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Browsing by Subject "Executive function"

Now showing 1 - 12 of 12
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    Effects of Genes on Individual Differences in Executive Function Development in Preschool-Aged Children
    (2015-04-22) Sherman, Samantha J.; Hodel, Amanda S.; Markant, Julie C.; Thomas, Kathleen M.
    Few studies have examined how individual differences in genes related to the brain’s dopamine system impact the development of higher-level cognitive skills in children. Past research with adults has identified that variants of the dopamine transporter gene (DAT-1) are associated with poorer inhibitory control development, including higher impulsivity and risk-taking. Similarly, genetic variability related to COMT, an enzyme that degrades dopamine, predicts working memory abilities in adults. This study evaluated whether individual differences in the DAT-1 VNTR polymorphism and COMT Val158Met polymorphism predicted the development of executive functions (higher order cognitive skills, including working memory, inhibitory control, and attention shifting) at age 5. On tasks requiring inhibitory control (balloon analogue risk task, delay discounting), we found a non-significant relationship between children’s performance and DAT-1 VNTR genotypes. On tasks examining working memory (spatial span, memory search), children homozygous for the Met allele of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism performed more poorly than their peers with a Val allele. Parent report of inhibitory control and working memory development was unrelated to children’s genotypes, highlighting that differences by genotype are not within the clinical range of abnormality. Overall, our results suggest that the COMT polymorphism is associated with similar effects on preschooler’s working memory abilities as reported in adult studies. However, neither DAT-1 VNTR polymorphism predicted inhibitory control development at preschool age, suggesting that additional environmental factors may have a stronger impact on inhibitory control during early childhood.
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    For better or worse? a developmental perspective on the role of executive function in relational aggression.
    (2012-08) Lingras, Katherine A.
    Different forms (e.g. physical and relational) and functions of aggression (e.g. proactive and reactive) have been acknowledged in the literature on aggressive behavior. Physical as well as relational subtypes are associated with psychological, social, and academic concerns for both victims and perpetrators (e.g. Fantuzzo & McWayne, 2002; Crick et al., 1999). However, other findings note associations with prosocial behavior and positive outcomes (e.g. Hawley, 2003). Less work has examined differential outcomes between the two functions of aggression. Additionally, limited work has considered cognitive factors to help explain these behaviors. In order to reconcile some of these conflicting studies, the current study examined the role of executive function (EF) and effortful control (EC) in subtypes of relationally and physically aggressive behavior. Children between the ages of 7 and 12 (N=130) completed laboratory session tasks assessing EF and related social-cognition. Parents and teachers completed rating forms of social behavior, effortful control (EC), and academic outcomes. Regression analyses yielded support for both models posited, but only for the constructs of IQ, delay of gratification, abstract thinking, inhibitory control, and anger/frustration. However, results were not in expected directions (i.e. analyses with younger children showed evidence for the deficit model, while results for older children were consistent with the cognitive sophistication model. Associations between subtypes of relational aggression and academic and social outcomes were also examined in secondary analyses, along with social-cognitive moderating factors (e.g. theory of social mind, victimization). Applications and considerations for intervention are discussed based on the current findings.
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    The impact of executive function and emotional control and understanding on the behavioral functioning and academic achievement of children living in emergency homeless shelters.
    (2012-08) LaFavor, Theresa L.
    This study examined the impact of executive function (EF) and emotional control and understanding on the behavioral functioning and academic achievement of 86 homeless children, ages 9 to 11. Executive function skills were assessed using parent report, child's performance on four standard behavioral tasks, and teacher report. Emotional control was assessed using parent report on standard measures of emotion regulation. Emotional understanding was assessed using child performance on a standard measure of affect recognition. Risk and adversity were assessed using parent report on widely used measures of sociodemographic variables, and negative and stressful life events. Indices of behavioral functioning included parent and teacher report of externalizing and internalizing problems. Indices of academic achievement included child's performance on standard measures of mathematical operations and word reading. Results indicate that executive function may be an important marker of academic achievement and behavioral functioning. Performance on executive function tasks predicted academic achievement, and parent reports of internalizing behaviors. Executive function emerged a unique predictor above and beyond children's general intelligence, a key correlate of achievement and behavioral functioning among both low and high risk samples. The effects of risk and adversity, specifically negative and stressful events experienced in the past 12 months, emerged as a unique predictor of achievement and behavioral functioning. Children who experienced more recent negative and stressful life events had lower academic achievement and higher parent reported externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Emotional control emerged as a unique predictor of academic achievement, above and beyond executive function and children's intelligence, suggesting that aspects of emotion regulation are important for academic functioning and success. Implications of these findings are discussed with relation to future intervention and the potential of EF as a focus of intervention.
