AutismNCT05829161
Sensory Phenotypes of Autism Spectrum Disorder
An observational study of Autism, run by National Taiwan University Hospital at 1 site in Taiwan.
Trial summary
This project plans to establish sensory phenotypes of a Taiwanese ASD cohort across lifespan, including variety of sensory modalities, sensory domains, and clinical correlates. Also, we will clarify the relationship between sensory phenotypes and social impairment by two specific sensory-social paradigms targeting eye… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 months and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Autism
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- How many people
- 480 participants
- Where
- 1 siteTaiwan
- Study dates
- 1 Jan 2020to 31 Dec 2028
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
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 18 months and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Study population: Participants with autism spectrum disorder, recruited from National Taiwan University Hospital
Who may be able to join
- Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder Aim#2 and #3
- ASD group:
- Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder
- Age above 12-40 years old
- No diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder
- Age above 12-40 years old
Who cannot join
- No diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder
- Pregnant woman
- Metal implant in the body
- TD group:
- History of major psychiatric disorders
- Pregnant woman
- Metal implant in the body
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Taiwan1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
National Taiwan University Hospital
Taipei
Yi Ling Chien, M.D., Ph.D., 886-2-2312-3456 ext. 66013, ylchien@hotmail.com
About this study
Official title: Sensory Phenotypes of Autism Spectrum Disorder Across Lifespan: Prospective Cohort Study and Sensory-Social Paradigm Establishment
This project plans to establish sensory phenotypes of a Taiwanese ASD cohort across lifespan, including variety of sensory modalities, sensory domains, and clinical correlates.
Also, we will clarify the relationship between sensory phenotypes and social impairment by two specific sensory-social paradigms targeting eye gaze avoidance and social touch anxiety, as well as the atypical neural representation of ASD during eye gaze and viewing social touch by fMRI and EEG.
Read the detailed description
Sensory disturbance of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are life-long highly-impairing challenges for the individual. Anxiety and fear around the sensory issues significantly threatens the psychological and mental health. As a newly introduced diagnostic criteria of ASD, sensory characteristics becomes a recent focus of ASD research. The ASD population is aging, how their sensory features naturally change with age is particular relevant for their adaptation. However, current literature are limited to childhood and young adults and mostly rely on behavioral report, lacking a clear whole picture of changing sensory phenotype in terms of different sensory modality and sensory domains. Besides, how sensory characteristics in ASD can be quantified by objective measures or explored by qualitative approach, how the sensory sensitivity contributes to the core social deficits in ASD such as eye gaze or social touch avoidance are unclear. This project plans to achieve the following aims:
- Establish sensory phenotypes of a Taiwanese ASD cohort across lifespan, including variety of sensory modalities (i.e., visual, tactile, auditory, smell/taste, proprioception, etc.), sensory domains (i.e., low registration, sensory seeking, sensory sensitivity, and sensory avoiding), and clinical correlates.
- Clarify the relationship between sensory phenotypes and social impairment by two specific sensory-social paradigms targeting eye gaze avoidance and social touch anxiety, which are hallmarks of ASD. Factors of emotion types as well as familiarity of faces or social/object touch will be manipulated to examine how they moderate eye tracking and pupil response.
- Identify the atypical neural representation of ASD during eye gaze and viewing social touch by fMRI and EEG.
- Conditions
- Autism
- Being tested
- no intervention
- Medical subject headings
- Autistic Disorder
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
no interventionBehavioural
no intervention
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| ASD Group | ASD participants, no intervention Receives: Behavioral: no intervention | |
| TD Group | TD participants, no intervention Receives: Behavioral: no intervention |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Sensory Profile
It is a self-report scale covers 6 sensory modalities, including taste/smell, motion, visual, tactile, activity, and auditory sensation. The scoring method was based on 4-dimension structure, i.e. Low Registration, Sensation Seeking, Sensory Sensitivity, and Sensation Avoiding. Higher scores mean worse symptoms for each dimension compared to average healthy controls
Measured: 2 years
Secondary outcomes (1)
Brain activation through fMRI data
MRI scanning session consist of eye-avoidance paradign, social touch paradigm and anatomical scan. Regions of interest for eye avoidance paradigm included brain regions that have been shown to involve face-to-face social and emotional interaction. ROIs for social touch paradigm select the areas that are known to mediate the processing of visually presented social touch scenes.
