Dopa App

Fundacja ZEN-NeuroInnowacje

About this game

The Dopa App is an educational mobile app that supports understanding the brain's functioning, reward systems, and motivational mechanisms through practical experience, reflection, and offline activities. It was created as an integral part of the "NeuroOdkrywcy" project, funded by the Ministry of National Education, complementing the Dopa World board game and NeuroLab Explorer workshops. It can also be used independently – at school, at home, or at work.

The app combines elements of neuroeducation, gamification, and self-regulation. Its goal isn't to increase screen time, but rather to consciously limit digital stimuli and reconnect with offline reality. Users learn how daily habits – sleep, exercise, phone use, social relationships, and rest – influence motivation, concentration, and mental well-being.

A key element of the app is the Dopa Challenge – a set of short, multi-day challenges based on micro-training sessions. The challenges encourage, among other things, for:
- limiting impulsive phone use,
- building mindfulness and conscious breathing,
- introducing healthy sleep and recovery rituals,
- increasing physical activity,
- practicing delaying gratification.

Each challenge is supplemented with a simple neurobiological context explaining the role of dopamine and other neurotransmitters in human behavior. The app uses short self-reflections and micro-surveys instead of constant monitoring, promoting self-discovery without pressure or judgment.

The Dopa App also supports gameplay in the Dopa World board game, offering:
- scanning cards and AR elements,
- activating tasks and NeuroQuests,
- automatic management of game parameters (motivation, distraction),

The app was designed with neurodiversity in mind – it is friendly to neurotypical and neuroatypical individuals (including those with ADHD), non-stigmatizing, and not based on a deficit model. Instead, it promotes understanding differences in cognitive functioning and the development of empathy and self-awareness.

The Dopa App is an educational tool for students, a teaching aid for teachers, and a practical guide for parents. It helps develop skills for the future: self-regulation, cause-and-effect thinking, mental resilience, and responsible use of technology.

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