Alissa N. Antle
Leslie Chesick
ABSTRACT
In this paper we describe a neuro-feedback system and applications we designed and deployed to help vulnerable children at an NGO-funded school, called Nepal House Kaski, in Pokhara, Nepal. The system, called Mind-Full, enables traumatized children to learn and practice self-regulation by playing simple, culturally appropriate games using an EEG headset connected to an interactive tablet. Children can interact with Mind-Full using body actions that may change their physiology and brain states, which are sensed by the EEG headset and used as input to the games. One of the key challenges was to build an application that the children could immediately understand how to use when they are illiterate, don't speak English and have no computer experience. We describe Mind-Full and highlight the design principles we used to meet these constraints. We report on a subset of findings from a 14-week field experiment in which we use a mixed-methods approach to determine if children improved their ability to self-regulate during gameplay as well as in the classroom, playground and in therapy sessions. Findings from quantitative and qualitative assessment measures suggest that the treatment group significantly improved their ability to calm down and focus in a variety of contexts.
- Crowley, K., Sliney, A., Pitt, I., and Murphy, D.2010. Evaluating a brain-computer interface to categorize human emotional response. In Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (Sousse, Tunisia, July 5--7, 2010). ICALT, 276--278 Google Scholar
Digital Library
- Ducharme, P, Wharff, E., Hutchinson, E. Kahn, J. Logan, G., and Gonzalez-Heydrich, J. 2012. Videogame assisted emotional regulation training: An ACT with RAGE-Control case illustration. Clin Soc Work Journal, 40 (2012), 75--84.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Grierson, M. and Kiefer, C. 2011. Better brain interfacing for the masses: Progress in event-related potential detection using commercial brain computer interfaces. In Proceedings of Extended Abstracts of Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Vancouver, Canada, May 07--12, 2011). ACM, New York, NY, 1681--1686. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Gruzelier, J. H., Foks, M., Steffert, T., Chen, M. J. L. and Ross, T. 2014. Beneficial outcome from EEG-neurofeedback on creative music performance, attention and well-being in school children. Biol. Psychol. 95 (January 2014), 86--95.Google Scholar
- Hammond. D. C. 2005. Neurofeedback treatment of depression and anxiety. J. Adult Dev, 12, 2--3 (August 2005), 131--137.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Huang, J., Yu, C., Wang, Y. 2014. FOCUS: Enhancing children's engagement in reading by using contextual BCI training sessions. In Proceedings of Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Toronto, Canada, April 26--May 12, 2014). ACM, New York, NY, 1905--1908. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Knox, M., Lentini, J., Cummings, T. S., McGrady, A. Whearty, K., and Sancrant, L. 2011. Game-based biofeedback for paediatric anxiety and depression. Mental Health in Family Medicine, 8 (2011), 195--203.Google Scholar
- Lagopoulos, J., Xu, J., Rasmussen, I., Vik, A., Malhi, G. S., Eliassen, C. F., et al. 2009. Increased Theta and Alpha EEG Activity During Nondirective Meditation. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15, 11 (2009), 1187--1192Google ScholarCross Ref
- Lee, J., Semple, R. J., Rose, D. Miller, L. Mind-Fullness-based cognitive therapy for children: Results of a pilot study, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 22, 1 (2008), 15--28.Google Scholar
- Lim, C. G., Lee, T. S., Guan, C., Fung, D. S., Cheung, Y. B., Teng, S., & Krishnan, K. 2010. Effectiveness of a brain-computer interface based programme for the treatment of ADHD: A pilot study. Psychopharmacol Bull, 43, 1 (2010), 73--82.Google Scholar
- Pop-Jordanova N. and Gucev, Z. 2010. Game-based peripheral biofeedback for stress assessment in children, Pediatrics International, 52 (2010), 428--431.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Randye J. Semple, Jennifer Lee, Dinelia Rosa, and Lisa F. Miller. 2009. A randomized trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for children: Promoting mindful attention to enhance social-emotional resiliency in children. J. Child Fam. Stud. 19, 2 (August 2009), 218--229.Google Scholar
- Rebolledo-Mendez, G., Dunwell, I., Martínez-Mirón, E. A., et al. 2009. Assessing NeuroSky's Usability to Detect Attention Levels in an Assessment Exercise. In Human-Computer Interaction New Trends. J. A. Jacko, ed., Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2009, 149--158. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Reiner, R. 2008. Integrating a portable biofeedback device into clinical practice for patients with anxiety disorders: Results of pilot study, Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback, 33 (2008) 55--61.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Stinson, B. and Arthur, D. 2013. A novel EEG for alpha brain state training, neurobiofeedback and behavior change. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 19, 3 (2013), 114--118.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Van der Oord, S., Bögels, S. M., and Peijnenburg, D. 2012. The effectiveness of mindfulness training for children with ADHD and mindful parenting for their parents. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 21, 1 (2012), 139--147.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Zelazo, P. D. and Lyons, K. E. 2011. Mindfulness training in childhood, Human Development, 54, (2011) 61--65.Google Scholar
Index Terms
- Using neurofeedback to teach self-regulation to children living in poverty
Recommendations
Evaluating the Impact of a Mobile Neurofeedback App for Young Children at School and Home
CHI '19: Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing SystemsAbout 18% of children in industrialized countries suffer from anxiety. We designed a mobile neurofeedback app, called Mind-Full, based on existing design guidelines. Our goal was for young children in lower socio-economic status schools to improve their ...
Opening up the Design Space of Neurofeedback Brain--Computer Interfaces for Children
Brain--computer interface applications (BCIs) utilizing neurofeedback (NF) can make invisible brain states visible in real time. Learning to recognize, modify, and regulate brain states is critical to all children's development and can improve learning, ...
East meets west: a mobile brain-computer system that helps children living in poverty learn to self-regulate
Children living in poverty often suffer multiple forms of trauma, which impedes their ability to effectively self-regulate negative emotions, such as anxiety, and to focus their attention. As a result, many of these children struggle at school. Our work ...
Comments