The KID Lab

To gain a greater understanding of mental health and development as it relates to the sociocultural contexts in which children develop, our team utilizes a variety of research methods and analyses. Novel neuroimaging techniques, physiological measures, and socioemotional behavior analyses allow us to create exciting study paradigms that contribute to the expanding field of developmental psychopathology.

The interplay of biological and behavioral components provide incredible insights into how children develop emotion regulation mechanisms and identify early markers of mental health dysfunction.

Our measurements include functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) which looks at the hemodynamic response, or blood oxygen movement, in the brain during a given task. Electroencephalogram (EEG) is also used to measure electrical neuronal activity in the brain. We also study electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) signals in conjunction with our neuroimaging measures to get a holistic view of the biological response. In addition to neurophysiological measures, participants in our studies complete cognitive behavioral interviews and tasks involved in working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility.