The project aims to test the EEG recording and analysis system with public sector — students with intellectual disabilities and special educational needs (e.g., ASD, ADHD). The system is fine-toned for collecting the physiological responses of the students using Bluetooth-based wearable sensors (i.e., EEG headsets and heart-rate monitors). The system can provide objective biomarkers reflecting the mental activities of the students during an interactive event in a real-world learning setting. This is particularly useful for those students having limited communication skills to express themselves. Users’ feedback will be gathered for further improvement of the system. The success of this trial application will benefit and have significant impact on the decision making process of teachers, clinicians, parents, schools and policy makers in the long term.

This project aims to compare the neural substrate underlying the impulsivity of adolescents with and without ADHD. Although both ADHD individuals and typically developing (TD) adolescents are characterized with impulsive behaviors, previous studies showed conflicting findings that the amygdala-striatum network which is associated with impulsive behaviors is hypoactive in ADHD individuals but hyperactive in TD adolescents. We expect that our findings will advance the understanding of the neural basis of impulsivity and shed new light in the development of intervention protocols that are specifically sensitive to ADHD and TD adolescents and alleviate the possible negative impact of their impulsivity.

Adolescents have been found to be more emotional reactivity than adults do but little is known about how affective states would influence the decision-making process and hence the risk-seeking behaviors of adolescents. This project aims to examine the impact of affective state on the impulsivity and decision making of adolescents using both psychophysiological (e.g. skin conductance and heart-rate variability) and neuroimaging (fMRI) techniques.