{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T20:23:00Z","timestamp":1784751780147,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,10]],"date-time":"2025-09-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757462400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Brain Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Objectives: Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit difficulties in the social use of language, regardless of age, cognitive abilities, and symptom severity. The left Broca\u2019s area and adjacent cortex are crucial for socio-pragmatic language, particularly in retrieving and integrating context-dependent words. Neuroimaging studies in ASD have shown hypoactivation of the Broca\u2019s area and an aberrant pattern of functional connectivity between language-related regions, suggesting their potential involvement in socio-communicative deficits. Given the potential of tDCS to modulate brain activity, its application targeting Broca\u2019s areas in addition to psychological intervention may represent a promising approach for enhancing socio-communicative skills in ASD. Thus, this study aims to investigate the effect of concomitant anodal tDCS and cognitive behavioral-oriented training (CBT) on pragmatic and communicative skills in young adults with ASD. Methods: A sample of 10 ASD individuals (18\u201325 years) underwent treatment with both active and sham tDCS targeting the left Broca\u2019s area during concomitant CBT. Each condition was delivered for five consecutive days, and the order of the conditions was blindly randomized. Results: Active tDCS significantly improved global communicative and pragmatic abilities compared to sham. A negative correlation was observed between communicative skills improvement and Intelligence Quotient (IQ); no significant association was found between IQ and ASD symptoms\u2019 severity. Conclusions: Multisession tDCS targeting the left Broca\u2019s area, combined with CBT, may enhance social language in terms of both production and comprehension of non-literal meanings, supporting Broca\u2019s area as a central neural hub for social language.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/brainsci15090970","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,10]],"date-time":"2025-09-10T12:04:55Z","timestamp":1757505895000},"page":"970","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Application of Concomitant Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) and Cognitive Behavioral-Oriented Training (CBT) for Pragmatic Skills Improvement in Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Preliminary Data from a Pilot Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3232-5286","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lucrezia","family":"Arturi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Department of Wellbeing of Mental and Neurological, Dental and Sensory Organ Health, Policlinico Tor Vergata Hospital, Viale Oxford 81, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chiara","family":"Scoppola","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Department of Wellbeing of Mental and Neurological, Dental and Sensory Organ Health, Policlinico Tor Vergata Hospital, Viale Oxford 81, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6496-8756","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Assia","family":"Riccioni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Department of Wellbeing of Mental and Neurological, Dental and Sensory Organ Health, Policlinico Tor Vergata Hospital, Viale Oxford 81, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3357-1788","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Martina","family":"Siracusano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Department of Wellbeing of Mental and Neurological, Dental and Sensory Organ Health, Policlinico Tor Vergata Hospital, Viale Oxford 81, 00133 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Luigi","family":"Iasevoli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multiple Sclerosis Unit, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306\u2013354, 00179 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-4195-8578","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giulia","family":"Civetta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical and Behavioral Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306\u2013354, 00179 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7432-4249","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gianfranco","family":"Spalletta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neuropsychiatry Laboratory, Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Neurorehabilitation, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306\u2013354, 00179 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Valentina","family":"Fiori","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical and Behavioral Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Via Ardeatina 306\u2013354, 00179 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5287-3386","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luigi","family":"Mazzone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Department of Wellbeing of Mental and Neurological, Dental and Sensory Organ Health, Policlinico Tor Vergata Hospital, Viale Oxford 81, 00133 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Systems Medicine Department, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"American Psychiatric Association (2022). 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