Science

The proof is in the data.

MITA is the first and only language therapy application supported by clinical data.

In a 3-year clinical trial of 6,454 children with autism, language score in children who engaged with MITA has increased to levels that were 120% higher than in children with similar initial evaluations. This difference was statistically significant (p<0.0001). The manuscript describing the study has been published in the journal Healthcare.

The FDA has granted MITA a breakthrough device designation (Q210093). We are working with the FDA to establish a pathway for MITA to become a reimbursable digital medicine.

• Receptive and expressive language phenotyping in over 62,000 autistic Individuals
  This study identified three receptive language phenotypes—Command, Modifier, and Syntactic—and four expressive phenotypes—Nonspeaking, Single-Word, Single-Sentence, and Multi-Sentence—in autistic individuals. These findings suggest that the traditional tripartite classification may not adequately capture the heterogeneity of language profiles commonly observed in clinical practice. In contrast, a two-dimensional framework that separately reports receptive and expressive language phenotypes may offer a more accurate and clinically meaningful characterization of communicative functioning. npj Science of learning(2026)

• Merge-based syntax is mediated by distinct neurocognitive mechanisms in 84,000 individuals with language deficits across nine languages
  Clustering analyses revealed behavioral evidence for three distinct structural types, which we discuss as potentially emerging at different developmental stages and subject to selective impairment. Scientific Reports(2025)

• Do grammatical variations between languages influence early language acquisition in autistic individuals?
  This study is the first to investigate whether a child’s native language influences the developmental trajectory of language acquisition in children with ASD. Although languages differ significantly in grammar, syntax, and morphological complexity, our analysis revealed no statistically significant differences in receptive or expressive language development among children with ASD across different language groups. Language and Health (2025)

• How one small tribe conquered the world 70,000 years ago
  Genetic evidence indicates that most humans descend from a single tribe that 70,000–40,000 years ago rapidly replaced the entire Eurasian population while also gradually expanding within Africa. This rapid expansion of one tribe is supported by five lines of genetic evidence: (1) Y-chromosome data tracing most non-African male lineages to haplogroup CT 70,000 years ago; (2) mitochondrial DNA, which shows that most non-Africans descend from haplogroup L3 and its M and N branches that spread across Eurasia 70,000 years ago; (3) nuclear DNA analyses confirming that all non-Africans derive from a single migration event 70,000–50,000 years ago; (4) evidence of genetic bottleneck; (5) 2% Neanderthal DNA in all non-Africans, showing interbreeding before Eurasian dispersal. What social, cognitive, or technological advantage enabled this extraordinary expansion? The discovery of three discrete levels of language comprehension in modern individuals suggests the possibility that this ancestral tribe experienced a leap from the Modifier to the Syntactic Phenotype, unlocking unprecedented capacities for coordination, strategizing, and deception. Evolutionary Linguistic Theory (2026)

• Age-Dependent Process Governs Executive Function Disability in Autistic Children
  This article suggests that the critical period for syntactic comprehension acquisition may be shorter in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders(2025)

• Validation of Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS)-Related Pediatric Treatment Evaluation Checklist (PTEC)
  The objective of this study was to validate a new parent-reported scale for tracking Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS). Pediatric Reports(2025)

• Language Comprehension Developmental Milestones in Typically Developing Children Assessed by the New Language Phenotype Assessment (LPA)
  The objective of this study was to validate a new Language Phenotype Assessment (LPA) for children aged 1.5–5 years. LPA allows for the early identification of comprehension difficulties, supporting the timely initiation of appropriate language interventions. Children(2025)

• Three mechanisms of language comprehension are revealed through cluster analysis of individuals with language deficits
  The main goal of this study was identifying neurocognitive mechanisms of the three empirically-defined syntactic-comprehension phenotypes. npj Science of learning(2025)

• The Evolution of Language: How the Brain Evolved Syntactic Language from Early Mammals to Homo sapiens
  This book traces language evolution deep into evolutionary time—starting 200 million years ago with the rise of the six-layered neocortex in early mammals, enabling mental representations of objects, a foundational skill for language. Amazon(2025)

• Are there distinct levels of language comprehension in autistic individuals – cluster analysis
  This article describes a breakthrough discovery of three language comprehension mechanisms in autism. npj Mental Health Research(2024)

• A Comparison of Parent Reports, the Mental Synthesis Evaluation Checklist (MSEC) and the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). This study compares two parent reports, the Mental Synthesis Evaluation Checklist (MSEC) and the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). Pediatric Reports(2024)

• Dietary Factors Impact Developmental Trajectories in Young Autistic Children
  A gluten-free and casein-free diets, as well as six types of food (meat and eggs, vegetables, uncooked vegetables, sweets, bread, and “white soft bread that never molds”) were investigated observationally for up to three years in 5,553 children 2 to 5 years of age. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders(2023)

• Joint engagement is associated with greater development of language and sensory awareness in children with autism
  Longer duration of time spent with an adult actively involved in the same activity was associated with improved trajectory of syntactic comprehension, expressive language, and sensory awareness. J Dev Phys Disabil(2023)

• Parent-reported assessment scores reflect the ASD severity level in 2-to 7-year-old children
  Parent-reported assessments can reflect the severity level of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children aged 2 to 7 years. The study used the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) and Mental Synthesis Evaluation Checklist (MSEC) to evaluate 9573 children with ASD. Children (2022)

• Longitudinal developmental trajectories in young autistic children presenting with seizures, compared to those presenting without seizures, gathered via parent-report using a mobile application
  This study confirms a high prevalence of seizures in ASD children and informs on the effect of seizures on children’s longitudinal developmental trajectories. J Dev Phys Disabil(2022)

