Trial reportPsychopharmacology2016
Effects of propranolol on conversational reciprocity in autism spectrum disorder: a pilot, double-blind, single-dose psychopharmacological challenge study.
Trial report in Psychopharmacology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06066710 (Trial of Propranolol in Older Adults With Primary Progressive Aphasia), which is not on this map. Cited by 25 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Trial of Propranolol in Older Adults With Primary Progressive Aphasia
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Adapting Measures of Anxiety and Mood Disorders for Use with Autistic Adults: A Systematic Review.Current developmental disorders reports · 2026Review
- Novel therapeutics in autism spectrum disorder.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2026Review
- Therapeutic potential of propranolol in central nervous system disorders.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Cardiac Autonomic Measures Predict Clinician-Rated Anxiety and Behavioral Response to Propranolol in Autistic Children and Young Adults.Journal of personalized medicine · 2025Article
- Binding Folate Receptor Alpha Autoantibody Is a Biomarker for Leucovorin Treatment Response in Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of personalized medicine · 2024Article
- The missing hallmark of health: psychosocial adaptation.Cell stress · 2024Article
- β-Blockers for Autism-Psychopharmacology bulletin · 2023Review
- Pharmacogenetics May Prevent Psychotropic Adverse Events in Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Observational Pilot Study.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- A Pilot Feasibility Study Assessing the Combined Effects of Early Behavioral Intervention and Propranolol on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Antihypertensive drugs and brain function: mechanisms underlying therapeutically beneficial and harmful neuropsychiatric effects.Cardiovascular research · 2023Review
- Remotely supervised at-home delivery of taVNS for autism spectrum disorder: feasibility and initial efficacy.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Propranolol versus Other Selected Drugs in the Treatment of Various Types of Anxiety or Stress, with Particular Reference to Stage Fright and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Pilot Study of Real-World Monitoring of the Heart Rate Variability in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.Frontiers in artificial intelligence · 2022Article
- Catecholaminergic and cholinergic neuromodulation in autism spectrum disorder: A comparison to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Review
- Article
- Altered Extended Locus Coeruleus and Ventral Tegmental Area Networks in Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Resting-State Functional Connectivity Study.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2021Article
- The Role of the Noradrenergic System in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Implications for Treatment.Seminars in pediatric neurology · 2020Review
- Article
- Speech-Stimulating Substances in Autism Spectrum Disorders.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Review
- Neuropsychopharmacological regulation of performance on creativity-related tasks.Current opinion in behavioral sciences · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
rationalePharmacological intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an important addition to treatment, yet currently available agents target co-morbid psychiatric concerns, such as aggression and irritability. Propranolol, a beta-adrenergic antagonist with anxiolytic effects, has been shown to improve verbal fluency and working memory in adults and adolescents with ASD in single-dose challenges.
objectivesThe present pilot study explores the acute effects of propranolol on a measure of conversational reciprocity in this population. We also examined whether autonomic activity and anxiety moderate or mediate response to the drug, given relationships between these variables and ASD, as well as the drug's effects.
methodsIn a within-subject crossover design, 20 individuals with ASD received a single dose of propranolol or placebo during two sessions in a double-blinded, counterbalanced manner. After drug administration, participants performed a conversational reciprocity task by engaging in a short conversation with the researcher. Measurements of autonomic activity and anxiety were obtained before and after drug administration.
resultsPropranolol significantly improved performance on the conversational reciprocity task total [d = 0.40] and nonverbal communication domain scores when compared to the placebo condition. However, neither autonomic activity nor anxiety was significantly associated with drug response.
conclusionsAcute propranolol administration improved conversational reciprocity in ASD. Further exploration of these preliminary findings, as well as other potential treatment response predictors, with serial doses is warranted.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.