Inhibitory processes in young children and individual variation in short-term memory

Examining Conduct Problems in a Community Sample during Middle Childhood: The Role of Frontal EEG Asymmetry, Temperament, and Working Memory

Previous literature shows that aspects of temperament, executive functioning, and EEG frontal asymmetry are related to externalizing behaviors in children. We examined whether frontal EEG asymmetry measured at age 6 would moderate the impact of negative affectivity, attentional control, and working memory at age 6 on conduct problems at age 9. Behavioral tasks were given to assess children's attentional control and working memory. Parents completed questionnaires about their children's negative affectivity and conduct problems. Results showed that greater negative affectivity reported at age 6 predicted for more conduct problems reported at age 9, regardless of EEG frontal asymmetry. Lower levels of attentional control and working memory at age 6 predicted for more conduct problems reported at age 9 when children also exhibited greater left EEG frontal asymmetry, which has been linked to approach motivation. These findings illustrate the importance of assessing multiple intrinsic factors, both independent and interactive, that contribute to children's conduct problems.

Biological and environmental factors may affect children's executive function through motor and sensorimotor development: Preterm birth and cerebral palsy

Disruptive biological and environmental factors may undermine the development of children's motor and sensorimotor skills. Since the development of cognitive skills, including executive function, is grounded in early motor and sensorimotor experiences, early delays or impairments in motor and sensorimotor processing often trigger dynamic developmental cascades that lead to suboptimal executive function outcomes. The purpose of this perspective paper is to link early differences in motor/sensorimotor processing to the development of executive function in children born preterm or with cerebral palsy. Uncovering such links in clinical populations would improve our understanding of developmental pathways and key motor and sensorimotor skills that are antecedent and foundational for the development of executive function. This knowledge will allow the refinement of early interventions targeting motor and sensorimotor skills with the goal of proactively improving executive function outcomes in at-risk populations.

How attention factors into executive function in preschool children

Executive Function consists of self-regulation processes which underlie our ability to plan, coordinate, and complete goal-directed actions in our daily lives. While attention is widely considered to be central to the emergence and development of executive function during early childhood, it is not clear if it is integral or separable from other executive function processes. Previous studies have not addressed this question satisfactorily because executive function and attention are multidimensional constructs, but they are often studied without differentiating the specific processes that are tested. Moreover, some studies consist of only one task per process, making it difficult to ascertain if the pattern of results is attributable to different processes or more simply to task variance. The main aim of this study was to more fully investigate how attention factored into the underlying structure of executive function in preschool children. Preschool children (n = 137) completed a battery of tasks which included executive function (i.e., response inhibition, working memory) and attentional control (i.e., sustained attention, selective attention) processes; there were two tasks per process. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted to test which of three models fit the data best: (1) a unitary one-factor model with attention loading onto the same factor as other executive function processes, (2) a two-factor model with attention loading onto a separate factor than other executive function processes, or (3) a three-factor model with attention, response inhibition, and working memory as separate factors. Fit indices and model comparisons indicated that the two-factor model fit the data best, suggesting that attentional control and executive function were related, but separable. Although this study is not the first to advocate for a two-factor model during the preschool years, it is the first to suggest that the two factors are attentional control and executive function, not working memory and response inhibition. One important implication of these findings is that a complete assessment of executive function during the preschool years necessitates measuring not only response inhibition and working memory, but attentional control as well.

Assessing executive functions in free-roaming 2- to 3-year-olds

Introduction

Core aspects of executive functions (EFs) are known to be related to academic skills such as literacy and numeracy. However, school outcomes may also be related to higher-level functions such as planning. Nevertheless, few studies have considered assessing natural manifestations of higher-level EFs in children who are on the cusp of entering formal schooling. One reason for this is the difficulty of obtaining ecologically valid measures of EFs in preschool-aged children.

Method

We describe a novel task - building a striped Duplo tower subject to two constraints - designed to assess planning in real-world multi-action situation. Children were instructed to build a tower to a certain height by alternating between two different colors of blocks.

