhancing Cognitive Function in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder - A Pilot fMRI Study | 2027-09-30 |
| NCT05492032The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityCumulative and Booster Effects of Multisession Prefrontal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Adolescents With ASD | 2027-09-30 |
Add all 2 to your calendar (.ics) → With an account.
Among the 15 studies in Autistic Disorder with a site in Hong Kong, from their registry updates:
This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder that currently affects 1 in 32 children. ASD is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and restricted, repetitive behaviors. For instance, people with ASD often show great difficulty in recognizing social cues and understanding others' emotions, as well as having a tendency to act inflexibly and inappropriately in social situations, all of which contribute to lifelong social and occupational dysfunctions.To date, there is no cure for ASD. Existing treatments are primarily behavioral or educational based. Although some treatments show positive therapeutic effects in reducing patients' core autistic symptoms, the interventions are often labor- and time-intensive. Recently, a non-invasive painless brain stimulation technique, "transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)," has received increasing interest in clinical settings as a potential tool for cognitive enhancement and neurorehabilitation for various cognitive dysfunctions. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of tDCS treatment combined with cognitive training for individuals with ASD. We will study the effect before and after treatment.
1,030 studies on the registry are indexed under Autistic Disorder; 266 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 40 is below the median of 49 across 811 interventional studies indexed under Autistic Disorder.
Browse Autistic Disorder studies →The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is the lead sponsor of 681 studies on the registry; 259 are open to participants now.
Compared within Autistic Disorder, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Autism Spectrum Disorder. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
For the active-tDCS condition, participants will receive a stimulation on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, with ramp up and ramp down mode for 30 seconds, eliciting a tingling sensation on the scalp that fades over seconds.
Device: Active-tDCS with computerized cognitive training
For sham-tDCS condition, participants will receive an initial stimulation of a ramp up and ramp down mode for 30 seconds, eliciting a tingling sensation on the scalp. Then the stimulation will be discontinued.
Device: Sham-tDCS with computerized cognitive training
Participants will receive active-tDCS over 10 sessions in 2 weeks (20 minutes per session, once per day, for 10 consecutive working days), with concurrent computerized cognitive training. The training comprises of 10 games targeting multiple executive functions.
Participants will receive sham-tDCS over 10 sessions in 2 weeks (20 minutes per session, once per day, for 10 consecutive working days), with concurrent computerized cognitive training. The training comprises of 10 games targeting multiple executive functions.
Change in Executive Functioning - Executive Composite Score
Derived by summing the scores from the test battery of executive functions. To reduce the number of statistical comparisons, one Executive Composite score will be computed from the different executive function measures. This will be done by converting the raw scores on the different executive function measures to Z scores. The Z scores from the different executive function measures will then be averaged to yield the Executive Composite score. Lower scores indicate poorer executive functioning.
Time frame: First day of intervention, and 1 day after the last day of intervention. (2 time points, up to 2 weeks)
Change in subdomains of executive function - CANTAB® cognitive test: Reaction Time (RTI)
RTI assesses motor and mental response speeds, reaction time, response accuracy and impulsivity. It consists of 30 trials with five potential targets and requires participants to make flexible responses as fast as possible to the target stimulus (shown in yellow). Specifically, movement and reaction time will be measured, where shorter duration reflects faster processing
Time frame: First day of intervention, and 1 day after the last day of intervention. (2 time points, up to 2 weeks)
Change in subdomains of executive function - CANTAB® cognitive test: Spatial Working Memory (SWM)
SWM assess the memory ability of visuospatial information. Participants are required to search the tokens from a number of boxes but not pressing the boxes which tokens have been found. Errors (lower scores indicate lower repetition on pressing the same boxes that token has been found) and strategy (lower scores suggest higher strategy use in begin of choosing the same boxes) will be measured.
Time frame: First day of intervention, and 1 day after the last day of intervention. (2 time points, up to 2 weeks)
Change in CANTAB® cognitive test - Multitasking Test (MTT)
MTT assesses the ability to resolve the interference of task-irrelevant information (stroop-like effect). The test displays an arrow which can appear on either the left or right side of the screen and can point to either the left or right side. In each trial, participants are presented with a cue that indicates which button to press according to two different rules. And the rules that participants have to follow may change from trial to trial in a randomized order. Participant's response latencies and error scores will be measured.