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    The impact of executive function on reward processing in children: neural correlates and individual differences.
    (2011-09) Langworthy, Sara Elizabeth
    Executive function (EF) involves the integration of cognitive processes in order to support and sustain goal-directed behaviors that are crucial in the development of behavioral regulation (Sergeant, Geurts, & Oosterlaan, 2002). Motivational and rewarding information may alter the underlying cognitive processes surrounding the implementation of these goal-directed behaviors. Previous research indicates that both behavior and brain systems associated with reward and executive function (EF) processes may be interacting in children with ADHD (Luman, Van Meel, Oosterlaan, Sergeant, & Geurts, 2009b; Scheres, Milham, Knutson, & Castellanos, 2007). However, little research has been conducted within middle childhood to explore the intersection of EF and reward processing in typical development. Furthermore, little is know about the degree to which reward processing may be interacting with low EF ability on a behavioral and neural level during middle childhood. The current study examined behavioral performance as well as functional and structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data to address the degree to which executive function (EF) ability may be related to reward processing behaviors and brain circuitry in middle childhood. Chapter 2 addresses the overlap of EF and reward processing in behavioral task performance and parent questionnaire measures. Chapter 3 describes brain activation pattern differences in children with high versus low EF ability in a reward processing task. This portion of the study was conducted to determine whether children with lower EF ability process reward information similarly to children with high EF ability. In Chapter 4, the links between behavioral performance on EF and reward processing measures and structural volumes of related brain areas are discussed. Finally, in Chapter 5, general conclusions, limitations and future directions are outlined.
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    Individual differences in flexibility of delay and saving behavior: relations to executive function
    (2014-05) Lee, Wendy S.C.
    Delay of gratification is a complex decision-making behavior that is influenced by many contextual variables, such as cultural values, prior experience, and social trust. Research has shown that children's delay behaviors are sensitive to these variables, which can explain seemingly irrational behavior. It also suggests that immediate consumption does not always indicate poor impulse control. However, previous studies have examined only group differences, which neglect important individual differences in the ability to modify delay behavior. In two studies, we examined children's ability to adapt their delay and saving behavior according to the context and recent experience. It was predicted that children's ability to switch their behavior would be related to greater executive function. In Study 1 (N = 140), 3.5- and 4.5-year-old children were categorized as delayers or non-delayers based on a baseline delay choice task. In a second administration of the task, a risk of losing treats was associated with children's preferred choice (i.e., delaying or not delaying), encouraging children to switch their behavior. Children were again categorized as delayers or non-delayers. In Study 2 (N = 142), 3.5- and 4.5-year-old children were categorized as savers or spenders based on a baseline saving task where children could save marbles from a small marbles game for a later big marbles game. Children were then unable to play with the big game either because they had no marbles or because the big game was unexpectedly broken. In a second administration, children were again categorized as savers or spenders. In both studies, children who changed categorization across the two administrations, indicating a switch in behavior (e.g., delayer to non-delayer, spender to saver) scored higher on a measure of set-shifting. The results demonstrate that children can use the context and past experience to successfully adapt their delay and saving behaviors, and that executive function skills may be important in facilitating flexibility in these behaviors.
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    Is deprivation-related ADHD different from ADHD among children without histories of deprivation?
    (2012-07) Loman, Michelle M.
    Children reared in the deprived environments of institutions (e.g., orphanages) are at increased risk for problems with inattention and hyperactivity. Although these children have been reported to have higher rates of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnoses than would be expected in the general population, it is unclear if ADHD among post-institutionalized (PI) children is different from that among never institutionalized children. This study directly compared the clinical and symptom profile, executive function task and delay aversion task performances, and event-related potentials of 11- to 15-year-old internationally adopted PI children with ADHD (PI-A) to PI children without ADHD (PI-N) and non-adopted children with ADHD (NA-A). PI-As were found to be adopted primarily from Eastern European countries following longer periods of institutionalization than PI-Ns. They performed more poorly on most of the behavioral measures of executive function than PI-Ns; although the performance generally did not differ from NA-As. Relative to NA-As specifically, PI-As reported elevated disinhibited social behavior and, among males, demonstrated more aversion to delay, and had smaller overall N2 amplitude associated with a Go/No-go task. The results indicate that deprivation-related ADHD has an overlapping clinical profile with standard ADHD in addition to a few unique features. This profile associated with early deprived care could be considered a phenocopy of standard ADHD. A description of the deprivation-related ADHD profile has potential implications for identification and treatment of ADHD behaviors among PI youth.