Measured: 2 years
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted25 Apr 2023
- Study start1 Jan 2020
- Primary completion31 Dec 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Dec 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for AutismStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by National Taiwan University HospitalThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
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
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Enrolment
- 480 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- National Taiwan University Hospital
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Yi Ling Chien, Principal investigator, National Taiwan University Hospital
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05829161
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 201903126RINA
- Status last verified
- Feb 2026
- First submitted
- 4 Jul 2019
- Last updated
- 27 Feb 2026
- Results posted
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 27 Feb 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Sensory Phenotypes of Autism Spectrum Disorder Across Lifespan: Prospective Cohort Study and Sensory-Social Paradigm Establishment
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05829161
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 201903126RINA
- Conditions
- Autism
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 480 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- National Taiwan University HospitalUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Jan 2020 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 Dec 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 31 Dec 2028 (estimated)
- First posted
- 25 Apr 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This project plans to establish sensory phenotypes of a Taiwanese ASD cohort across lifespan, including variety of sensory modalities, sensory domains, and clinical correlates.
Also, we will clarify the relationship between sensory phenotypes and social impairment by two specific sensory-social paradigms targeting eye gaze avoidance and social touch anxiety, as well as the atypical neural representation of ASD during eye gaze and viewing social touch by fMRI and EEG.
Detailed description
Sensory disturbance of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are life-long highly-impairing challenges for the individual. Anxiety and fear around the sensory issues significantly threatens the psychological and mental health. As a newly introduced diagnostic criteria of ASD, sensory characteristics becomes a recent focus of ASD research. The ASD population is aging, how their sensory features naturally change with age is particular relevant for their adaptation. However, current literature are limited to childhood and young adults and mostly rely on behavioral report, lacking a clear whole picture of changing sensory phenotype in terms of different sensory modality and sensory domains. Besides, how sensory characteristics in ASD can be quantified by objective measures or explored by qualitative approach, how the sensory sensitivity contributes to the core social deficits in ASD such as eye gaze or social touch avoidance are unclear. This project plans to achieve the following aims:
- Establish sensory phenotypes of a Taiwanese ASD cohort across lifespan, including variety of sensory modalities (i.e., visual, tactile, auditory, smell/taste, proprioception, etc.), sensory domains (i.e., low registration, sensory seeking, sensory sensitivity, and sensory avoiding), and clinical correlates.
- Clarify the relationship between sensory phenotypes and social impairment by two specific sensory-social paradigms targeting eye gaze avoidance and social touch anxiety, which are hallmarks of ASD. Factors of emotion types as well as familiarity of faces or social/object touch will be manipulated to examine how they moderate eye tracking and pupil response.
- Identify the atypical neural representation of ASD during eye gaze and viewing social touch by fMRI and EEG.
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| ASD Group | – | Behavioral: no interventionASD participants, no intervention |
| TD Group | – | Behavioral: no interventionTD participants, no intervention |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 months and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- Participants with autism spectrum disorder, recruited from National Taiwan University Hospital
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder Aim#2 and #3
- Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder
- Age above 12-40 years old
- No diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder
- Age above 12-40 years old
Key exclusion criteria (7 listed)
- No diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder
- Pregnant woman
- Metal implant in the body
- History of major psychiatric disorders
- Pregnant woman
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| no interventionno intervention | Behavioural | ASD Group, TD Group |
Primary outcome
Sensory Profile
Time frame: 2 years
It is a self-report scale covers 6 sensory modalities, including taste/smell, motion, visual, tactile, activity, and auditory sensation. The scoring method was based on 4-dimension structure, i.e. Low Registration, Sensation Seeking, Sensory Sensitivity, and Sensation Avoiding. Higher scores mean worse symptoms for each dimension compared to average healthy controls
1 secondary outcome
Brain activation through fMRI data
Time frame: 2 years
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 27 Feb 2026.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Yi Ling Chien principal investigator
National Taiwan University Hospital
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Autism, run by National Taiwan University Hospital at 1 site in Taiwan.
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: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 27 Feb 2026. 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 Taiwan. 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?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Yi Ling Chien (886-2-2312-3456 ext. 66013, ylchien@hotmail.com), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Sensory Profile (time frame: 2 years). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
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 27 Feb 2026.