Individual differences in executive functioning: implications for stress regulation

Weaker Memory Performance Exacerbates Stress-Induced Cannabis Craving in Youths' Daily Lives

Theories of addiction posit that stimuli associated with drug use, including both exteroceptive (e.g., paraphernalia) and interoceptive (e.g., feeling tense or "stressed"), evoke craving and contribute to the pathogenesis of substance misuse. Control over drug cue response and stress is essential for moderating use. Building from laboratory data supporting associations between cue exposure, stress, and craving, this study tested whether these associations generalize to real-world settings and examined whether a well-vetted neurocognitive control capacity, i.e., working memory (WM), moderated associations. Youth (N = 85; 15-24 years) completed baseline and ecological momentary assessments. Cue exposure and participants' average stress predicted higher craving. Youth with weaker WM experienced stronger craving at higher-stress moments but not when faced with cues. Interactions were present for both previous-moment and same-moment stress. Craving among adolescents with stronger WM was not swayed by momentary stress. Findings suggest stronger WM protects against craving at more stressful moments.

Alternations between physical and cognitive tasks in repetitive work - effect of cognitive task difficulty on fatigue development in women

In a context of job rotation, this study determined the extent to which the difficulty of a cognitive task (CT) interspersed between bouts of repetitive, low-intensity work (pipetting) influences recovery from fatigue. Fifteen participants performed three experimental sessions, each comprising 10 repeats of a 7 min + 3 min combination of pipetting and CT. The CT was easy, moderate or hard. Surface electromyography (EMG amplitude of the forearm extensor and trapezius muscles) and self-reports was used to assess fatigability. Perceived fatigue and trapezius EMG amplitude increased during sessions. CT difficulty influenced fatigue development only little, besides forearm extensor EMG increasing more in CT3 than in CT1 and CT2. During CT bouts, fatigability recovered, and to a similar extent irrespective of CT. Thus, CT difficulty influenced recovery of perceived as well as performance fatigability to a minor extent, and may not be a critical issue in job rotation comprising alternating physical and cognitive tasks. Practitioner summary: Alternations between physical and cognitive tasks may be an attractive option for job rotation. In this study on women, we show that the difficulty of the cognitive task influences recovery from fatigue only little and we conclude that cognitive difficulty, within reasonable limits, may be a minor issue in job rotation.

The relationship between attentional processing of emotional information and personality: A comparison between older and younger adults

Older adults have been found to focus more on positive and less on negative information compared to younger adults. Yet, results on this attentional positivity effect are inconsistent. Since personality has been related to attentional processing in younger adults, we explored whether (mal)adaptive personality traits are also linked to the occurrence of the positivity effect measured with eye tracking paradigms. We performed two studies with different experimental tasks and recruited for each study 60 community dwelling younger (aged 24-50) and 60 older (age 65-91) adults. We found some indication for a positivity effect with a free-viewing task (study 2), but not with a task measuring engagement and disengagement with emotional information (study 1). Although this effect should be interpreted with caution, it corroborates evidence that the positivity effect is more robust in situations without cognitive constraints. No evidence was found for personality traits to be related to the occurrence of the effect. Further research is needed to further clarify conditions that influence older adults' attention for emotional information.

Gender-Specific Association between Alcohol Consumption and Stress Perception, Depressed Mood, and Suicidal Ideation: The 2010-2015 KNHANES

OBJECTIVE

Alcohol drinking can cause various psychiatric and medical diseases. Although women generally consume less alcohol than men, they may be at a greater risk for alcohol-related psychological distress. The aim of the current study is to evaluate whether the association between alcohol consumption and psychological distress, including stress, depressed mood, and suicidal ideation and the risks of psychological distress differ based on gender.

METHODS

The cross-sectional study included 31,657 participants (17,915 women and 13,742 men) from the 2010-2013 and 2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Alcohol drinking and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) levels were assessed for evaluating the amount of alcohol intake and alcohol-related problems. Self-perception of stress, depressed mood, and suicidal ideation were assessed for evaluating psychological distress. Odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals for psychological distress were calculated using multiple logistic regression models.

RESULTS

The risks of psychological distress were not significantly associated with drinking level in both sexes. However, the risks of psychological distress were associated with an increase in AUDIT levels, and there were gender differences in the psychological consequences of alcohol-related problems. The association was more drastic in women, and women showed a significant association even though the severity of drinking problem was low with the exception of stress perception.

CONCLUSION

The risks of psychological distress were associated with the severity of alcohol-related problems and women were more likely to be susceptible. Therefore, it is recommended that women even at low-risk for problematic drinking should be screened for psychological distress.

Transdiagnostic mechanisms of psychopathology in youth: Executive functions, dependent stress, and rumination

Executive function (EF) deficits have been proposed as transdiagnostic risk factors for psychopathology, and recent research suggests EF impairments are associated with what is shared across forms of psychopathology (p factor). However, most research has not employed methods that differentiate between EF components, and little is known about the mediating mechanisms linking EF and psychopathology dimensions. The current study tested associations between the latent unity/diversity model of EF and latent dimensions of psychopathology and investigated mediating mechanisms in a community sample of 292 youth age 13-22. The results confirmed the finding that poor EF is associated with internalizing psychopathology in older youth via higher dependent stress and rumination, and showed that this pathway was transdiagnostic, predicting the p factor rather than internalizing specifically. Links with psychopathology were specific to the common EF factor, rather than updating- or shifting-specific EF.

Factors in the perceived stress scale differentially associate with mindfulness disposition and executive function among early adolescents

OBJECTIVES

The first aim was to test the factor structure and item-loadings of the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) when administered to early adolescents. The second aim was to examine associations between PSS factors, mindfulness disposition, and executive function.

METHODS

We analyzed data collected from 331 students in grade seven (M age=12.4, 48.9% female, 47.1% White, 26.0% Hispanic, 37.8% received free-lunch) classrooms from two ethnically/racially and socio-economically diverse schools. Participants completed paper and pencil self-report measures of stress (PSS), mindfulness disposition (Mindful Awareness Attention Scale, MAAS), and executive function (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, BRIEF). We tested the statistical association between two factors of the PSS: perceived coping and perceived distress with MAAS and BRIEF.

