FMRI Brain Activation of Aripiprazole Treatment in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Inclusion Criteria

• •male or female of any race or ethnicity
• •ambulatory status (outpatient) at time of consent
• •age 10-55 inclusive at time of consent
• •clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and meets screening criteria on the Social Communication Questionnaire as well as either the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) or the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) administered by raters trained to research reliability.
• •estimated IQ greater than 70 and capable of making an informed decision based on assessment of their understanding and judgment
• •Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale: Modified for Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD-CYBOCS) \> 8 as assessed during telephone screening.
• •Free of psychoactive medication for at least: one month for fluoxetine; two weeks for other SSRIs and neuroleptics; and five days for stimulants prior to MRI scanning \[excepting stable doses (greater than three months duration) of anticonvulsant medication for seizure disorder\]
• •Currently taking psychoactive medication that is not providing sufficient relief of repetitive behaviors and willing to discontinue all psychoactive medication for the duration of the study.
• •Judged reliable for medication compliance and agreeing to keep follow-up study appointments.