Grant: Project Grant

Depression in autism contributes to disability, social impairment, and is a risk factor for suicide. However, there are no approved treatments. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation(rTMS) is approved for the treatment of depression by Health Canada, but as no study has examined this treatment in people with autism and depression, it is not readily accessible. We recently completed a preliminary study of rTMS in young adults with autism. Although we were expecting to see effects on memory, we found that the strongest effect was on depressive symptoms. We now propose to conduct a larger study to follow-up on this preliminary finding. The current study aims to evaluate whether rTMS may be an effective treatment option for depression in people with autism. We will recruit 80 transition age youth (age 16-29 years) with autism and depression to a 4-week trial where half of our sample will receive active rTMS and the other half will receive sham (placebo) rTMS. We will track whether symptoms of depression and suicidal thinking improve with active rTMS and will use brain imaging before and after treatment to track changes in the brain with treatment, to understand how treatment works.