Time frame: First day of intervention, and 1 day after the last day of intervention. (2 time points, up to 2 weeks)
Change in CANTAB® cognitive test - Emotion Recognition Task (ERT)
ERT assesses the ability to identify six basic emotions in facial expressions along a continuum of expression magnitude. Participants must select which emotion the facial image displayed 0.2s ago. Response latencies and accuracy will be measured.
Time frame: First day of intervention, and 1 day after the last day of intervention. (2 time points, up to 2 weeks)
Change in subdomains of executive function - Verbal Fluency Test (VFT)
The VFT assesses an individual's ability of working memory retrieval and executive control by instructing the individual to generate words for given semantic categories within a limited time. Participants will be given one minute for each category, which will be counterbalanced across participants to avoid order effects. The number of unique and correct words generated will be counted for each of the participants.
Time frame: First day of intervention, and 1 day after the last day of intervention. (2 time points, up to 2 weeks)
Change in subdomains of executive function - Five-Point Test (FPT)
The FPT assess an individual's design fluency and mental flexibility through instructing the individual to create unique, geometric patterns. Participants will be given a sheet of paper containing an array of 40 identical boxes. Each box contains 5 dots, arranged in the same pattern as '5' on a standard die. Participants have to connect 2 or more of the 5 dots using straight lines to create as many unique designs as possible within 5 minutes. The number of unique and correct patterns generated will be counted for each of the participants at 3 minutes and 5 minutes.
Time frame: First day of intervention, and 1 day after the last day of intervention. (2 time points, up to 2 weeks)
Change in subdomains of executive function - Color Trails Test (CTT)
CTT is a test that measures attention, processing speed, and flexibility. In Part 1, participants will connect numbered circles in sequential order as fast as possible. In Part 2, participants will also numbers in order, but must also alternate between circles of two different colors (pink and yellow). The execution time will be measured.
Time frame: First day of intervention, and 1 day after the last day of intervention. (2 time points, up to 2 weeks)
Changes in subdomains of executive function - d2 Test of Attention
The d2 Test of Attention measures selective and sustained attention, as well as visual information processing. Participants will be given 14 rows with 40 characters each, of which they must scan each row and cross out every target item (the letter 'd' with 2 dashes either above, below, or one in each position). Therefore, participants much ignore distractors along each row (i.e. the letter 'p' with any number of dashes, or 'd' with the wrong number of dashes). The number of errors will be counted for each participant.
Time frame: First day of intervention, and 1 day after the last day of intervention. (2 time points, up to 2 weeks)
Change in social responsiveness - Social Responsiveness Scale-2nd edition (SRS-2)
SRS-2 is a sensitive measure of social functioning in individuals that detects even subtle symptoms that are highly related to ASD. It uses a four-point scale and focuses on different aspects of socialization. The total score reflects the clinical effectiveness of tDCS, and higher scores indicate greater symptom severity. It has been shown that SRS-2 is sensitive to detect changes in social communication improvement related to improved cognitive functioning after treatment.
Time frame: First day of intervention, and 1 day after the last day of intervention (2 time points, up to 2 weeks)
Exploratory mediator - Excitability-Inhibitory (E/I) ratio
The study proposed will examine the biological mediator variable, E/I ratio, to explain the effects of tDCS. MRI data will be collected in the resting-state before and immediately after the 10-session intervention program. Further network analysis will be performed to characterize broader shifts in functional brain connectivity.
Time frame: First day of intervention, and 1 day after the last day of intervention. (2 time points, up to 2 weeks)
Start is estimated for Nov 2026; primary completion for Sep 2027, 10 months later.
Of 354 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Autistic Disorder, half reached primary completion within 26 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 14 and three quarters within 52. This study's planned 10 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 366 studies reached it within 26 months; a quarter within 13 and three quarters within 52.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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The Hong Kong Polytechnic University →