RESULTS

A two-factor model of the PSS, inclusive of perceived coping and perceived distress, fit the data better than a one-dimensional model. MAAS and BRIEF scores were inversely associated with PSS distress scores (β = -.62, p <.0001 and β = -.66, p <.0001, respectively), but not PSS coping scores (β = -.04, p = .21 and β = -.02, p = .57, respectively) in a model adjusted for sex, race, and socio-economic status.

CONCLUSIONS

Two factors in the PSS emerged among early adolescents and differentially associated with mindfulness disposition and executive function to similar magnitudes. Findings encourage future assessment of perceived stress in a more refined manner across developmental stages in order to examine trajectories of perceived distress versus perceived coping in relation to mindfulness disposition and executive function.

Effects of mindfulness training on regulatory and academic abilities in preadolescents: Results from a pilot study

Regulatory abilities such as self-regulation and stress regulation are key predictors of essential developmental outcomes, including intellectual and socioemotional milestones as well as academic achievement. Preadolescence has been proposed as a period that is crucial for training these abilities. The present pilot study investigated the effects of mindfulness training on preadolescents‘ regulatory abilities and school-related outcomes. A group of 34 fifth graders received either mindfulness training (experimental group), Marburg Concentration Training (alternative treatment group), or no treatment (passive control group) and were monitored over a four-month intervention period. Regulatory abilities were assessed first, with two self-report questionnaires that operationalized impulsivity and coping with stress, respectively. Second, physical stress regulation was examined on the basis of diurnal cortisol as well as salivary α-amylase (sAA) profiles. Finally, school-related outcomes were measured with a paperpencil based performance test of verbal memory. Results show that impulsivity increased in all groups over time, whereas there were no significant training effects on self-reported coping with stress. Both training groups showed more adaptive physiological stress regulation in terms of steeper diurnal cortisol slopes and marginally less pronounced sAA awakening responses, however, with respect to physiological measures, no data of the passive control group are available. With respect to school-related outcomes, the results indicate a slight superiority regarding verbal memory for the mindfulness training group compared to the Marburg Concentration Training group.

Effects of aerobic exercise on sad emotion regulation in young women: an electroencephalograph study

The effects of exercise on cognitive abilities have been studied. However, evidence regarding the neural substrates of sad emotion regulation is limited. Women have higher rates for affective disorders than men, but insufficient outcomes assess how aerobic exercises modulate central frontal activation in sad emotion inhibition and resilience among healthy women. This study investigated the effects of aerobic exercise-related brain activity on sad emotion inhibition processing in young women. Sad facial Go/No-Go and neutral Go/No-Go trials were conducted among 30 healthy young women to examine the changes in the N2 component, which reflects frontal inhibition responses, between pre-exercise and post-exercise periods. The first test was performed before aerobic exercise (baseline; 1st) and the second test was performed during an absolute rest period of 90 min after exercise. The sad No-Go stimuli that evoked N200 (N2) event-related potential were recorded and analyzed. The results showed that in the sad No-Go trials, N2 activation at the central-prefrontal cortex was significantly attenuated after exercise compared to the baseline N2 activation. Exercise-modulated N2 activation was not observed in the neutral No-Go trials. The behavioral error rates of sad No-Go trials did not differ between the two experiments. A reduced engagement of central-frontal activation to sad No-Go stimuli was shown after exercise. However, behavioral performance was consistent between the two measurements. The findings scope the benefits of the aerobic exercise on the neural efficiency in responding to sad emotion-eliciting cues as well as adaptive transitions reinstatement for regulatory capabilities in healthy young women.

Good decision-making is associated with an adaptive cardiovascular response to social competitive stress

Competition elicits different psychological and cardiovascular responses depending on a person's skills. Decision-making has been considered a distal factor that influences competition, but there are no studies analyzing this relationship. Our objective was to analyze whether decision-making affects the response to competition. Specifically, we aimed to test whether good performers on a decision-making test, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), showed an adaptive cardiovascular response to competition. In all, 116 participants (44 women) performed the IGT and were classified into Good or Poor decision-makers. Subsequently, they were exposed to a stress task in two different conditions: a face-to-face competition (winners/losers) or a control condition, while an electrocardiogram was recorded. In the competition group, good decision-makers increased their high-frequency respect to the total heart rate variability (HF/HRV) levels during the task, compared to Poor decision-makers. Again, competition group good decision-makers, showed lower LF and higher HF/HRV reactivity than the control group, which represents lower HRV stress pattern. Moreover, in the group of losers, good decision-makers had a decline in low frequency (LF) during the task and faster recovery than poor decision-makers. In conclusion, good decision-makers have a more adaptive stress response and higher levels of mental effort, based on total HRV interpretation. Decision-making skills could be a factor in a more adaptive cardiovascular response to competition.

Attention to Emotional Information Is Associated With Cytokine Responses to Psychological Stress

This study aimed to investigate the impact of mental stress on salivary cytokines and attention to emotional stimuli, as well as associations between stress-induced changes of immune and cognitive parameters. In a randomized order a total of 60 young adults were assigned to one of two stress conditions with varying stress intensity. High stress was induced by a socially evaluated Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT). As a low stress task a paper-and-pencil version of PASAT was administered. Salivary cytokines were measured before, 5 min after, and 45 min after completion of the stress task, and were assayed for pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Three distinct types of attention – alerting, orienting, and executive control – were measured by the modified Emotional Attention Network Test Integration (E-ANTI). IL-1β and IL-6 increased only in the high-stress group. Significant increases in IFN-α, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-10 at 45 min after stress induction (all p’s < 0.05) were observed in both the high-stress and the low-stress group. Alerting attention was positively related to more pronounced increases in IFN-α and TNF-α in both groups. Further, better orienting attention after presentation of negative cues was associated with higher increases in IFN-α, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-5, and IL-10 in both groups, and higher overall levels of IFN-α, IFN-γ, and IL-12p70 in the high-stress group. There were no systematic gender differences in cytokine responses. We conclude that attention processes modulate the increases of salivary cytokines after stress exposure, and that these effects depend on stress level, particular attention network, and stimulus valence.

Preschool executive control and sleep problems in early adolescence

OBJECTIVE

Although numerous studies have documented the effects of sleep loss on executive control (EC) and related abilities, research examining the impact of early EC on subsequent sleep problems is lacking. Therefore, the current study reports on a longitudinal investigation of EC in preschool as a predictor of sleep-wake problems and daytime sleepiness in early adolescence.

