Media releases

• Participants sought for youth brain activity study

  Friday, October 21, 2022 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 21 October 2022 – R0117

  Participants in a new Brock study will be able to answer the question “what’s on your mind?” in an unusual way — with an image of their brain waves.

  Brock researchers, working in collaboration with the Pathstone Children’s Mental Health Research Institute at Pathstone Mental Health, are recruiting young people aged eight to 17 for a study on the neural basis of attention control, anxiety and how different parts of the brain engage while young people think and solve problems.

  The study will look at brain activity while young people focus their attention, what changes as they get older and any differences in the brain that may relate to the ability to pay attention and keep calm.

  To provide data, participants will wear an electroencephalogram (EEG) net on their head while doing activities on a computer. The EEG captures real-time brain activity that researchers can later analyze.

  The study is funded in part by the Brain Canada Foundation and co-led by Associate Professor Ayda Tekok-Kilic and Assistant Professor Erin Panda in the Department of Child and Youth Studies, who are co-directors of the Developmental Neuroscience Lab (DNLab), and Professor Emeritus Sid Segalowitz of the Department of Psychology.

  In addition to engaging with the community, the researchers will also engage with a broader community of scholars, as the data they collect will be shared in a database for researchers across Canada to use in new ways, too.

  Panda says the study is related to previous work in the DNLab conducted with university students.

  “Using the brain-based measures from our work with young adults, we’ve found evidence of difference in brain activity related to attention and impulse control,” she says. “Having a continuum on which to examine these brain responses gives us a great basis to now be working with children who may be at the more extreme ends of the continuum, including those diagnosed with ADHD or anxiety.”

  Panda says the goal of the study is mainly to collect information, but long term, there may be implications for treatment and a better understanding of how real-life behaviours are related to brain activity — something that may help parents better understand their children and may help children understand themselves.

  “That’s really the goal — if we can gain a new insight into how people think, then the knowledge is power,” says Panda. “If we can provide information not just to clinicians but also to kids about how they process information, it can help them understand how their brain works and let them know that rather than being hard on yourself, here’s a way of understanding yourself.”

  There are no risks associated with EEGs, nor are there any risks associated with participating in the study.

  All participants and their parents will receive a total of $50 in gift card honoraria, as well as a picture of their brain activity shown by the EEG.

  Anyone interested in more information should contact the lab team at dnlab@brocku.ca

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209

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  Categories: Media releases

• PM’s resignation is another hit to Britain’s reputation, says Brock expert

  Friday, October 21, 2022 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY: 21 October 2022 – R0116

  The unprecedented resignation of British Prime Minister Liz Truss after only 45 days on the job does little to right the ship of a nation that has been staggering from crisis to crisis, says a Brock University researcher.

  “This means more and more uncertainty in a time marked by the war in Ukraine and the ailing U.K. economy,” says Associate Professor of Political Science Paul Hamilton. “Markets seemed to respond favourably to Truss’ resignation, but uncertainty around her replacement could add more chaos to the sinking pound and high inflation rate.”

  Though Truss will now go down as the nation’s shortest-tenured leader, Hamilton says the conditions for her demise and the damage to the U.K.’s status around the globe cannot be pinned on her alone.

  “Britain’s reputation for stable, reliable governance and global leadership had taken a hit before Truss’ resignation,” he says. “The departure from the European Union and the messy way in which it happened cost the U.K. reputationally. Theresa May’s resignation from the top job in 2017, followed by Boris Johnson’s scandalous departure and now Truss’ have likely damaged the U.K.’s status in world affairs for the near future.”

  With the governing Conservative party set to name its fifth Prime Minister in 12 years, Hamilton says potential leadership candidates should exercise caution.

  “The leadership may well be a poisoned chalice that ambitious politicians will shrink from,” he says. “The next leader will have about two years to steer the ship of state into calmer waters, and they will likely have to pursue a less ideological and more centrist economic policy.”

  While the new leader will likely last more than Truss’ 45 days, Hamilton says a two-year mandate might be a lot to ask.

  “There could be serious electoral trouble for the Conservatives should Truss’ successor lose the confidence of Parliament,” he says. “The party is divided and so its majority is fragile.”

  Brock University Associate Professor of Political Science Paul Hamilton is available for media interviews on the topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209 

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  Categories: Media releases