• Longitudinal developmental trajectories in young autistic children presenting with sleep problems, compared to those presenting without sleep problems, gathered via parent-report using a mobile application
  Children with no sleep problems developed faster compared to matched children with sleep problems in all subscales. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders (2022)

• Pretend play predicts language development in young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
  Pretend play is an important stepping stone for language acquisition. International Journal of Play (2023)

• Combinatorial language parent-report score differs significantly between typically developing children and those with Autism Spectrum Disorders
  This study shows the utility of the parent-report Mental Synthesis Evaluation Checklist (MSEC) in distinguishing language deficits in ASD from typical development as early as 2 years of age. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2022)

• Novel Prefrontal Synthesis Intervention Improves Language in Children with Autism
  This 3-year observational study of 6,454 children with autism shows that language score in children who engaged with MITA has increased to levels which were 120% higher than in children with similar initial evaluations. This difference was statistically significant (p=0.0001). Journal Healthcare (2020)

• BOOK: This Way to Language: Four Things to Do at the First Sign of Autism by Dr. Vyshedskiy is now available on Amazon.
  If you suspect your child has autism, this book is for you. Neuroscientist and inventor of Mental Imagery Therapy for Autism (MITA) Dr. Andrey Vyshedskiy explains how to give your child the best chance to think and speak at his or her age level. This book is a result of a five-year study of children with autism. It zeroes in on the most promising use of time, effort, and resources and is a practical day-to-day guide for parents like you.

• Imagination in autism: a chance to improve early language therapy
  Journal Healthcare (2020)

• Watching videos and television is related to a lower development of complex language comprehension in young children with autism
  Journal Healthcare (2020)

• Novel linguistic evaluation of prefrontal synthesis (LEPS) test measures prefrontal synthesis acquisition in neurotypical children and predicts high-functioning versus low-functioning class assignment in individuals with autism
  Applied Neuropsychology: Child (2020)

• Neuroscience of imagination and implications for human evolution
  Current Neurobiology (2020)

• Longitudinal epidemiological study of autism subgroups using autism treatment evaluation checklist (ATEC) scoreNeuroscience of imagination and implications for human evolution
  Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2018)

• Development of the Mental Synthesis Evaluation Checklist (MSEC): A parent-report tool for mental synthesis ability assessment in children with language delay
  Children (2018)

• Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) Norms: A “Growth Chart” for ATEC Score Changes as a Function of Age
  Children (2018)

• [Comparison of Performance on Verbal and Nonverbal Multiple-Cue Responding Tasks in Children with ASD](/content/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2017-Comparison-of-performance-on-verbal-and-nonverbal-tasks.pdf ""/index.html)
  Autism – Open Access (2017)

• [Children with Autism Appear to Benefit from Parent-Administered Computerized Cognitive and Language Exercises Independent of the Child’s Age or Autism Severity](/content/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2017-Children-With-Autism-MITA-Performance.pdf ""/index.html)
  Autism – Open Access (2017)

• Linguistically-deprived children: Meta-analysis of published research underlines the importance of early syntactic language use for normal brain development
  Research Ideas and Outcomes (2017)

• [Tablet-Based Cognitive Exercises as an Early Parent-Administered Intervention Tool for Toddlers with Autism – Evidence from a Field Study](/content/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-Tablet-based-cognitive-exercises-as-an-early-parent-administered-intervention-tool.pdf ""/index.html)
  Clinical Psychiatry(2017)

• Neurobiological mechanisms for nonverbal IQ tests: implications for instruction of nonverbal children with autism
  Research Ideas and Outcomes (2017)

• The neuroscience of imagination, video for TED-ED, Lessons Worth Sharing
  TED (2016)

• Mental synthesis involves the synchronization of independent neuronal ensembles
  Research Ideas and Outcomes (2015)

• [Mental Imagery Therapy for Autism (MITA) – An Early Intervention Computerized Brain Training Program for Children with ASD](/content/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/2015-MITA-Autism-Open-Access.pdf ""/index.html)
  Autism – Open Access (2015)

• The science behind ImagiRation Puzzles for kids with language delay (6-min video)
  News (2014)

• Exploring the Mind’s Eye: Q&A with Neuroscientist Andrey Vyshedskiy
  Q&A with Neuroscientist Andrey Vyshedskiy (2014)

• [Linguistically deprived children: meta-analysis of published research indicates mental synthesis disability – implications for novel intervention strategies for children with language delay, Society for Neuroscience](/content/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/LingvDeprChildren_42x72_2014_1016-1.pdf "Research Linguistically deprived children: meta-analysis of published research indicates mental synthesis disability – implications for novel intervention strategies for children with language delay"/index.html)
  Society for Neuroscience Poster (2014)

The driving force behind ImagiRation puzzles is the Prefrontal Synthesis theory, developed by the company’s co-founder Dr. Vyshedskiy. If you’re interested in reading more about this theory and Dr. Vyshedskiy’s research, please read “The Evolution of Language.”

INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

• In 4-year-old children computerized training with puzzles that gradually increased in difficulty significantly improved their fluid intelligence compared to a control group trained on puzzles that did not increase in difficulty over time. Reference: Bergman Nutley, Sissela, et al. “Gains in fluid intelligence after training non‐verbal reasoning in 4‐year‐old children: a controlled, randomized study.” – Developmental science 14.3 (2011): 591-601.

• In children aged 7 to 9, reasoning training with puzzles similar to ImagiRation puzzles increased “performance IQ by an average of 10 points, with four of the 17 children showing gains of over 20 points.” Reference: Mackey, Allyson P., et al. “Differential effects of reasoning and speed training in children.” – Developmental Science 14.3 (2011): 582-590.

• There is also significant evidence of long-term benefits of cognitive training. Reference: Jaeggi, Susanne M., et al. “Short-and long-term benefits of cognitive training.” – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108.25 (2011): 10081-10086.