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Increased intrasubject variability in response time in unaffected preschoolers at familial risk for bipolar disorder. Psychiatry Res 2014; 219:687-9. [PMID: 25041984 PMCID: PMC4219606 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2014.06.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2013] [Revised: 03/10/2014] [Accepted: 06/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Increased intrasubject variability in response time (ISVRT) is evident in healthy preschoolers at familial risk for bipolar disorder, suggesting it may be an endophenotype.
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Mullane JC, Lawrence MA, Corkum PV, Klein RM, McLaughlin EN. The development of and interaction among alerting, orienting, and executive attention in children. Child Neuropsychol 2014; 22:155-76. [DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2014.981252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Barker JE, Semenov AD, Michaelson L, Provan LS, Snyder HR, Munakata Y. Less-structured time in children's daily lives predicts self-directed executive functioning. Front Psychol 2014; 5:593. [PMID: 25071617 PMCID: PMC4060299 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2014] [Accepted: 05/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Executive functions (EFs) in childhood predict important life outcomes. Thus, there is great interest in attempts to improve EFs early in life. Many interventions are led by trained adults, including structured training activities in the lab, and less-structured activities implemented in schools. Such programs have yielded gains in children's externally-driven executive functioning, where they are instructed on what goal-directed actions to carry out and when. However, it is less clear how children's experiences relate to their development of self-directed executive functioning, where they must determine on their own what goal-directed actions to carry out and when. We hypothesized that time spent in less-structured activities would give children opportunities to practice self-directed executive functioning, and lead to benefits. To investigate this possibility, we collected information from parents about their 6–7 year-old children's daily, annual, and typical schedules. We categorized children's activities as “structured” or “less-structured” based on categorization schemes from prior studies on child leisure time use. We assessed children's self-directed executive functioning using a well-established verbal fluency task, in which children generate members of a category and can decide on their own when to switch from one subcategory to another. The more time that children spent in less-structured activities, the better their self-directed executive functioning. The opposite was true of structured activities, which predicted poorer self-directed executive functioning. These relationships were robust (holding across increasingly strict classifications of structured and less-structured time) and specific (time use did not predict externally-driven executive functioning). We discuss implications, caveats, and ways in which potential interpretations can be distinguished in future work, to advance an understanding of this fundamental aspect of growing up.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jane E Barker
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Andrei D Semenov
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Laura Michaelson
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Lindsay S Provan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Hannah R Snyder
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver Denver, CO, USA
| | - Yuko Munakata
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO, USA
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Age-related changes in error processing in young children: a school-based investigation. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2014; 9:93-105. [PMID: 24631799 PMCID: PMC4061373 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2014.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2013] [Revised: 01/31/2014] [Accepted: 02/02/2014] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Growth in executive functioning (EF) skills play a role children's academic success, and the transition to elementary school is an important time for the development of these abilities. Despite this, evidence concerning the development of the ERP components linked to EF, including the error-related negativity (ERN) and the error positivity (Pe), over this period is inconclusive. Data were recorded in a school setting from 3- to 7-year-old children (N=96, mean age=5 years 11 months) as they performed a Go/No-Go task. Results revealed the presence of the ERN and Pe on error relative to correct trials at all age levels. Older children showed increased response inhibition as evidenced by faster, more accurate responses. Although developmental changes in the ERN were not identified, the Pe increased with age. In addition, girls made fewer mistakes and showed elevated Pe amplitudes relative to boys. Based on a representative school-based sample, findings indicate that the ERN is present in children as young as 3, and that development can be seen in the Pe between ages 3 and 7. Results varied as a function of gender, providing insight into the range of factors associated with developmental changes in the complex relations between behavioral and electrophysiological measures of error processing.
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Bossert M, Kaurin A, Preckel F, Frings C. Response-compatibility effects in children. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2013.819286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Pears KC, Fisher PA, Kim HK, Bruce J, Healey CV, Yoerger K. Immediate Effects of a School Readiness Intervention for Children in Foster Care. EARLY EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT 2013; 24:771-791. [PMID: 24015056 PMCID: PMC3760738 DOI: 10.1080/10409289.2013.736037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
RESEARCH FINDINGS School readiness is a strong predictor of adjustment in elementary school and beyond. Children in foster care are at particular risk for academic and social difficulties in school. Limitations in self-regulatory skills and caregiver involvement among these children might contribute to a lack of school readiness. This study presents the immediate effects on school readiness of a targeted, short-term intervention designed to improve children's early literacy, prosocial, and self-regulatory skills during the summer before kindergarten entry: Kids in Transition to School (KITS). Using a randomized controlled trial design, 192 children in foster care were assigned to either an intervention or services as usual comparison condition. Multimethod, multiagent assessments were conducted immediately prior to and following the completion of the intervention. The results from structural equation modeling indicated that the intervention had significant, positive effects on early literacy and self-regulatory skills. PRACTICE An efficacious, short-term, readily scalable, theoretically-based intervention targeted at specific vulnerabilities for children in foster care may help to improve their school readiness and eventual school adjustment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine C. Pears
- Oregon Social Learning Center, 10 Shelton McMurphey Blvd., Eugene, OR 97401-4928, United States
- Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Dr. Katherine C. Pears, Oregon Social Learning Center, 10 Shelton McMurphey Boulevard, Eugene, OR 97401.