PARTICIPANTS

The participants were 141 children (48.6% female) recruited from the community for a longitudinal study spanning preschool through early adolescence, with an oversampling for high sociodemographic risk (34.1% based on eligibility for public medical insurance, free or reduced lunch status, or family income-to-needs below the federal poverty line).

METHODS

Participants completed a battery of developmentally appropriate tasks assessing major aspects of EC (working memory, inhibitory control, flexible shifting) during a laboratory visit at age 4 years, 6 months. Participants also completed a follow-up session in early adolescence (between ages 11 years and 13.5 years; mean age = 11.82 years, SD = .62 years), during which they completed self-report measures of sleep-wake problems and daytime sleepiness.

RESULTS

Structural equation modeling results indicate that preschool EC (represented by a single latent construct) significantly negatively predicted both sleep-wake problems and daytime sleepiness in early adolescence, with poorer EC predicting greater subsequent sleep problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Poorer EC abilities during the critical period of preschool may be a risk factor for later sleep problems in adolescence. Given that EC appears to be modifiable, early interventions to promote EC development may help prevent subsequent sleep problems and promote long-term health trajectories.

A meta-analytic review of the association between cortisol reactivity in response to a stressor and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

A substantial literature suggests that abnormal cortisol reactivity may be a vulnerability for deleterious mental health outcomes, including ADHD. ADHD has been linked with difficulty in emotion regulation and increased risk of experiencing stressors, both of which may be related to psychobiological abnormalities (e.g., abnormal cortisol reactivity). Research has been mixed regarding the association between cortisol reactivity and ADHD. Therefore, the present meta-analytic review (k = 12) sought to quantify this association and review the relevant methodological issues and theoretical implications of this area of research. Overall, no effect was found between cortisol reactivity and ADHD (r = 0), although significant heterogeneity in the analyses suggested that there might be moderators of this association, if one does exist. Results highlight the importance of addressing limitations of the current literature on cortisol reactivity and ADHD and exploring additional indices of emotion regulation that may be associated with ADHD. Implications for future research efforts are discussed.

Regulieren exekutive Funktionen und die emotionale Kontrolle die Stresssymptomatik zwischen dritter und fünfter Klasse?

Zusammenfassung. In dieser Studie wurde der Einfluss kognitiver und emotionaler Regulationsfertigkeiten auf psychische Stresssymptome von Schulkindern untersucht. Möglich wäre ein direkter Einfluss der Regulationsfertigkeiten auf Stresssymptome oder ein indirekter Einfluss mediiert über die Schulleistungen. Bei 177 Drittklässler_innen wurden bis zum Halbjahr der fünften Klasse die psychische Stresssymptomatik, die exekutiven Funktionen, die emotionale Kontrolle sowie die Mathematik- und Deutschnoten erfasst. Es zeigte sich, dass die individuelle psychische Stresssymptomatik sich heterogen veränderte, die exekutiven Funktionen nahmen jedoch weder direkt noch indirekt signifikanten Einfluss auf die psychische Stresssymptomatik oder deren Veränderung. Auch der Einfluss der emotionalen Kontrolle auf die psychische Stresssymptomatik erwies sich als gering.

Academic Stress and Self-Regulation among University Students in Malaysia: Mediator Role of Mindfulness

Academic stress is the most common emotional or mental state that students experience during their studies. Stress is a result of a wide range of issues, including test and exam burden, a demanding course, a different educational system, and thinking about future plans upon graduation. A sizeable body of literature in stress management research has found that self-regulation and being mindful will help students to cope up with the stress and dodge long-term negative consequences, such as substance abuse. The present study aims to investigate the influence of academic stress, self-regulation, and mindfulness among undergraduate students in Klang Valley, Malaysia, and to identify mindfulness as the mediator between academic stress and self-regulation. For this study, a total of 384 undergraduate students in Klang Valley, Malaysia were recruited. Using Correlational analysis, results revealed that there was a significant relationship between academic stress, self-regulation, and mindfulness. However, using SPSS mediational analysis, mindfulness did not prove the mediator role in the study.

Five factor model personality traits relate to adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder but not to their distinct neurocognitive profiles

Deficits in multiple neuropsychological domains and specific personality profiles have been observed in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this study we investigated whether personality traits are related to neurocognitive profiles in adults with ADHD. Neuropsychological performance and Five Factor Model (FFM) personality traits were measured in adults with ADHD (n = 133) and healthy controls (n = 132). Three neuropsychological profiles, derived from previous community detection analyses, were investigated for personality trait differences. Irrespective of cognitive profile, participants with ADHD showed significantly higher Neuroticism and lower Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness than healthy controls. Only the FFM personality factor Openness differed significantly between the three profiles. Higher Openness was more common in those with aberrant attention and inhibition than those with increased delay discounting and atypical working memory / verbal fluency. The results suggest that the personality trait Openness, but not any other FFM factor, is linked to neurocognitive profiles in ADHD. ADHD symptoms rather than profiles of cognitive impairment have associations with personality traits.

Intrauterine exposure to tobacco and executive functioning in high school

BACKGROUND

Executive functioning (EF), an umbrella construct encompassing gradual maturation of cognitive organization/management processes, is important to success in multiple settings including high school. Intrauterine tobacco exposure (IUTE) correlates with negative cognitive/behavioral outcomes, but little is known about its association with adolescent EF and information from real-life contexts is sparse. We evaluated the impact of IUTE on teacher-reported observations of EF in urban high school students controlling for covariates including other intrauterine and adolescent substance exposures.

METHODS

A prospective low-income birth cohort (51% male; 89% African American/Caribbean) was followed through late adolescence (16-18 years old). At birth, intrauterine exposures to cocaine and other substances (52% cocaine, 52% tobacco, 26% marijuana, 26% alcohol) were identified by meconium and/or urine assays, and/or maternal self-report. High school teachers knowledgeable about the student and unaware of study aims were asked to complete the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning-Teacher Form (BRIEF-TF) annually.