Results

Performance on one of the constraints in this task was found to vary with age. Importantly, distinct components of multiple constraints planning performance predicted laboratory-based measures of inhibitory control and working memory efficacy.

Discussion

Thus, this task provides a simple, cheap and effective way of assessing executive function in toddlers through the observation of natural behavior. It also opens up possibilities to investigate the neurodevelopment of EF in the real world.

First-grade multilingual students' executive function profiles and links to English reading achievement and difficulties: a person-centered latent profile analysis

Although the important role of children's executive function (EF) in their reading development has been well-established, less is known about the extent to which multilingual children's EF components vary and whether the variability in different EF abilities explains multilingual children's English reading achievement. The present study explored the US first-grade multilingual children's (N = 3,819) profiles of EF abilities and how the profile membership was associated with their English reading achievement, using a nationally representative sample of multilingual children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K: 2011) study. We fit latent profile analysis with various EF components, including working memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, approaches to learning, and attentional focus, and found three distinct EF profiles in multilingual children: (a) Below-Average EFs with Above-Average Cognitive Flexibility (10.13%), (b) Above-Average EFs (84.09%), and (c) Very Low Cognitive Flexibility (5.78%). Controlling for kindergarten English reading achievement scores and demographic variables, children in the Above-Average EFs profile attained a significantly higher English reading achievement score than their peers, while children in the Very Low Cognitive Flexibility group had the lowest English reading achievement score. Our findings highlight the importance of understanding multilingual children's heterogeneity in EF and have implications for the early identification of and tailored intervention for multilingual children at risk for reading difficulties.

Cross-cultural validity and reliability of the BRIEF-P at age 2 and 4.5 years in children born at risk of neonatal hypoglycemia

Executive function (EF) encompasses several neurocognitive processes that are important in self-regulation of behavior and the attainment of social and cognitive competencies. While much progress has been made in developing valid measures for adult and adolescent EF, there is a dearth of valid measures for preschool children. Given the steep trajectory of neuropsychological development among this age group and the importance of EF, a valid measure for clinical assessment and research is needed that can capture EF in the everyday context of early childhood. The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function Preschool Version (BRIEF-P) measures parent and teacher observations of children's everyday self-regulatory behaviors. The BRIEF-P has been validated in a range of normative and non-normative samples, but further validation is needed across cultures. This study aimed to evaluate the cross-cultural validity and reliability of the BRIEF-P when used by New Zealand Māori (n = 131) and European (n = 193) parents of children born with risk factors of neonatal hypoglycemia. Parents of children who participated in the prospective, longitudinal Children with Hypoglycemia and their Later Development (CHYLD) study completed the BRIEF-P when the child was 2 years ±4 weeks and 4.5 years ±8 weeks old. Results showed that the BRIEF-P is a highly reliable and valid instrument. Comparisons between Māori and New Zealand European samples revealed biases, which could be a source of further work to improve the construct validity of this measure, such as the development of norms and item validation for non-European and non-Western samples.

Early Teacher–Child Relationships Promote Self-Regulation Development in Prekindergarten

Children’s experiences during the prekindergarten period are critical for shaping their emerging self-regulation skills. The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of teacher–child relationship quality to children’s performance on a self-regulation task at the end of prekindergarten. Teachers rated the conflict, closeness, and dependency in their relationships with 104 children in the fall of prekindergarten, and children’s self-regulation was independently measured with a visual attention task in the spring of prekindergarten. In addition, teachers and parents rated children’s temperamental self-regulation (i.e., effortful control). Results indicate that greater teacher–child dependency predicted children’s longer time on the visual attention task, and greater teacher–child closeness predicted children’s lower accuracy on the visual attention task. In addition, children who were rated as more self-regulated by parents were more accurate on the visual attention task. The implications of the results are discussed.

