Abstract
Mobile electroencephalography (mobile EEG) represents a next-generation neuroscientific technology – to study real-time brain activity – that is relatively inexpensive, non-invasive and portable. Mobile EEG leverages state-of-the-art hardware alongside established advantages of traditional EEG and recent advances in signal processing. In this review, we propose that mobile EEG could open unprecedented possibilities for studying neurodevelopmental disorders. We first present a brief overview of recent developments in mobile EEG technologies, emphasising the proliferation of studies in several neuroscientific domains. As these developments have yet to be exploited by neurodevelopmentalists, we then identify three research opportunities: 1) increase in the ease and flexibility of brain data acquisition in neurodevelopmental populations; 2) integration into powerful developmentally-informative research designs; 3) development of innovative non-stationary EEG-based paradigms. Critically, we address key challenges that should be considered to fully realise the potential of mobile EEG for neurodevelopmental research and for understanding developmental psychopathology more broadly, and suggest future research directions.
Highlights
Neurodevelopmental disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are known to impact brain function across the lifespan (Boivin et al, 2015; Thapar et al, 2017), driven by a complex interplay between genetic and environmental influences
We propose that mobile EEG could open unprecedented possibilities for studying neurodevelopmental disorders
EEG has a long tradition of superior practicality and flexibility as a functional brain method in children and individuals across ages and abilities (Loo et al, 2015; McLoughlin et al, 2014a), and the same appears to be the case for mobile EEG as exemplified by a recent case study investigating auditory brain responses in a minimally-verbal child with cerebral palsy (Yau et al, 2015)
Summary
Neurodevelopmental disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are known to impact brain function across the lifespan (Boivin et al, 2015; Thapar et al, 2017), driven by a complex interplay between genetic and environmental influences. Among these, emerging state-of-the-art electroencephalography (EEG) tools enable flexible recording of brain activity in real-time We refer to these collectively as mobile EEG. Other areas of interest include marketing (Lee et al, 2007), architectural and urban design (Karandinou and Turner, 2017), and personalised health, for instance, sleep monitoring (Quante et al, 2018) and ‘brain-training’ (Maskeliunas et al, 2016; Wei et al, 2017) These developments have fuelled the need for forms of EEG that are increasingly more available and appealing to everyday users, ideally without specialist researchers.
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