RESULTS

Teachers completed at least one BRIEF-TF for 131 adolescents. Multivariable analyses included controls for: demographics; intrauterine cocaine, marijuana, and alcohol exposures; early childhood exposures to lead; and violence exposure from school-age to adolescence. IUTE was associated with less optimal BRIEF-TF Behavioral Regulation scores (p <0.05). Other intrauterine substance exposures did not predict less optimal BRIEF-TF scores, nor did exposures to violence, lead, nor adolescents' own substance use.

CONCLUSIONS

IUTE is associated with offspring's less optimal EF. Prenatal counseling should emphasize abstinence from tobacco, as well as alcohol and illegal substances.

Executive function as a mediator in the link between single or complex trauma and posttraumatic stress in children and adolescents

PURPOSE

In this study, we examined whether there is a mediating role of executive function (EF) in the relationship between trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress in youth.

METHODS

Children and adolescents exposed to trauma were recruited at an academic center for child psychiatry in The Netherlands. The total sample consisted of 119 children from 9 to 17 years old (M = 13.65, SD = 2.45). Based on retrospective life event information, the sample was divided into three groups: a single trauma group (n = 41), a complex trauma group (n = 38), and a control group that was not exposed to traumatic events (n = 40).

RESULTS

Our findings revealed that youth exposed to complex trauma had more deficits in EF compared to youth in the single trauma and control groups. EF was found to partly mediate posttraumatic stress symptoms for youth exposed to complex trauma, but not for youth exposed to single trauma. Youth exposed to complex trauma showed more deficits in EF, which was in turn associated with higher levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings provide partial support for the role of EF in mediating posttraumatic stress outcomes for youth exposed to complex trauma. This points to the important role of EF in the etiology and treatment of complexly traumatized youth.

Executive function in weight loss and weight loss maintenance: a conceptual review and novel neuropsychological model of weight control

Weight loss maintenance is a complex, multifaceted process that presents a significant challenge for most individuals who lose weight. A growing body of literature indicates a strong relationship between cognitive dysfunction and excessive body weight, and suggests that a subset of high-order cognitive processes known as executive functions (EF) likely play an important role in weight management. Recent reviews cover neuropsychological correlates of weight status yet fail to address the role of executive function in the central dilemma of successful weight loss maintenance. In this paper, we provide an overview of the existing literature examining executive functions as they relate to weight status and initial weight loss. Further, we propose a novel conceptual model of the relationships between EF, initial weight loss, and weight loss maintenance, mapping specific executive functions onto strategies known to be associated with both phases of the weight control process. Implications for the development of more efficacious weight loss maintenance interventions are discussed.

In search of the moral-psychological and neuroevolutionary basis of political partisanship

In many countries, a radical political divide brings several socially relevant decisions to a standstill. Could cognitive, affective and social (CAS) neuroscience help better understand these questions? The present article reviews the moral-psychological and neuroevolutionary basis of the political partisanship divide. A non-systematic literature review and a conceptual analysis were conducted. Three main points are identified and discussed: 1) Political partisan behavior rests upon deep moral emotions. It is automatically processed and impervious to contradiction. The moral motifs characterizing political partisanship are epigenetically set across different cultures;2) partisanship is linked to personality traits, whose neural foundations are associated with moral feelings and judgement;3) Self-deception is a major characteristic of political partisanship that probably evolved as an evolutionary adaptive strategy to deal with the intragroup-extragroup dynamics of human evolution. CAS neuroscience evidence may not resolve the political divide, but can contribute to a better understanding of its biological foundations.

Better executive function under stress mitigates the effects of recent life stress exposure on health in young adults

Executive function is a neuropsychological construct that enables controlled cognitive processing, which has been hypothesized to enhance individuals' resilience to stress. However, little empirical work has directly examined how executive function under different conditions mitigates the negative effects of stress exposure on health. To address this issue, we recruited 110 healthy young adults and assessed their recent life stress exposure, executive function in either a stressful or non-stressful context, and current health complaints. Based on existing research, we hypothesized that individuals exhibiting better executive function following a laboratory-based stressor (but not a control task) would demonstrate weaker associations between recent stress exposure and health because they perceived recent life stressors as being less severe. Consistent with this hypothesis, better executive function during acute stress, but not in the absence of stress, was associated with an attenuated link between participants' recent life stress exposure and their current health complaints. Moreover, this attenuating effect was mediated by lesser perceptions of stressor severity. Based on these data, we conclude that better executive function under stress is associated with fewer health complaints and that these effects may occur by reducing individuals' perceptions of stressor severity. The data thus suggest the possibility of reducing stress-related health problems by enhancing executive function.

Global Performance of Executive Function Is Predictor of Risk of Frailty and Disability in Older Adults

INTRODUCTION

The executive function is a complex set of skills affected during the aging process and translate into subclinical cerebrovascular disease. Postural instability or motor slowness are some clinical manifestations, being consubstantial with the frailty phenotype, genuine expression of aging. Executive dysfunction is also considered a predictor of adverse health events in the elderly.

AIM

To study whether the executive dysfunction can be used as an early marker for frailty and the viability of use as a predictor of mortality, hospitalization and/or disability in a Mediterranean population.

DESIGN

A population-based cohort study using data from the Toledo Study for Healthy Aging (TSHA).

METHODS

1690 Spanish elders aged ≥65 years underwent a neuropsychological evaluation in order to measure executive function. To assess whether the accumulation of dysfunctions (in severity and amplitude) could increase the predictive value of adverse health events in relation to each dimension separately an executive dysfunction cumulative index was constructed. Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine mortality and hospitalization over 5.02 and 3.1 years of follow-up, respectively.

RESULTS

Executive dysfunction is a powerful predictor of mortality, frailty and disability. Cumulative differences in executive function are associated with high risk of frailty and disability, thus, for each one point increment in the executive function index, the risk of death increased by 7 %, frailty by 13% and disability by 11% (P<0.05). Moreover, the executive impairment exhibits a strong positive tendency with age, comorbidity and mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Cumulative differences in four executive dimensions widely used in clinical practice improves the ability to predict frailty and disability compared to each dimension separately.

