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Autism Spectrum DisordersAUTATTENNCT02160119

Emotional and Change-related Attention in Autism

An observational study of Autism Spectrum Disorders, run by Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France at 1 site in France.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Several studies seem to indicate that emotional attention and change-related attention are impaired in ASD. The goal of this study is to identify the relationships between those two types of automatic attention in visual and auditory modalities in subjects with ASD compared to healthy controls and also, over the… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 5 to 45 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Autism Spectrum Disorders
What is being tested?
MRI-based techniques and EEG
How many people
120 participants
Where
1 siteFrance
Study dates
27 May 2014to 27 May 2018
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 5 to 45 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child, Adult

Study population: Children/ adults with ASD and healthy children/ adults

Who may be able to join

  • No past history of central nervous system disorders
  • Written consent
  • Affiliated to the National Health Insurance
  • Do not participate to another biomedical research
  • For ASD group: Children with autism spectrum disorder (DSM-V criteria) and adults with high-functioning autism
  • For healthy subjects: No past history of difficulties in early childhood for acquisition of walk, language or reading and no psychiatric disorders

Who cannot join

  • Abnormal corrected vision
  • Abnormal audition
  • Not stabilized psychoactive treatment or treatment that can modify electrogenesis
  • Infectious or metabolic diseases
  • Epilepsies
  • Impossibility to participate to the whole study
  • For subjects participating to the MRI recordings: MRI counter-indications (pace-makers ...), claustrophobia or a positive pregnancy test

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

France1 site
  • University Hospital

    Tours, 37044

Other trials in France

About this study

Several studies seem to indicate that emotional attention and change-related attention are impaired in ASD. The goal of this study is to identify the relationships between those two types of automatic attention in visual and auditory modalities in subjects with ASD compared to healthy controls and also, over the course of development (children, adults). In order to achieve this goal, the investigators will use complementary techniques (EEG and MRI-based techniques (fMRI, DTI)).

Read the detailed description

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterized by major handicap in social interaction and in daily life adaptation. The orienting response towards potentially relevant events involves automatic attentional mechanisms that would be elicited mainly by two classes of biologically important stimulations: novel stimuli and emotional stimuli. The neural basis of emotional and change-related attention in ASD will be explored by investigating brain reactivity in both visual and auditory modalities, during tasks mixing emotional and non emotional stimuli.

Being tested
MRI-based techniques, EEG
Keywords
Autism Spectrum Disorders, Emotion, Attention, Event-related potential, Functional neuroimaging, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Development
Medical subject headings
Autism Spectrum Disorder

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • MRI-based techniquesOther

    Also called Functional magnetic resonance imaging, Diffusion Tensor Imaging

    fMRI, DTI

  • EEGOther

    Also called Electroencephaolgraphy, Event-related potential (ERP)

    ERP

Study groups in NCT02160119
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Healthy ControlsNot described
Receives: Other: MRI-based techniques; Other: EEG
Autism Spectrum DisordersNot described
Receives: Other: MRI-based techniques; Other: EEG

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Neural responses to neutral and emotional stimuli

    ERP (Event-related potential), fMRI and DTI

    Measured: 1 day

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted10 Jun 2014 (estimated)
  2. Study start27 May 2014
  3. Primary completionMay 2018
  4. Study completion27 May 2018

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Case-control
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrolment
120 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT02160119
Sponsor's protocol ID
C13-26
Other IDs
2013-A01315-40
Acronym
AUTATTEN
Status last verified
Aug 2021
First submitted
3 Jun 2014
Last updated
18 Nov 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No

Publications

  • Charpentier J, Kovarski K, Roux S, Houy-Durand E, Saby A, Bonnet-Brilhault F, Latinus M, Gomot M. Brain mechanisms involved in angry prosody change detection in school-age children and adults, revealed by electrophysiology. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2018 Aug;18(4):748-763. doi: 10.3758/s13415-018-0602-8.

    PubMed 29736682
  • Kovarski K, Latinus M, Charpentier J, Clery H, Roux S, Houy-Durand E, Saby A, Bonnet-Brilhault F, Batty M, Gomot M. Facial Expression Related vMMN: Disentangling Emotional from Neutral Change Detection. Front Hum Neurosci. 2017 Jan 30;11:18. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00018. eCollection 2017.

    PubMed 28194102
  • Charpentier J, Latinus M, Andersson F, Saby A, Cottier JP, Bonnet-Brilhault F, Houy-Durand E, Gomot M. Brain correlates of emotional prosodic change detection in autism spectrum disorder. Neuroimage Clin. 2020;28:102512. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102512. Epub 2020 Nov 27.

    PubMed 33395999
  • Kovarski K, Charpentier J, Roux S, Batty M, Houy-Durand E, Gomot M. Emotional visual mismatch negativity: a joint investigation of social and non-social dimensions in adults with autism. Transl Psychiatry. 2021 Jan 5;11(1):10. doi: 10.1038/s41398-020-01133-5.

    PubMed 33414385
  • Charpentier J, Kovarski K, Houy-Durand E, Malvy J, Saby A, Bonnet-Brilhault F, Latinus M, Gomot M. Emotional prosodic change detection in autism Spectrum disorder: an electrophysiological investigation in children and adults. J Neurodev Disord. 2018 Sep 18;10(1):28. doi: 10.1186/s11689-018-9246-9.

    PubMed 30227832

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Autism Spectrum Disorders, run by Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France at 1 site in France.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 7 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 18 Nov 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in France. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Neural responses to neutral and emotional stimuli (time frame: 1 day). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT02160119, which also lists 5 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 18 Nov 2025; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 7 Nov 2026.

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