Juvenile offenders have been the subject of grave concern in the last few decades due to rapid increase in heinous crime in various states of India. Once the child below the age of 18 years is found to be at conflict with law, he/she is shifted to an observation home for the trial to be initiated in the court. Some of those children are either convicted for their crimes or are released once the trial is over. However, during this period of judicial remand in observation homes, the cognitive growth of the juvenile remains at jeopardy. Several studies have reported deficits in executive function attention, working memory, brain function and structure. However, much is still unknown about the precise neurobiological mechanisms underlying antisocial behaviour involving response inhibition, aggression and impulsivity. In the current endeavour clinical tools were utilized to measure impulsivity and aggression in 180 juveniles both boys and girls in the age range of 12 to 18 years both pre and post session spanned across 6 months duration. Screened participants performed SMR and or Alpha/Theta Neurofeedback based protocol during the study. Basic descriptive methods, ANOVA, χ2 test were used to investigate the baseline data. The treatment effects were investigated using a general linear model (GLM) for repeated measures. Neurofeedback improved attention span, response inhibition and lowered impulsivity symptoms in juveniles who were at conflict with law. Findings from this study support previous suggestions that NFB could be utilized in combination with other treatments controlling the externalized behaviours among juveniles.

Authors:
Proshanto Kr Saha, Rajiv Gandhi University, India

About the Presenter(s)
Dr PROSHANTO KR SAHA is a University Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer at Rajiv Gandhi University-A Central University in India

See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule

Bookmark