Spiraling out of control: Stress generation and subsequent rumination mediate the link between poorer cognitive control and internalizing psychopathology

Poor cognitive control is associated with nearly every mental disorder and has been proposed as a transdiagnostic risk factor for psychopathology, including depression and anxiety. What specific mechanisms might cause individuals with poor cognitive control to experience higher levels of psychopathology? The current research tests a new process model linking poor cognitive control to depression and anxiety symptoms via increased dependent stress (i.e., self-generated stressors) and subsequent rumination. This model was supported across two studies in youth during the key period for emergence of internalizing psychopathology. Study 1 provides longitudinal evidence for prospective prediction of change in symptoms. Study 2 confirms this model using well-established executive function tasks in a cross-sectional study. These finding have potential implications for understanding why cognitive control impairments may be broadly associated with psychopathology, and suggest that interventions to prevent stress generation might be effective in preventing negative consequences of poor cognitive control.

The effects of acute stress on core executive functions: A meta-analysis and comparison with cortisol

Core executive functions such as working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility are integral to daily life. A growing body of research has suggested that acute stress may impair core executive functions. However, there are a number of inconsistencies in the literature, leading to uncertainty about how or even if acute stress influences core executive functions. We addressed this by conducting a meta-analysis of acute stress effects on working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. We found that stress impaired working memory and cognitive flexibility, whereas it had nuanced effects on inhibition. Many of these effects were moderated by other variables, such as sex. In addition, we compared effects of acute stress on core executive functions to effects of cortisol administration and found some striking differences. Our findings indicate that stress works through mechanisms aside from or in addition to cortisol to produce a state characterized by more reactive processing of salient stimuli but greater control over actions. We conclude by highlighting some important future directions for stress and executive function research.

Association of psychological, cognitive, and functional variables with self-reported executive functioning in a sample of nondemented community-dwelling older adults

Subjective executive functioning (EF) measures provide valuable information about real-world difficulties, although it is unclear what variables actually associate with subjective EF scores. We investigated subjective EF in 245 nondemented, community-dwelling older adults (aged 70 and above) from the Einstein Aging Study. Partial correlational analyses controlling for age were performed between the nine Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult version (BRIEF-A) clinical scales and objective EF tests, self-reported mood and personality, and informant-reported activities of daily living. The significance level was set at p < .006 for all analyses (two-tailed). Most notably, higher worry/oversensitivity, physiological anxiety, and fear of aging were significantly associated with increased EF difficulties on all nine BRIEF-A scales. Additionally, increased EF difficulties on five or more BRIEF-A scales were significantly associated with lower conscientiousness, higher neuroticism, and higher depressive symptom scores. The only objective neuropsychological test that significantly correlated with increased EF difficulties (on four BRIEF-A scales) was a measure of practical judgment. Overall, results indicate that interpretation of subjective EF scores must account for self-report of mood and personality. Moreover, the BRIEF-A only minimally taps objective EF as measured by performance-based measures. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Accounting for intrusive thoughts in PTSD: Contributions of cognitive control and deliberate regulation strategies

BACKGROUND

Persistent, trauma-related intrusive thoughts are common in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Automatic aspects of cognitive functioning (including executive functioning) and maladaptive deliberate attempts at cognitive regulation have been proposed as individual difference factors that may perpetuate intrusive thoughts. The current study sought to examine the joint contribution of these two factors on intrusive thoughts in PTSD.

METHOD

Forty-two women with PTSD completed an executive functioning assessment followed by a thought suppression task. Intrusive thoughts (frequency and duration), as well as participants' use of specific cognitive regulation strategies (avoidance-based thought regulation strategies; TRS), were measured during the task. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine the interaction of executive functioning and TRS on intrusive thoughts.

RESULTS

Greater use of TRS was associated with greater intrusive thought persistence for those with low executive functioning, but not those with high executive functioning.

LIMITATIONS

Data was collected cross-sectionally and the laboratory thought suppression task may not correspond to naturalistic thought regulation.

CONCLUSIONS

Results are consistent with prior literature suggesting that certain responses deployed by individuals to control intrusive thoughts may be unhelpful, but that a higher level of cognitive capacity may mitigate this effect. Implications of these findings for recent models of cognition in PTSD are discussed.

Memory control ability modulates intrusive memories after analogue trauma

BACKGROUND

Most people suffer from intrusive memories in the aftermath of trauma. For survivors' well-being, it is key that these intrusions are controlled. Memory control can be exerted through retrieval suppression. Poor retrieval suppression, however, should be associated with persistent distressing intrusions and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study tested the hypothesis that individual differences in retrieval suppression predict intrusive memories after trauma. Retrieval suppression was examined with the think/no-think task (TNT) using behavioral and event related potential (ERP) measures.

METHODS

Twenty-four healthy participants watched a "traumatic" film after performing the TNT task. The frequency and distress of intrusions from the "traumatic" film was measured with an electronic diary. Additionally the Impact of Event Scale (IES) was assessed.

RESULTS

In line with our hypothesis, behavioral measures of retrieval suppression ability predicted reduced distress ratings for intrusions (r=-.53, p<.01). Further ERP markers of retrieval suppression (a fronto-centrally distributed N2) predicted reduced distress ratings for intrusions (r=-.45, p<.05) and reduced IES Intrusion scores (r=-.56, p<.01).

LIMITATIONS

The presented film is a relatively mild stressor as compared to a real-life trauma. Further studies are needed to explore the role of memory control processes for real-life trauma.

CONCLUSIONS

Participants with lower retrieval suppression ability exhibited less distressing intrusive memories after analogue trauma. The ERP correlate of retrieval suppression was associated with less distressing intrusive memories and reduced IES Intrusion scores, suggesting that deficient memory control is a potential risk factor for developing PTSD.

Stress Regulation as a Link between Executive Function and Pre-Frailty in Older Adults

OBJECTIVES

Both pre-frailty and frailty are linked with impaired executive function (EF) but the mechanism underlying this relationship is not known. Williams and colleagues' model posits EF affects health outcomes via stress regulation. This model was utlized to test indicators of stress regulation as mediators of the relationship between EF and pre-frailty in older adults.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

SETTING

Academic general clinical research centers.

PARTICIPANTS

690 community-dwelling older adults ≥ 50 years of age.

MEASUREMENTS

Pre-frailty was measured using a modified form of the Fried Frailty measure. EF was assessed via telephone-based neurocognitive assessments. Indicators of stress regulation included: stress exposure (measured by perceived stress), reactivity and recovery (measured by heart rate) and restoration (measured by serum interleukin-6 and sleep quality).