| | - Philip A. Fisher
- Oregon Social Learning Center, 10 Shelton McMurphey Blvd., Eugene, OR 97401-4928, United States
- University of Oregon, 1585 East 13th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97403-1279, United States
| | - Hyoun K. Kim
- Oregon Social Learning Center, 10 Shelton McMurphey Blvd., Eugene, OR 97401-4928, United States
| | - Jacqueline Bruce
- Oregon Social Learning Center, 10 Shelton McMurphey Blvd., Eugene, OR 97401-4928, United States
| | - Cynthia V. Healey
- Oregon Social Learning Center, 10 Shelton McMurphey Blvd., Eugene, OR 97401-4928, United States
| | - Karen Yoerger
- Oregon Social Learning Center, 10 Shelton McMurphey Blvd., Eugene, OR 97401-4928, United States
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McDermott JM, Troller-Renfree S, Vanderwert R, Nelson CA, Zeanah CH, Fox NA. Psychosocial deprivation, executive functions, and the emergence of socio-emotional behavior problems. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:167. [PMID: 23675333 PMCID: PMC3650621 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2013] [Accepted: 04/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Early psychosocial deprivation can negatively impact the development of executive functions (EFs). Here we explore the impact of early psychosocial deprivation on behavioral and physiological measures (i.e., event-related potentials; ERPs) of two facets of EF, inhibitory control and response monitoring, and their associations with internalizing and externalizing outcomes in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP; Zeanah et al., 2003). This project focuses on two groups of children placed in institutions shortly after birth and then randomly assigned in infancy to either a foster care intervention or to remain in their current institutional setting. A group of community controls was recruited for comparison. The current study assesses these children at 8-years of age examining the effects of early adversity, the potential effects of the intervention on EF and the role of EF skills in socio-emotional outcomes. Results reveal exposure to early psychosocial deprivation was associated with impaired inhibitory control on a flanker task. Children in the foster care intervention exhibited better response monitoring compared to children who remained in the institution on the error-related positivity (Pe). Moreover, among children in the foster care intervention those who exhibited larger error-related negativity (ERN) responses had lower levels of socio-emotional behavior problems. Overall, these data identify specific aspects of EF that contribute to adaptive and maladaptive socio-emotional outcomes among children experiencing early psychosocial deprivation.
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Pieper JR, Laugero KD. Preschool children with lower executive function may be more vulnerable to emotional-based eating in the absence of hunger. Appetite 2013; 62:103-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.11.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2012] [Revised: 11/20/2012] [Accepted: 11/26/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Pritchard VE, Neumann E. Classic Stroop Negative Priming effects for children and adults diverge with less-conflicting and nonconflicting conditions. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2012; 124:405-19. [PMID: 22324281 DOI: 10.5406/amerjpsyc.124.4.0405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Negative priming indexes an inhibition process that aids target selection by reducing distractor interference. To date, children have produced negative priming only in tasks where distractor response tendencies are consistently greater than or equal to targets and not in tasks containing a substantial proportion of low-conflict distractors. To establish the exact parameters under which children's negative priming attenuates relative to adults, we varied processing demands across 2 experiments involving children and adults. Negative priming was comparable when 100% high-conflict conditions were encountered (Experiment 1) and was intact in adults but not children when a ratio of 50:50 high- to low-conflict conditions was encountered (Experiment 2). Compared with adults, children seem induced to divide attention more generally when low-conflict attentional conditions are included, attenuating negative priming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena E Pritchard
- Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
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Kesler SR, Lacayo NJ, Jo B. A pilot study of an online cognitive rehabilitation program for executive function skills in children with cancer-related brain injury. Brain Inj 2011; 25:101-12. [PMID: 21142826 DOI: 10.3109/02699052.2010.536194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES Children with a history of cancer are at increased risk for cognitive impairments, particularly in executive and memory domains. Traditional, in-person cognitive rehabilitation strategies may be unavailable and/or impractical for many of these children given difficulties related to resources and health status. The feasibility and efficacy of implementing a computerized, home-based cognitive rehabilitation curriculum designed to improve executive function skills was examined in these children. METHODS A one-arm open trial pilot study of an original executive function cognitive rehabilitation curriculum was conducted with 23 paediatric cancer survivors aged 7-19. RESULTS Compliance with the cognitive rehabilitation program was 83%, similar to that of many traditional programs. Following the cognitive intervention, participants showed significantly increased processing speed, cognitive flexibility, verbal and visual declarative memory scores as well as significantly increased pre-frontal cortex activation compared to baseline. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that a program of computerized cognitive exercises can be successfully implemented at home in young children with cancer. These exercises may be effective for improving executive and memory skills in this group, with concurrent changes in neurobiologic status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelli R Kesler
