Low-Intensity Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Stimulation Improves Social Interaction and Stereotyped Behavior in a boy with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Shu Cheng^1,2Xuan Xu¹Chaoshan Yan^3,4Mengchai Mao^5,6Kaixuan Luo¹Xiaofan Zhang⁷Qihui Liang⁸Xiaojing Long⁹Lijuan Ao^1,4*Moxian Chen^1*

• ¹School of Rehabilitation, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
• ²Department of Rehabilitation, China Resources & WISCO General Hospital, Wuhan, China
• ³School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
• ⁴Shanghai Yangzhi Rehabilitation Hospital, Shanghai, China
• ⁵Engineering Research Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine Intelligent Rehabilitation, Shanghai, China
• ⁶School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
• ⁷Department of Psychiatry, Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
• ⁸Yunnan Rehabilitation Center for The Disabled, Kunming, China
• ⁹Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China

Objectives: Presently, no biomedical therapies are available that specifically address the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders. Given the evidence of cortical malfunction in ASD, lowintensity transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation has been discussed as a prospective therapeutic technique.We describe the application of transcranial focused ultrasound to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in a boy with ASD, which was applied for 30 minutes each consecutive weekday for four weeks (20 sessions in total). Social interaction, stereotyped behavior and language were assessed by scales before the first transcranial focused ultrasound session, immediately after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment. Besides, functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used to detect functional connections between regions of interest and the whole brain in individuals with ASD.Results: Scale assessments revealed several improvements in social and stereotypical behavior after low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound. The results of functional near-infrared spectroscopy indicated increasing functional connections between the SM1 and other cortical regions as well as the whole brain, which accounted for the outcomes evaluated by the scale.Conclusions: Low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound in ASD potentially rectified cortical dysfunction, thereby presenting a novel pathway for the advancement of biomedical interventions targeting the impaired social and stereotypical behaviors in ASD.