RESULTS

396 individuals were classified as non-frail, 277 as pre-frail, and 17 as frail. Pre-frail and non-frail individuals were included in data analyses. Compared to non-frail individuals, pre-frail were older and exhibited poorer EF, higher levels of stress exposure and poorer stress restoration. Poorer EF was associated with greater stress exposure, less stress reactivity, longer stress recovery and poorer stress restoration. The total effect of the relationship between EF and pre-frailty was significant with significant indirect effects supporting stress exposure and restoration as mediators of the relationship.

CONCLUSION

Stress exposure and restoration appear to mediate the relationship between EF and pre-frailty. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the direction of causality and determine whether stress regulation processes are appropriate targets for interventions aiming to prevent declines in EF and the development of pre-frailty.

Latent profiles of executive functioning in healthy young adults: evidence of individual differences in hemispheric asymmetry

Two competing theoretical models of individual differences in executive functioning (EF) were examined: the Prefrontal Convexity Model and the Hemispheric Asymmetry Model. Neurologically healthy individuals (N = 315; mean age 20.8) completed a modified switching task (MST) and the Attention Network Test (ANT) in a single testing session. Data analysis was conducted in two phases. In the first phase (model identification), latent profile analysis was applied to MST variables measuring the abilities to form, switch, and maintain mental sets under conditions designed to tax left or right hemisphere resources. In the second phase (model validation), participant clusters obtained from the first phase were compared on the ANT. The Model Identification phase yielded a 3-profile solution consistent with the Hemispheric Asymmetry Model. Profile 1 (N = 203) was characterized by average EF performances. Profile 2 (N = 43) revealed a set maintenance weakness under non-verbal conditions. Profile 3 (N = 38) demonstrated weaknesses in cognitive flexibility combined with poor executive performances under verbal conditions. The Model Validation phase confirmed group differences. Profile 1 demonstrated average EF performances. Profile 2 demonstrated distractibility and decreased alertness, consistent with a right hemisphere weakness. Profile 3 demonstrated cognitive rigidity in the absence of external cues, consistent with a left hemisphere weakness. Individual differences in EF appear to follow a Hemispheric Asymmetry Model of EF among neurologically healthy adults. Investigating the relationship between hemispherically mediated executive functions and other individual difference factors known to confer health risk or resilience could inform numerous disciplines within the field of psychology.

The Development of the Scale of Protective Factors: Resilience in a Violent Trauma Sample

This research developed the Scale of Protective Factors (SPF-24) to measure protective factors contributing to resilience. We investigated the factor structure of 35 items. After exploratory factor analysis, we subjected 25 items representing 2 social-interpersonal and 2 cognitive-individual factors to confirmatory factor analysis. The sample consisted of 942 college students from 3 studies and 2 institutions. To examine the diagnostic function of the SPF, we used clinical criteria to identify a subsample of participants who had experienced violent trauma and scored low, moderate, or high on an established resilience scale. Results showed that the low-resilient group scored significantly lower on all subscales of the SPF with marked differences in prioritizing/planning behavior. Implications for the research and clinical settings are discussed.

Emotional intelligence in sport and exercise: A systematic review

This review targets emotional intelligence (EI) in sport and physical activity. We systematically review the available literature and offer a sound theoretical integration of differing EI perspectives (the tripartite model of EI) before considering applied practice in the form of EI training. Our review identified 36 studies assessing EI in an athletic or physical activity context. EI has most often been conceptualized as a trait. In the context of sport performance, we found that EI relates to emotions, physiological stress responses, successful psychological skill usage, and more successful athletic performance. In the context of physical activity, we found that trait EI relates to physical activity levels and positive attitudes toward physical activity. There was a shortage of research into the EI of coaches, officials, and spectators, non-adult samples, and longitudinal and experimental methods. The tripartite model proposes that EI operates on three levels - knowledge, ability, and trait - and predicts an interplay between the different levels of EI. We present this framework as a promising alternative to trait and ability EI conceptualizations that can guide applied research and professional practice. Further research into EI training, measurement validation and cultural diversity is recommended.

Fatigability disrupts cognitive processes' regulation of inflammatory reactivity in old age

OBJECTIVE

High fatigability, a dysfunctional adaption to fatigue, may lead to difficulties performing otherwise regularly encountered cognitive activities and may be related to pro-inflammatory reactivity. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of fatigability on cognitive processes and inflammatory response after an acute cognitive stress task in older adults.

METHODS

In an observational stress reactivity study conducted in a light- and temperature-controlled laboratory, we measured IL-6, self-reported acute fatigue, and frontally oriented cognitive processes in 55 community-dwelling individuals aged 75 years or older as part of a demanding set of cognitive tasks intended to induce stress.

RESULTS

Subjects were classified into groups of low and high fatigability based on cluster analysis of their self-report acute fatigue before and after the cognitive tasks. The two clusters were comparable on levels of baseline IL-6 and cognitive processes; however, the high fatigability cluster had significantly higher levels of IL-6 response than the low fatigability cluster. After controlling for multiple covariates, fatigability moderated the relationship between speed of processing and IL-6 reactivity. Further exploratory analyses indicated significant adverse associations between speed of processing and attention and IL-6 reactivity in the group with low but not high fatigability.

CONCLUSION

Although observational, these data are consistent with the notion that pro-inflammatory states in older adults might be reduced by improvements in cognitive processes. Because fatigability was associated with increased acute inflammatory response and disrupted the normal stress regulation provided by the cognitive processes, future randomized studies might examine whether fatigability alleviation reduces IL-6.

Affiliation and Control in Marital Interaction

The principle of complementarity in interpersonal theory states that an actor’s behavior tends to “pull, elicit, invite, or evoke” responses from interaction partners who are similar in affiliation (i.e., warmth vs. hostility) and opposite in control (i.e., dominance vs. submissiveness). Furthermore, complementary interactions are proposed to evoke less negative affect and promote greater relationship satisfaction. These predictions were examined in two studies of married couples. Results suggest that complementarity in affiliation describes a robust general pattern of marital interaction, but complementarity in control varies across contexts. Consistent with behavioral models of marital interaction, greater levels of affiliation and lower control by partners—not complementarity in affiliation or control—were associated with less anger and anxiety and greater relationship quality. Partners’ levels of affiliation and control combined in ways other than complementarity—mostly additively, but sometimes synergistically—to predict negative affect and relationship satisfaction.