The Directionality of the Relationship Between Executive Functions and Language Skills: A Literature Review

It has been demonstrated that executive functions play a significant role in different aspects of the development of children. Development of language is also one of the most important accomplishments of the preschool years, and it has been linked to many outcomes in life. Despite substantial research demonstrating the association between executive function and language development in childhood, only a handful of studies have examined the direction of the developmental pathways between EF skills and language skills, therefore little is known about how these two constructs are connected. In this review paper, we discuss three possible directional relationships between EFs and language development throughout childhood. First, we discuss how EF might affect language functioning. Next, we discuss how language functioning might affect EF. Lastly, we consider other possible relationships between EF and language. Given that children with better EF and language skills are more likely to succeed in educational settings and demonstrate greater social–emotional competencies, investigating the relationship between EF and language in the preschool period provides insight into mechanisms that have not been extensively studied. Furthermore, it could create new opportunities for designing effective and efficient interventions aimed at addressing EF and language deficits during the preschool period which could in turn influence later development.

The relationship between executive functioning and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in young children: A cross-lagged study

Early childhood is a critical period for cognitive development and the emergence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Therefore, many researchers have explored the relationship between executive function and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in young children. However, the findings have been inconsistent. This study used a cross-lagged survey to clarify the interaction between executive function and ADHD in early childhood as well as explore the trends of the same. Data were collected using questionnaires distributed to 376 parents of children aged 4–6 years in October 2018 (Time 1) and June 2019 (Time 2), with components including the Child Executive Functioning Scale (Parent Version) and Child Difficulty and Strengths Scale (Parent Version), and the mean age of the children surveyed at Time 1 was 58.96 ± 11.94 months. Results indicate that executive function and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were stable, with significant positive and secondary positive correlations between executive function and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The cross-lagged regression analysis showed that the inhibition of executive function components at Time 1 predicted the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at Time 2. Finally, the cross-lagged regression analysis showed that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at Time 1 significantly predicted the inhibition at Time 2. There was a strong relationship between inhibition and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the sample, with some reciprocal causality. The findings indicate the urgent need for early screening and intervention in cognitive and behavioral disorders.

The dimensionality of early executive functions in young preschoolers: Comparing unidimensional versus bidimensional models and their ecological validity

The study analyses the dimensionality of executive functions (EF) and its relationship with behavior in typically developing 3- and 4-year-old children. In study 1, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to investigate the validity of a one-factor model in 117 preschoolers. Since this model was not confirmed, a two-factor model was identified through exploratory factor analysis. In study 2, the validity of the new two-factor versus one-factor model was tested on a new sample of 128 children through a series of CFAs. The relationship between the models and specific behavioral aspects of the children was investigated. The results suggest that a bidimensional structure showed a better fit to the data and more ecological validity than a unitary structure.

Applying computational modeling to assess age-, sex-, and strategy-related differences in Spin the Pots, a working memory task for 2- to 4-year-olds

Working memory (WM) develops rapidly during early childhood. In the present study, visual WM (VSM) was measured using the well-established Spin the Pots task (Hughes & Ensor, 2005), a complex non-verbal eight-location object occlusion task. A self-ordered hiding procedure was adopted to allow for an examination of children's strategy use during a VWM task. Participants (N = 640) between the ages of 2 and 4 years were tested under semi-naturalistic conditions, in the home or in a museum. Computational modeling was used to estimate an expected value for the total trials to complete Spin the Pots via a random search and child performance was compared to expected values. Based on this approach, we determined that children who found six stickers retrieved them in significantly fewer trials than the expected value, excluding chance performance and implicating VWM. Results also showed age-related and sex-related changes in VWM. Between 2 and 4 years of age, 4-year-olds performed significantly better than younger children and girls out-performed the boys. Spontaneous use of a color matching hiding strategy was associated with a higher success rate on the task. Implications of these findings for early development of VWM are discussed.

Relationship between executive functions and academic performance among Moroccan middle school students

Executive functions (EF) play a central role in the development of social and cognitive skills and academic learning.

Objective

For this reason, this study aims to determine the relationship between executive functions and academic performance among middle school students in the Middle Atlas of Morocco.

Methods

This study focuses on 137 middle school students studying at four colleges located in the Middle Atlas of Morocco. The sample studied was divided into two groups: the first consisting of students with learning difficulties; and the second considered a control. To assess EF, three tests were administered to learners in both groups (Tracking Test, Stroop Test and Number Span Test).

