Development of Prosocial Behaviors and Related Brain Network in Infants of High and Low Risk of ASD

March 13, 2026 updated by: Children's Hospital of Fudan University
The goal of this observational study is to compare the developmental trajectories of prosocial behaviors and functional network connections in infants and toddlers at high and low risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The main questions it aims to answer are what the differences in prosocial behaviors and related brain network connections between infants/toddlers at high and low risk of ASD are. Participants will receive developmental and social communicational assessments (Griffiths Mental Developmental Scales, Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, The Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile Infant-Toddler Checklist), resting-state EEG and MRI in a natural sleeping state.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The longitude observational study will be performed to compare the developmental trajectories of prosocial behaviors and functional network connections in infants and toddlers at high and low risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We will follow up the subjects at 3-, 6-, 9-, 12-, 18-, 24-, 30-, and 36-month-old. Clinical diagnosis will be made on 24-month-old or after, with the DSM-5 as the diagnostic criterion.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
100

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Bingrui Zhou, doctor
  • Phone Number: 13701989113
  • Email: zbr1800@163.com

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • China
      • Shanghai, China
        • Recruiting
        • Children's Hospital of Fudan University
        • Contact:
          • Xiu Xu, PhD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The longitude study will be performed in high-risk infants of ASD who have at least one older sibling with a clinical diagnosis of ASD. The low-risk group will also be recruited from healthy infants as control group if they had an older sibling without evidence of ASD and no family history of a first or second-degree relative with ASD.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Subjects were enrolled as high-risk if they had an older sibling with a clinical diagnosis of ASD confirmed on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, second edition (ADOS-2) or Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI-R).
  • Subjects were enrolled in the low-risk group if they had an older sibling without evidence of ASD and no family history of a first or second-degree relative with ASD.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. diagnosis or physical signs strongly suggestive of a genetic condition or syndrome (e.g., fragile X syndrome) reported to be associated with ASDs;
  2. a significant medical or neurological condition affecting growth, development or cognition (e.g., CNS infection, seizure disorder, congenital heart disease);
  3. sensory impairment such as vision or hearing loss;
  4. low birth weight (<2000 grams) or prematurity (<37 weeks gestation);
  5. possible perinatal brain injury from exposure to in-utero exogenous compounds reported to likely affect the brain adversely in at least some individuals (e.g., alcohol, selected prescription medications);
  6. contraindication for MRI (e.g., metal implants);
  7. a family history of intellectual disability, psychosis, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in a first-degree relative.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
high-risk group
Subjects in the case group have one or more older siblings with ASD.
Other: Do not take any interventions
Do not take any interventions
low-risk group
Subjects in the controlled group do not have older siblings with ASD.
Other: Do not take any interventions
Do not take any interventions

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
clinical diagnosis
Time Frame: At about 2.5 to 3 year-old.
Clinicians will diagnose subjects as ASD, other neurodevelopmental disorders, or typical developing children, using DSM-5 and ADOS-2.
At about 2.5 to 3 year-old.
neurodevelopmental outcome
Time Frame: At 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36-month-old.
The neurodevelopmental outcome will be measured by Griffiths Mental Developemental Scales. The developmental ages (DA) are referred from the norms and developmental quotients (DQs) are calculated by DA/CA (chronological age)*100. Higher DQ indicates better development. The normal range of the DQ is above 70.
At 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36-month-old.
Prosocial behaviors
Time Frame: At 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36-month-old.
The prosocial behaviors will be measured by different behavior paradigms including helper-and-hinder, crying baby, and Theory of Mind.
At 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36-month-old.
nuclear magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)
Time Frame: At 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36-month-old.
Cranial MRI data will be collected during subjects are in natural asleep or awake, using uMR 890 3T of United Imaging company.
At 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36-month-old.
Event related potentials (ERPs)
Time Frame: At 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36-month-old.
ERPs will be tested using eego™ mylab of ANT Neuro company. Mu suppression、N1/N2、P3/LPP will be compared between children with ASD and typical development.
At 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36-month-old.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Children's Hospital of Fudan University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
ShanghaiTech University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Xiu Xu, doctor, Children's Hospital of Fudan University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 1, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 19, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 19, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 25, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 16, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 13, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • brainpro2022

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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