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    Language and conflict detection in the development of executive function
    (2014-10) Doebe, Sabine
    The ability to override habit and exercise conscious control over thought, emotion and action, termed `executive function' (EF), is a defining feature of human cognition. While a great deal is understood about the underlying cognitive processes and neural substrates of EF, much remains unknown about how it develops. Conflict monitoring theory has emphasized the role of prefrontally-based conflict monitoring and detection mechanisms in the activation of control processes. In contrast, Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of development suggests that experience, especially language, plays a key role in the emergence of higher-cognitive functions like EF from more basic cognitive processes. Both of these accounts have received broad empirical support, but they have never been considered in relation to one another. The current research tested the hypothesis that linguistic experience plays a key role in the development of conflict detection and EF. Study 1 tested the prediction that children who notice and focus on contrasting states of affairs show better EF. A significant relation was found between three-year-old children's EF and their tendency to focus on contrast indexed by their use contrastive negation on a novel picture book task, controlling for age and verbal IQ. In Study 2, a training experiment was conducted using a pre-post control group design in which three-year-old children were provided with linguistic experience involving the use of negation to contrast objects, attributes, and actions, and change in EF performance on a battery of EF measures was assessed. Results indicate that children exposed to contrastive negation showed greater increases in EF from pre- to post-test compared to children in two control conditions: an active control condition that experienced the stimuli without contrastive negation, and an inactive control condition in which children were read storybooks. Taken together, these findings provide new evidence that linguistic experience with contrastive negation used to highlight incompatibility may play a key role in the development of EF by increasing children's sensitivity to conflict, and possibly also by facilitating inhibition of task-irrelevant representations. Implications for theories of EF are discussed.
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    Neurocognition in college-aged daily marijuana users
    (2013-12) Petrosko Becker, Mary
    Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit substance in the United States. Use, particularly when it occurs early, has been associated with cognitive impairments in executive functioning, learning, and memory. This study comprehensively measured cognitive ability as well as comorbid psychopathology and substance use history to determine the neurocognitive profile associated with young adult marijuana use. College- aged marijuana users who initiated use prior to age 17 (n=35) were compared to demographically-matched controls (n=35). Marijuana users were high functioning, demonstrating comparable IQs relative to controls and relatively better processing speed. Marijuana users demonstrated relative cognitive impairments in verbal memory, spatial working memory, spatial planning, and motivated decision-making. Comorbid use of alcohol, which was heavier in marijuana users, was unexpectedly found to be associated with better performance in many of these areas. This study provides additional evidence of neurocognitive impairment in the context of early onset marijuana use. Complications in determining cause-effect associations are discussed.
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    Parent-child relationships in young homeless families: co-regulation as a predictor of child self-regulation and school adjustment
    (2011-08) Herbers, Janette E.
    Developing adaptive behaviors are particularly important for children growing up in contexts of risk and adversity. This study examined the role of effective parenting for school success in a high-risk sample of children, focusing on co-regulation experiences with parents in relation to child self-regulation skills. In early childhood, it is largely through experiences of co-regulation within the caregiver-child relationship that children develop self-regulation. These skills are carried forward into other contexts of learning and development, including the school environment. The current thesis examined parent-child relationships among 138 families residing in emergency homeless shelter prior to the children entering kindergarten and first grade. Using observational data and state space grid methodology, I examined the parent-child relationship as a dynamic system with implications for children‟s school success and executive function (a central component of self-regulation). Results indicated that the positive co-regulation experiences were related to executive function capabilities and IQ in the child, which in turn were related to school outcomes. Parent responsiveness in particular was related to positive school outcomes. Person-oriented cluster analyses of individual state space grids revealed distinct types of dyads among the homeless families, highlighting individual differences in dyadic functioning. Findings support theory and earlier findings in developmental and resilience science implicating effective parenting in the acquisition of adaptive skills among children who overcome adversity, in part through processes of co-regulation that shape or scaffold the development of self-regulation and related cognitive skills in young children.