Frequency of mentally stimulating activities modifies the relationship between cardiovascular reactivity and executive function in old age

OBJECTIVES

Recent evidence suggests that younger and middle-age adults who show greater cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to acute mental stress demonstrate better reasoning and memory skills. The purpose of this study was to examine whether older adults would exhibit a similar positive association between CVR and executive function and whether regular engagement in mentally stimulating activities (MSA) would moderate this association.

DESIGN

Secondary cross-sectional analysis.

SETTING

Three clinical research centers in the Midwest and on the West Coast and East Coast.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 487 older adults participating in an ongoing national survey.

MEASUREMENTS

Heart rate (HR) and low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) domains of heart rate variability (HRV) were measured at baseline and in response to standard mental stress tasks (Stroop color word task and mental arithmetic). Executive function was measured separately from the stress tasks by using five neuropsychological tests. MSA was measured by self-reported frequency of six common MSA.

RESULTS

Higher HR reactivity was associated with better executive function after controlling for demographic and health characteristics and baseline HR, and the interaction between HR reactivity and MSA was significant for executive function. Higher LF-HRV reactivity was also associated with executive function, but subsequent analyses indicated that frequency of MSA was the strongest predictor of executive function in models that included LF-HRV or HF-HRV.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher HR reactivity to acute psychological stress is related to better executive function in older adults. For those with lower HR reactivity, engaging frequently in MSA produced compensatory benefits for executive function.

Cognitive control in the self-regulation of physical activity and sedentary behavior

Cognitive control of physical activity and sedentary behavior is receiving increased attention in the neuroscientific and behavioral medicine literature as a means of better understanding and improving the self-regulation of physical activity. Enhancing individuals' cognitive control capacities may provide a means to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior. First, this paper reviews emerging evidence of the antecedence of cognitive control abilities in successful self-regulation of physical activity, and in precipitating self-regulation failure that predisposes to sedentary behavior. We then highlight the brain networks that may underpin the cognitive control and self-regulation of physical activity, including the default mode network, prefrontal cortical networks and brain regions and pathways associated with reward. We then discuss research on cognitive training interventions that document improved cognitive control and that suggest promise of influencing physical activity regulation. Key cognitive training components likely to be the most effective at improving self-regulation are also highlighted. The review concludes with suggestions for future research.

Examining the relationships between self-efficacy, task-relevant attentional control , and task performance: Evidence from event-related brain potentials

Self-efficacy (SE) is a modifiable psychosocial factor related to individuals' beliefs in their capabilities to successfully complete courses of action and has been shown to be positively associated with task performance. The authors hypothesized that one means through which SE is related with improved performance is through enhanced task-relevant attentional control during task execution. To assess this hypothesis, we examined the relationships between SE and behavioural and neural indices of task performance and task-relevant attentional control for 76 young adults during the completion of a flanker task. Results showed that greater SE was associated with greater response accuracy and P3b amplitude across task conditions, and faster RT under more difficult task conditions. Additionally, P3b amplitude was found to mediate the relationship between SE and task performance in the difficult condition. These findings suggest that greater attentional allocation to task-relevant processes, including monitoring stimulus-response relationships and focusing attention on working memory operations, may help explain the association between SE and improved task performance.

Detaching from the negative by reappraisal: the role of right superior frontal gyrus (BA9/32)

The ability to reappraise the emotional impact of events is related to long-term mental health. Self-focused reappraisal (REAPPself), i.e., reducing the personal relevance of the negative events, has been previously associated with neural activity in regions near right medial prefrontal cortex, but rarely investigated among brain-damaged individuals. Thus, we aimed to examine the REAPPself ability of brain-damaged patients and healthy controls considering structural atrophies and gray matter intensities, respectively. Twenty patients with well-defined cortex lesions due to an acquired circumscribed tumor or cyst and 23 healthy controls performed a REAPPself task, in which they had to either observe negative stimuli or decrease emotional responding by REAPPself. Next, they rated the impact of negative arousal and valence. REAPPself ability scores were calculated by subtracting the negative picture ratings after applying REAPPself from the ratings of the observing condition. The scores of the patients were included in a voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) analysis to identify deficit related areas (ROI). Then, a ROI group-wise comparison was performed. Additionally, a whole-brain voxel-based-morphometry (VBM) analysis was run, in which healthy participant's REAPPself ability scores were correlated with gray matter intensities. Results showed that (1) regions in the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), comprising the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA9) and the right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (BA32), were associated with patient's impaired down-regulation of arousal, (2) a lesion in the depicted ROI occasioned significant REAPPself impairments, (3) REAPPself ability of controls was linked with increased gray matter intensities in the ROI regions. Our findings show for the first time that the neural integrity and the structural volume of right SFG regions (BA9/32) might be indispensable for REAPPself. Implications for neurofeedback research are discussed.

Evolutionary mechanisms for loneliness

Robert Weiss (1973) conceptualised loneliness as perceived social isolation, which he described as a gnawing, chronic disease without redeeming features. On the scale of everyday life, it is understandable how something as personally aversive as loneliness could be regarded as a blight on human existence. However, evolutionary time and evolutionary forces operate at such a different scale of organisation than we experience in everyday life that personal experience is not sufficient to understand the role of loneliness in human existence. Research over the past decade suggests a very different view of loneliness than suggested by personal experience, one in which loneliness serves a variety of adaptive functions in specific habitats. We review evidence on the heritability of loneliness and outline an evolutionary theory of loneliness, with an emphasis on its potential adaptive value in an evolutionary timescale.

Distinctive amygdala subregions involved in emotion-modulated Stroop interference

Despite the well-known role of the amygdala in mediating emotional interference during tasks requiring cognitive resources, no definite conclusion has yet been reached regarding the differential roles of functionally and anatomically distinctive subcomponents of the amygdala in such processes. In this study, we examined female participants and attempted to separate the neural processes for the detection of emotional information from those for the regulation of cognitive interference from emotional distractors by adding a temporal gap between emotional stimuli and a subsequent cognitive Stroop task. Reaction time data showed a significantly increased Stroop interference effect following emotionally negative stimuli compared with neutral stimuli, and functional magnetic resonance imaging data revealed that the anterior ventral amygdala (avAMYG) showed greater responses to negative stimuli compared with neutral stimuli. In addition, individuals who scored high in neuroticism showed greater posterior dorsal amygdala (pdAMYG) responses to incongruent compared with congruent Stroop trials following negative stimuli, but not following neutral stimuli. Taken together, the findings of this study demonstrated functionally distinctive contributions of the avAMYG and pdAMYG to the emotion-modulated Stroop interference effect and suggested that the avAMYG encodes associative values of emotional stimuli whereas the pdAMYG resolves cognitive interference from emotional distractors.

