Changing relations among cognitive abilities across development: implications for measurement and research

Repetitive and restricted behaviors and interests in autism spectrum disorder: relation to individual characteristics and mental health problems

BACKGROUND

Although repetitive and restricted behaviors and interests (RRBIs) may interfere with well-being and functioning in autistic individuals, research on their relation to sex, age, cognitive level, and mental health problems remains unclear. Much of the research to date has used broad categorizations rather than specific categorizations of RRBIs to examine the difference in RRBIs between individuals. The purpose of this study was to explore, in different groups of individuals, the presence of specific RRBI subtypes, and to examine the association of specific RRBI subtypes with symptoms of internalizing and externalizing behaviors.

METHODS

Secondary data analyses were conducted using the Simons Simplex Collection dataset, which included 2,758 participants (aged 4 to 18). Families of autistic children completed the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R) and the Child Behavior Checklist.

RESULTS

Across all RBS-R subtypes, results revealed no sex differences. Older children showed higher rates of Ritualistic/Sameness behaviors than younger children and adolescents, whereas younger and older children showed more Stereotypy than adolescents. Additionally, lower cognitive level groups showed higher rates of RBS-R subtypes except for Ritualistic/Sameness. After controlling for age and cognitive level, RBS-R subtypes accounted for a substantial amount of variance in internalizing and externalizing behaviors (23% and 25%, respectively). Specifically, Ritualistic/Sameness and Self-Injurious Behavior both predicted internalizing and externalizing behaviors, whereas Stereotypy only predicted internalizing behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings have key clinical implications that emphasize not only the consideration of sex, age, and cognitive level, but also specific RRBIs and co-occurring mental health problems, when assessing for ASD and designing individualized interventions.

Age-Related Variance in Performance versus Ratings of Attention and Impulse Regulation in Children: Implications for the Assessment of ADHD

Executive function task (EF) deficits are hypothesized to underlie difficulties with self-regulation. However, tasks assessing EF impairments have only been weakly correlated with rating scales that index self-regulation difficulties. A community sample of children and youth aged between 8 and 20 years old were assessed longitudinally. Growth curve analyses and correlations were conducted to better understand how these two types of measures relate to one another across development, as well as the impact of age-related variance. EF was assessed using the Stroop Task and Trail Making test and behavioral ratings of self-regulation were captured using the SWAN scale. EF task performance improved steeply until age 14–15, whereas the SWAN Scale showed small age-related decreases. EF task performance was moderately correlated with age among 8–13-year-olds and to a lesser extent among 14–20-year-olds. SWAN scores were not significantly related to age in either group. Correlations were similar in an ADHD “at-risk” subgroup. EF task performance and parent ratings of attention regulation have different developmental trajectories, which may partly explain why correlations are low to modest in these samples. In particular, age-related variance is an important methodological consideration with significant implications for the assessment of self-regulation in children and youth with ADHD.

The Development of Executive Functions in High-Level Female Soccer Players

Executive functions (EFs) are higher-level cognitive functions that help keep an individual's goal-oriented thoughts and actions aligned. While many studies have shown the importance of EFs in sport, a limitation in this literature is that female participants have been underrepresented. In this mixed-longitudinal study, we examined the development of EFs in a cohort of high performing female athletes. We collected data over five seasons in a large sample of 175 female soccer players (aged 12-29 years old) from the U14 - senior age groups of a professional German soccer club. Players undertook a large battery of cognitive tasks aimed at measuring higher-level cognitive functioning: a sustained attention task, a stop-signal task, a Go-No-go test, an N-Back Test, and both a 180°- and 360°-multiple-object tracking task. We used linear and non-linear mixed effect regressions to examine the relationship between age and EFs. Second order polynomial curves explained many of these relationships between age and EFs compared to their linear relationships. Negatively accelerated curves reveal that these players' cognitive abilities mainly developed before players reached early adulthood, with a performance plateau evident at around 21 years of age. Age explained low to moderate proportions of the variance in EFs (<1-50%), while cognitive development across playing positions was not a strong contributor to this variance (M = 2.1, SD = 2.1%). We concluded that age has a negatively accelerated relationship with EFs in female soccer players that does not differ between playing positions. These data support the idea that athletes require only a reasonable level of EF ability to perform at the highest level of their sport. Our research raises new questions regarding the validity of current EF measurement methods for inferring information about in-game use of these cognitive abilities.

