Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with behavioral and electrophysiological symptoms, including hyperactivity, alterations in social functioning and sensory processing, and cortical hyperexcitability. An imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory cortical mechanisms could partly explain the atypical behaviors and abnormal electroencephalographic (EEG) responses of individuals with ASD. Arbaclofen, a drug used to normalize the brain's excitatory system, demonstrated social and cognitive improvements in the mouse model of fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common monogenetic cause of ASD. A very large, double-blind, randomized clinical study was conducted to determine whether 16 weeks of arbaclofen treatment could improve social functioning and EEG responses in children and adolescents with ASD. As part of this study, behavioral and electrophysiological data were collected before treatment and at the end of treatment. The first objective is to determine whether pre-treatment EEG components can predict behavioral changes following treatment. The second objective is to explore whether pre-treatment EEG components can be used to predict whether participants who received arbaclofen treatment demonstrate more behavioral improvements.