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    Symbolic thought in the service of self-control: effects of social psychological distancing on executive function in young children
    (2012-09) White, Rachel Elizabeth
    This study assessed the influence of graded levels of social psychological distance on cool executive function (EF) in young children. Three- and 5- year-old children (N = 96) were randomly assigned to one of four manipulations of social distance (from proximal to distal: Immersed, No Distance, Third Person, and Exemplar) within the Executive Function Scale for Preschoolers, a comprehensive measure of cool cognitive control. Across the full sample, children in the distal Exemplar condition outperformed those in the No Distance control group. Individual analyses for each age group revealed significant condition effects only for 5-year-olds. Within this older group, increasing psychological distance from the self facilitated cool EF performance in both the Third Person and Exemplar conditions. Moreover, 5-year- olds showed a pattern of incrementally increasing EF as a function of social distancing across all four conditions. Three-year-olds' EF performance was not significantly influenced by the distancing manipulations. These findings speak to the importance of abstract, representational modes of thought in the expression of conscious control over thought and action.
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    Symbolic thought in the service of self-control: Effects of social psychological distancing on executive function in young children
    (2012-09) White, Rachel Elizabeth
    This study assessed the influence of graded levels of social psychological distance on cool executive function (EF) in young children. Three- and 5- year-old children (N = 96) were randomly assigned to one of four manipulations of social distance (from proximal to distal: Immersed, No Distance, Third Person, and Exemplar) within the Executive Function Scale for Preschoolers, a comprehensive measure of cool cognitive control. Across the full sample, children in the distal Exemplar condition outperformed those in the No Distance control group. Individual analyses for each age group revealed significant condition effects only for 5-year-olds. Within this older group, increasing psychological distance from the self facilitated cool EF performance in both the Third Person and Exemplar conditions. Moreover, 5-year- olds showed a pattern of incrementally increasing EF as a function of social distancing across all four conditions. Three-year-olds' EF performance was not significantly influenced by the distancing manipulations. These findings speak to the importance of abstract, representational modes of thought in the expression of conscious control over thought and action.
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    Unity and diversity of executive functioning across childhood and adolescence: Latent factor structure and associations with subclinical emotional and behavioral problems.
    (2010-07) Cassidy, Adam R.
    The primary objectives of the present study were to determine empirically the structure and organization of three executive function (EF) factors - Working Memory, Shifting, and Verbal Fluency - and to examine concurrent associations between EF and subclinical internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in a sample of children and adolescents 7 to 18 years of age (M = 11.43 years, SD = 3.43). Additionally, developmental differences in associations between EF and psychosocial functioning were investigated by comparing latent factor organization across age-based sub-groups. Data were collected from a large, nationally-representative sample of healthy children and adolescents (N = 352), and analyzed at the level of latent constructs rather than observed (i.e., manifest) variables. Results of a series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) revealed that a three-factor, fully intercorrelated solution provided the best fit to the available data, thus supporting a conceptualization of working memory, shifting, and verbal fluency as distinct yet related higher-order cognitive processes. Additional CFAs were then conducted to assess the impact of non-executive control variables - crystallized verbal intelligence and processing speed - on the latent factor structure of EF. Although both control factors accounted for significant variance in all EF measures, non-executive skills could not account entirely for performance on EF tasks. Furthermore, the inclusion of control variables differentially impacted latent factor structure, highlighting the utility of partitioning non-executive variance for understanding the organization of EF. FAs examining associations between EF factors and psychosocial functioning revealed that individual differences in certain domains of EF track meaningfully and in expected directions with subclinical emotional and behavioral problems. Externalizing difficulties, in particular, were more reliably predicted by Working Memory and Verbal Fluency factors, although these domains of functioning did account for marginally significant portions of variance in Internalizing problems as well. Finally, looking across developmental sub-groups, results failed to reveal a consistent pattern of interrelations between latent EF and emotional/behavioral problems factors. Nonetheless, there was at least some evidence that EF becomes increasingly relevant to psychosocial functioning across childhood/adolescence, particularly with respect to Internalizing difficulties. Findings are discussed in terms of basic and clinical implications, as well as directions for future research.