The Promise of Social Robots and BCI Video Games for Treating ADHD

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity according to Cervantes and colleagues (2023) definition. The current treatments for children living with ADHD combine different approaches, such as pharmacological, behavioral, cognitive, and psychological treatment (Cervantes et al., 2023). The computer science research community has been working on developing non-pharmacological treatments that are based on novel technologies for dealing with ADHD (Cervantes et al., 2023).

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Social Robots

Therapists use these social robots to mediate between the therapist and some children living with ADHD. According to Cervantes and colleagues (2023), they can provide companionship and support to children with ADHD and they can also teach social skills.

Brain-computer interface video games

BCI video games use a brain-computer interface to measure the player's brain activity and can be used to improve attention, focus, and activity.

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Cervantes and colleagues (2023) set out to perform a systematic review from an interdisciplinary approach to the current state of these two technologies these were the two main questions:

1 How have social robots and BCI video games been evaluated?
Are there still open challenges in social robots and BCI video games to improve their impact and benefit on children living with ADHD?

🟨🟨Their search strategy🟥🟥

Four major online databases were used: PubMed, Engineering Village, IEEE Xplore, and Scopus.
The search was limited to papers published from January 2010 to 15 June 2022.

🟥The search strategy for study 1: Social Robots for Dealing with ADHD was developed to identify papers that met the following criteria:

They were published in peer-reviewed journals.
They were written in English.
They investigated the use of social robots or BCI video games for the treatment of ADHD.
The search strategy was based on the keywords "social robot", "BCI video game", "ADHD", and "treatment".
Out of 332 results, the researchers ended up evaluating 17 papers in the final S. L. R.

🟨Their search for Study 2: BCI Video Games for Dealing with ADHD

Cervantes and colleagues (2023) ended up with 19 papers.

🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦What they found🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦

🟦The review was conducted from an interdisciplinary approach, and the results were organized into two sections: engineering and healthcare.

Engineering:

The engineering section focused on the type of applications developed, the most common robots used, and the input signals and environments used.
The most common applications were for supporting rehabilitation therapies, and the most common robots used were humanoid robots.
The real environment was the most common environment used in robot-based applications.
The most common environments used in BCI video game applications were 3D, 2D, virtual reality, and mixed reality.

Healthcare:

The healthcare section focused on the main characteristics of participants involved in trials, the results reported in each study, and whether these technologies can significantly reduce ADHD symptoms or improve any skill ability.
The majority of participants in trials were children living with ADHD.
The most common results reported were that these technologies can reduce attention deficit and improve some skills, such as learning, writing, spatial memory, working memory, communication, and interaction.
Only two applications, Focus Pocus and EndeavorRx, are commercialized and prescribed for treating children living with ADHD.

Limitations of the study🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Cervantes and colleagues (2023) stated that the following were challenges identified during the systematic literature review for developing computational systems based on social robots or BCI video games to treat ADHD:

🟩Diagnosing ADHD: There are three different subtypes of ADHD, and people with ADHD can also have other neurodevelopmental disorders. This makes it difficult to develop a general system for diagnosing ADHD.
🟩Customizing cognitive training exercises: Cognitive training exercises need to be customized according to the individual's characteristics, such as the subtype of ADHD, the level of ADHD, and the person's preferences. This can be challenging to do.
🟩Capturing and maintaining attention: Children with ADHD can easily lose interest in tasks, so it is important for cognitive training exercises to be engaging and interesting.
🟩Long-term studies: Most studies on social robots and BCI video games for ADHD have been short-term. More long-term studies are needed to see how effective these technologies are in the long run.
🟩Certification: Some social robots and BCI video games for ADHD have been approved for use, but many are still in the development stage. It can be difficult to get these technologies certified because they are relatively new.
🟩Avoiding physical harm: Some social robots can pose physical harm to children, so it is important to design them safely.
🟩Compromised social-emotional development: Children with ADHD can form strong emotional attachments to social robots. This could potentially compromise their social-emotional development.

These are just some of the challenges that researchers and engineers face in developing and using social robots and BCI video games for ADHD. More research is needed to address these challenges and to develop effective and safe technologies for helping children with ADHD.

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩What this all means🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦

Researchers looked at 36 systems that use social robots or BCI video games to help people with ADHD. Some systems help diagnose ADHD, others help with cognitive training, and others help study the brain. Most systems are still being developed and tested, but some have shown promise in helping people with ADHD. Researchers need to do more studies to see how well these systems work in real-world settings. Some people with ADHD have had positive experiences with these systems, but others have had negative experiences. Developers need to make sure that these systems are flexible and can be customized for each individual.

References

Cervantes, J.-A., López, S., Cervantes, S., Hernández, A., & Duarte, H. (2023). Social Robots and Brain-Computer Interface Video Games for Dealing with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review. Brain Sciences, 13(8), 1172. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13081172

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