Brain training using cognitive apps can improve cognitive performance and processing speed in older adults

Managing age-related decrease of cognitive function is an important public health challenge, especially in the context of the global aging of the population. Over the last years several Cognitive Mobile Games (CMG) have been developed to train and challenge the brain. However, currently the level of evidence supporting the benefits of using CMG in real-life use is limited in older adults, especially at a late age. In this study we analyzed game scores and the processing speed obtained over the course of 100 sessions in 12,000 subjects aged 60 to over 80 years. Users who trained with the games improved regardless of age in terms of scores and processing speed throughout the 100 sessions, suggesting that old and very old adults can improve their cognitive performance using CMG in real-life use.

Cognition across the Lifespan: Investigating Age, Sex, and Other Sociodemographic Influences

Maintaining cognitive health across the lifespan has been the focus of a multi-billion-dollar industry. In order to guide treatment and interventions, a clear understanding of the way that proficiency in different cognitive domains develops and declines in both sexes across the lifespan is necessary. Additionally, there are sex differences in a range of other factors, including psychiatric illnesses such as anxiety, depression, and substance use, that are also known to affect cognition, although the scale of this interaction is unknown. Our objective was to assess differences in cognitive function across the lifespan in men and women in a large, representative sample. Leveraging online cognitive testing, a sample of 9451 men and 9451 women ranging in age from 12 to 69 (M = 28.21) matched on socio-demographic factors were studied. Segmented regression was used to model three cognitive domains—working memory, verbal abilities, and reasoning. Sex differences in all three domains were minimal; however, after broadening the sample in terms of socio-demographic factors, sex differences appeared. These results suggest that cognition across the lifespan differs for men and women, but is greatly influenced by environmental factors. We discuss these findings within a framework that describes sex differences in cognition as likely guided by a complex interplay between biology and environment.

Age-Associated Capacity to Progress When Playing Cognitive Mobile Games: Ecological Retrospective Observational Study

Background

The decline of cognitive function is an important issue related to aging. Over the last few years, numerous mobile apps have been developed to challenge the brain with cognitive exercises; however, little is currently known about how age influences capacity for performance improvement when playing cognitive mobile games.

Objective

The objective of this study was to analyze the score data of cognitive mobile games over a period of 100 gaming sessions to determine age-related learning ability for new cognitive tasks by measuring the level of score improvement achieved by participants of different ages.

Methods

Scores from 9000 individuals of different ages for 7 cognitive mobile games over 100 gaming sessions were analyzed. Scores from the first session were compared between age groups using one-way analysis of variance. Mixed models were subsequently used to investigate the progression of scores over 100 sessions.

Results

Statistically significant differences were found between age groups for the initial scores of 6 of the 7 games (linear trend, P<.001). Cognitive mobile game scores increased for all participants (P<.001) suggesting that all participants were able to improve their performance. The rate of improvement was, however, strongly influenced by the age of the participant with slower progression for older participants (P<.001).

Conclusions

This study provides evidence to support two interesting insights—cognitive mobile game scores appear to be sensitive to the changes in cognitive ability that occur with advancing age; therefore, these games could be a convenient way to monitor cognitive function over long-term follow-up, and users who train with the cognitive mobile games improve regardless of age.

A novel unstructured performance-based task of executive function in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

OBJECTIVE

Executive functions (EFs) have been assessed with performance-based measures and rating scales. Research has shown a lack of association between these two methods. One factor that might contribute to this difference is the structure provided on performance-based measures that is not provided on rating scales. This study examined the role of structure on self-directed task completion, an aspect of EF, using a novel unstructured performance-based task (UPT).

METHOD

Children aged 8-12 years (38 attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ADHD; 42 typically developing) and their caregivers participated. We compared performance on the UPT, performance-based measures of EF (Stroop test and Trail-Making Test), and a rating scale to assess EF (Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale-Children and Adolescents, BDEFS-CA).

RESULTS

Group differences were found across all measures. Significant associations emerged between the UPT and Stroop test, Trail-Making Test, and BDEFS-CA, but no significant associations were found between the Stroop test or Trail-Making Test and the BDEFS-CA. In regression analyses, performance-based tasks and the rating scale both uniquely predicted UPT performance. The UPT was a significant predictor of group status when entered with performance-based tasks, but the UPT did not enter as a significant predictor when entered with the rating scale.

CONCLUSION

The UPT is a promising measure to assess self-directed task completion in children with ADHD.