Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2017 Jan 25:8:2.
doi: 10.1186/s13229-017-0116-1. eCollection 2017.

d-Cycloserine enhances durability of social skills training in autism spectrum disorder

Logan K Wink  1 , Noha F Minshawi  2 , Rebecca C Shaffer  1 , Martin H Plawecki  2 , David J Posey  3 , Paul S Horn  1 , Ryan Adams  1 , Ernest V Pedapati  1 , Tori L Schaefer  1 , Christopher J McDougle  4 , Naomi B Swiezy  2 , Craig A Erickson  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

d-Cycloserine enhances durability of social skills training in autism spectrum disorder

Logan K Wink et al. Mol Autism. .

Abstract

Background: d-Cycloserine (DCS) enhances extinction learning across species, but it has proven challenging to identify consistent benefit of DCS when added to therapeutic interventions. We conducted a placebo-controlled trial of DCS to potentiate social skills training in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but found substantial improvement in both the DCS and placebo groups at the conclusion of active treatment. Here, we assess the impact of DCS 11 weeks following active treatment to evaluate the impact of DCS on treatment response durability.

Methods: Study participants included 60 outpatient youth with ASD, ages 5-11 years, all with IQ above 70, and significantly impaired social functioning who completed a 10-week active treatment phase during which they received weekly single doses of 50 mg of DCS or placebo administered 30 min prior to group social skills training. Following the 10-week active treatment phase, blinded follow-up assessments occurred at week 11 and week 22. The primary outcome measure for our durability of treatment evaluation was the parent-rated social responsiveness scale (SRS) total raw score at week 22.

Results: Analysis of the SRS total raw score demonstrated significant decrease for the DCS group compared to the placebo group (p = 0.042) indicating greater maintenance of treatment effect in the DCS group. DCS was well tolerated, with irritability being the most frequently reported adverse effect in both groups.

Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that DCS may help youth with ASD to maintain skills gained during sort-term social skills training. Larger-scale studies with longer follow-up will be necessary to further understand the long-term impact of DCS paired with structured social skills training.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01086475.

Keywords: Autism; Autism spectrum disorder; Social skills training; d-Cycloserine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Face image from the NimStim Face Stimuli Set with highlighted areas of interest. The individual pictured in this figure was not a study participant
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Consort diagram
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kanner L. Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nerv Child. 1943;2:217–50. - PubMed
    1. Reichow B, Steiner AM, Volkmar F. Cochrane review: social skills groups for people aged 6 to 21 with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) Evid Based Child Health. 2013;8:266–315. doi: 10.1002/ebch.1903. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Laugeson EA, Frankel F, Gantman A, Dillon AR, Mogil C. Evidence-based social skills training for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: the UCLA PEERS program. J Autism Dev Disord. 2012;42:1025–36. doi: 10.1007/s10803-011-1339-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Soorya LV, Siper PM, Beck T, Soffes S, Halpern D, Gorenstein M, Kolevzon A, Buxbaum J, Wang AT. Randomized comparative trial of a social cognitive skills group for children with autism spectrum disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2015;54:208–16. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2014.12.005. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ressler KJ, Rothbaum BO, Tannenbaum L, Anderson P, Graap K, Zimand E, Hodges L, Davis M. Cognitive enhancers as adjuncts to psychotherapy: use of D-cycloserine in phobic individuals to facilitate extinction of fear. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004;61:1136–44. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.61.11.1136. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data