Executive functioning moderates the relationship between motivation and adolescent depressive symptoms

We investigated the association between adolescent depressive symptoms and components of executive functioning (EF), including planning (Tower of London), set-shifting (Wisconsin Card Sorting Task), and inhibition (Stop Signal Task) in a community sample of 12-14 year olds. Further, EF was tested as a moderator of motivation (as operationalized by revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory) effects on depressive symptoms. Results suggested that planning ability was associated with depressive symptoms. Furthermore, planning ability moderated the relationship between motivation (fight-flight- freeze system; FFFS) and depressive symptoms, such that among adolescents with poor planning ability the FFFS positively predicted depressive symptoms, but among adolescents with strong planning ability the FFFS negatively predicts depressive symptoms. Neither set-shifting nor inhibition was associated with depressive symptoms. Findings highlight the need to consider multiple components of EF and to integrate motivational and executive dysfunction models to the study of depression.

How can the study of physiological reactivity contribute to our understanding of adversity and resilience processes in development?

The focus of this article is to present current progress in understanding the interplay among adversity, physiological sensitivity to context, and adaptive functioning, with an emphasis on implications and future directions for resilience researchers. It includes a review of current literature that demonstrates (a) links between various levels of adversity exposure and variability in physiological reactivity, (b) how the interplay between children's physiological reactivity and different sources of risk and adversity relates to variability in adaptive functioning, and (c) various approaches for capturing a more dynamic nature of physiological reactivity and related processes. Throughout, important conceptual and empirical issues are highlighted.

Sleep disturbance and older adults' inflammatory responses to acute stress

OBJECTIVES

Poor sleep diminishes mental and physical health. The objective of this study was to examine associations between sleep disturbance and interleukin-6 (IL-6) responses to acute mental stress in older adults.

DESIGN

Observational study of community-dwelling, healthy older adults.

SETTING

Participants completed the study in a clinical research laboratory of a mid-sized university.

PARTICIPANTS

Generally healthy, community-dwelling men and women age 50 and older.

MEASUREMENTS

IL-6 and negative affect at rest and following a series of challenging cognitive tests; sleep quality; depressive symptoms; perceived stress; loneliness.

RESULTS

Participants categorized as poor sleepers on the basis of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores had significantly larger IL-6 responses to the cognitive stressors than good sleepers. The association between poor sleep and heightened IL-6 response to acute stress was not explained by other psychosocial factors previously linked to immune dysregulation, including depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and loneliness.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings add to the growing evidence for poor sleep as an independent risk factor for poor mental and physical health. Older adults may be particularly vulnerable to effects of sleep disturbance due to significant age-related changes in both sleep and inflammatory regulation.

Functional connectivity in brain networks underlying cognitive control in chronic cannabis users

The long-term effect of regular cannabis use on brain function underlying cognitive control remains equivocal. Cognitive control abilities are thought to have a major role in everyday functioning, and their dysfunction has been implicated in the maintenance of maladaptive drug-taking patterns. In this study, the Multi-Source Interference Task was employed alongside functional magnetic resonance imaging and psychophysiological interaction methods to investigate functional interactions between brain regions underlying cognitive control. Current cannabis users with a history of greater than 10 years of daily or near-daily cannabis smoking (n=21) were compared with age, gender, and IQ-matched non-using controls (n=21). No differences in behavioral performance or magnitude of task-related brain activations were evident between the groups. However, greater connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and the occipitoparietal cortex was evident in cannabis users, as compared with controls, as cognitive control demands increased. The magnitude of this connectivity was positively associated with age of onset and lifetime exposure to cannabis. These findings suggest that brain regions responsible for coordinating behavioral control have an increased influence on the direction and switching of attention in cannabis users, and that these changes may have a compensatory role in mitigating cannabis-related impairments in cognitive control or perceptual processes.

The Phenotype of Loneliness

Goossens' (in press) review nicely maps the progression of scientific research from its early focus on loneliness as a dysphoric state that results from the discrepancy between a person's ideal and actual social relationships to its current emphasis on the centrality of loneliness to our very nature as a social species, and he argues that developmental science throughout Europe has a great deal to contribute to our understanding of this construct. He concludes that psychologists should care about research on loneliness for five reasons: (i) it is a well-defined phenotype, (ii) it shows both high stability and individual differences in rates of change across years, (iii) it has adaptive value and evolutionary significance, (iv) it has a genetic substrate that is moderated by social environments, and (v) it has self-maintaining features that can lead to adverse mental health outcomes. Goossen's (2012) review is rife with information and ideas. We focus here on two additional important reasons and on the phenotype of loneliness.

Function and dysfunction of prefrontal brain circuitry in alcoholic Korsakoff's syndrome

The signature symptom of alcohol-induced persisting amnestic disorder, more commonly referred to as alcoholic Korsakoff's syndrome (KS), is anterograde amnesia, or memory loss for recent events, and until the mid 20th Century, the putative brain damage was considered to be in diencephalic and medial temporal lobe structures. Overall intelligence, as measured by standardized IQ tests, usually remains intact. Preservation of IQ occurs because memories formed before the onset of prolonged heavy drinking--the types of information and abilities tapped by intelligence tests--remain relatively well preserved compared with memories recently acquired. However, clinical and experimental evidence has shown that neurobehavioral dysfunction in alcoholic patients with KS does include nonmnemonic abilities, and further brain damage involves extensive frontal and limbic circuitries. Among the abnormalities are confabulation, disruption of elements of executive functioning and cognitive control, and emotional impairments. Here, we discuss the relationship between neurobehavioral impairments in KS and alcoholism-related brain damage. More specifically, we examine the role of damage to prefrontal brain systems in the neuropsychological profile of alcoholic KS.