Research Projects

The ATTENS (ADHD trial of external trigeminal nerve stimulation) project is investigating a novel non-medical treatment for ADHD in children aged 8 to 18 years old. The treatment consists of a device that stimulates the trigeminal nerve with a small electrical current through a battery charged patch that is put on the child’s forehead when they sleep. The activation of the trigeminal nerve on the forehead leads to the activation of the brain stem and frontal brain regions that are important for arousal and attention. The Monarch eTNS (external trigeminal nerve stimulation) device is approved by the USA Food and Drug administration (FDA) in the U.S.A as the first non-pharmacological treatment for ADHD. The study will test in a large multicentre trial across London and Southampton whether using this device for 4 weeks will improve ADHD behaviours, cognitive skills like attention and self-control and the function of the brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The study will randomise participants to either the real or the sham device which is like a placebo.

All participants will be assessed before and after the treatment as well as 6 months later in a series of clinical and cognitive measures, safety measures, measures of motion in a wrist-hand device and will also do fMRI if they want but this is optional.

ADHD affects 1 in 20 school-age children worldwide. It makes it hard to focus, remember things, and stay organised, which can impact skills like reading, maths, and overall learning. These challenges often affect a child’s future, from job opportunities to mental health. While medication can help, it has short-term effects and sometimes unwanted side-effects.

Practicing skills, however, can change the brain for the better. Computer-based Cognitive Training (CCT) games are designed for this purpose. But for ADHD, most CCT games haven’t worked well—likely because they don’t train skills that are useful in real life.

RECOGNeyes takes a different approach. It focuses on training one key skill: “keeping your eyes on the task.” Using a small eye tracker, kids play a game by controlling it with their eyes. This strengthens the brain’s gaze-control system, which plays a big role in attention.

So far, RECOGNeyes is showing great promise for young people with ADHD. It has helped with better eye control, smoother reading, and even brain changes seen in scans. The team is now working to improve the game, test it in schools, and find ways to make it widely available.

ADDISS in partnership with Woodcroft School has been invited to take part in an exciting European project with partners from Italy, Belgium, Romania and Portugal. 

Medical statistical data reveals that Social Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties (SEBD) are often associated with other medical conditions such as ADHD, depression, learning difficulties, mental retardation, psychosis, autism and so on. The prevalence of these disorders is 2-16% of the general population. Children with SEBD, diagnosed or not, are likely to live in social isolation, to receive a poor education, and they risk becoming deviant teenagers, or unemployed adults. Teachers and staff with responsibility for behavioral matters in school are often alone in the management of these difficulties, and poorly prepared for dealing complicated educational challenges. The bad management of the SEBD provokes further costs for the health system and, more in general, for the whole society.