We all know that moment when we’re about to make a mistake and it’s too late to stop. But Brock psychologist Dr. Sid Segalowitz knows it better than most because it’s a key focus of his research.

“That sinking feeling,” he says, “produces a distinct pattern of brainwaves. We call it ‘the uh-oh response,’” Using a wired halo of hundreds of sensors on a subject’s head, combined with sophisticated software and imaging tools, Dr. Segalowitz has been studying the phenomenon.

Not surprisingly, the “uh-oh response” is closely associated with risk-taking, and recently Dr. Segalowitz’s research has been focusing on that kind of behaviour in young people. Understanding what happens in the adolescent brain at these moments may provide valuable clues about brain development, and why some teens are more predisposed to take risks than others. Physiology is only one part of the puzzle, however. Dr. Segalowitz is also working closely with researchers who are looking at lifestyle choices in adolescents from a behavioural perspective.

This cross-disciplinary approach will be greatly enhanced with the opening of a unique new facility at Brock: the Lifespan Development Research Centre, funded in part by an investment from the Ontario Innovation Trust. The Centre’s state-of-the-art physiology and observation labs will bring together up to 50 researchers from a range of disciplines, including Dr. Segalowitz. Together, they’ll be working on problems involving nearly every stage of life from infancy to old age.