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
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62
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Fox NA. Factors contributing to the emergence of anxiety among behaviorally inhibited children: The role of attention. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev 2010; 2010:33-49. [DOI: 10.1002/cd.261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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63
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Visual search and contextual cueing: differential effects in 10-year-old children and adults. Atten Percept Psychophys 2010; 73:334-48. [DOI: 10.3758/s13414-010-0021-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Abstract
The present study represents a contribution to the assessment of infant cognitive development by presenting a valid instrument for observing the development of logical reasoning and executive function during the second year of life-key processes in the construction of human knowledge. The instrument constructed, called ELEDA (Early Logical and Executive Development Assessment), was a combined or mixed observation instrument composed of field formats and category systems. Its validity was calculated using generalizability theory, which enables different sources of error affecting a behavioral measurement to be analyzed jointly. The need for valid early cognitive assessment instruments such as the one in the present article is evident, since the sooner assessment is performed, the sooner action can be taken, thus optimizing the results.
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Abstract
Visual scenes contain many statistical regularities such as the likely identity and location of objects that are present; with experience, such regularities can be encoded and can ultimately facilitate the deployment of spatial attention to important locations. Memory-guided attention has been extensively examined in adults with the 'contextual cueing' paradigm and has been linked to specific neural substrates - a medial temporal lobe (MTL)-frontoparietal network. However, it currently remains unknown when this ability comes 'online' during development. Thus, we examined the performance of school-aged children on an age-appropriate version of the contextual cueing paradigm. Children searched for a target fish among distractor fish in new displays and in 'old' displays on a touchscreen computer. Old displays repeated across blocks of trials and thus provided an opportunity for prior experience with the invariant configuration of the stimuli to guide attentional deployment. We found that over time children searched old displays significantly faster than new displays, thus revealing intact memory-guided attention and presumed function of an MTL-frontoparietal network in 5- to 9-year-olds. More generally, our findings suggest that children are remarkably sensitive to the inherent structure of their visual environment and this enables attentional deployment to become more efficient with experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew L Dixon
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 Saint George Street, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 3G3
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Bruce J, McDermott JM, Fisher PA, Fox NA. Using behavioral and electrophysiological measures to assess the effects of a preventive intervention: a preliminary study with preschool-aged foster children. PREVENTION SCIENCE : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR PREVENTION RESEARCH 2009; 10:129-40. [PMID: 19030992 PMCID: PMC2670355 DOI: 10.1007/s11121-008-0115-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The current study was designed to explore the use of behavioral (i.e., accuracy and reaction times) and electrophysiological measures (i.e., event-related potentials) to assess the impact of a family-based preventive intervention for preschool-aged, maltreated children in foster care. These measures were recorded during a computerized flanker task designed to assess cognitive control and response monitoring. The sample was recruited from a larger randomized efficacy trial of Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care for Preschoolers (MTFC-P) and included foster children assigned to the intervention condition (n = 10), foster children assigned to a services-as-usual comparison condition (n = 13), and low-income, nonmaltreated community children (n = 11). The children's behavioral and electrophysiological performance on the task was generally consistent with previous research with adults and older children. There were no group differences on the behavioral measures of cognitive control or response monitoring. Notably, however, group differences were observed on the electrophysiological measures of response monitoring. Specifically, the foster children who received services as usual were significantly less responsive to performance feedback about errors than the foster children who received the intervention and the nonmaltreated children. Applications of this methodology and implications of the results for future prevention research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline Bruce
- Oregon Social Learning Center and Center for Research to Practice, 10 Shelton McMurphey Boulevard, Eugene, OR 97401-2426, USA.
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67
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Martin Mcdermott JN, Fox NA. Conundrums in the use of observational measures of socioemotional behavior. Infant Ment Health J 2007. [PMID: 28640492 DOI: 10.1002/imhj.20159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The potential for translation of observational measures of social and emotional behavior used in small-scale studies for use in large-, possibly national-scale, studies of child development is currently an unresolved challenge. To begin to address this issue, the advantages and disadvantages to using observational measures of social and emotional behavior are discussed. In addition, alternatives to observational measures that may be helpful in assessing social and emotional behavior are considered with special emphasis on the benefits of cognitive measures.
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