Results

In the sample, average age of the learners was 14.5±1.3 years and sex ratio was balanced. The students with learning difficulties had lower performance on tests measuring cognitive flexibility, inhibitory processes and working memory compared to the control group.

Conclusion

From these results, it can be concluded that students with learning disabilities performed poorly on the three basic components of executive functions. Therefore, thorough neuropsychological diagnosis would be desirable to identify learners who may have cognitive or behavioural disorders and allow adequate intervention to improve their executive functions and subsequently their academic success.

Contributions of Working Memory and Inhibition to Cognitive Flexibility in Nigerian Adolescents

This study used a novel approach that combined the latency and accuracy scores to examine the relative involvement of inhibition and working memory in two measures of cognitive flexibility – mixing cost and switch cost in 110 Nigerian adolescents. Results showed that inhibition was significantly associated with switch cost. On the other hand, working memory was negatively associated with mixing cost. These findings support the assumption that cognitive flexibility skills are dependent on inputs from inhibition and working memory processes. Inhibition is involved in the deactivation of irrelevant stimuli during switching trials while working memory is essential to maintain the current rule in sets that require no shifting.

Reflective pondering is associated with executive control for emotional information: An adolescent prospective study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

In adult populations, rumination and executive control impairments have been highlighted as vulnerability factors for later depression and rumination as a whole construct has recently been linked to lower executive control. However, research with adolescent populations is limited and little is known developmentally of the association between rumination and executive control. A prospective design was used to investigate the relationship between brooding rumination and reflective pondering and executive control for emotional and non-emotional material in adolescence, whilst controlling for the effects of depression and anxiety symptoms.

METHODS

The present study examined the relationship between the subcomponents of rumination and executive control for emotional and non-emotional information, within an adolescent development. A total of 149 adolescents (13-16 years) were tested at two time points, approximately six months between sessions. At each time point, participants completed a computerised, valenced measure of executive control and measures of brooding rumination, reflective pondering, depression symptoms and anxiety symptoms.

RESULTS

Findings indicate that reflective pondering was predictive of greater executive control for processing emotional information over time. Contrary to research with adults, brooding rumination was not associated with executive control.

LIMITATIONS

This study, conducted across two time points 6 months apart, awaits confirmation from further research across multiple time points and different intervals.

CONCLUSIONS

Reflective pondering may act as a protective factor against later impairment in executive control.

Context of Maternal Intrusiveness During Infancy and Associations with Preschool Executive Function

The relation between maternal behavior and neurocognitive development is complex and may depend on the task context. We examined 5-month-old infant frontal EEG, maternal intrusiveness (MI) evaluated during two play contexts at 5 and 10 months, and a battery of executive function (EF) tasks completed at 48 months to evaluate if MI during infancy and infant neural function interacted to predict later cognition. Infant frontal EEG was a predictor of 4-year EF. MI during structured play at both 5 and 10 months predicted preschool EF, and MI during unstructured did not have a main effect on EF but showed a potential moderating effect of infant EEG on later EF. The pattern changed between ages, with MI during structured play at 5 months showing a positive association with age 4 EF, whereas MI during structured play at 10 months had a negative association with age 4 EF. We demonstrate differences in the context of maternal behavior used to predict childhood EF, highlighting the importance of considering parenting context in EF development.

Behaviour planning and inhibitory control in Sepedi-speaking primary school children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common disorders that can occur in children. The symptoms are thought to result from a deficit in executive functions. This study investigated whether children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder subtypes differed in behavioural planning and response inhibition, two of the domains of executive functioning, from a control group without attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms. Furthermore, it examined whether the three attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder subtypes differed from each other in terms of performance. The sample ( n = 320) consisted of primary school children, aged between 6 and 14 years, from the Moletjie circuit (Limpopo). It consisted of an attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder group ( n = 160) and a control group ( n = 160). The Disruptive Behavioural Disorder rating scale was used to establish the symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The Tower of London was used to measure planning ability, and the inhibition subtest (arrows and shapes) from the NEPSY-II (Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment, second edition) to measure response inhibition. Analysis of variance was employed to establish differences in subtype, gender, and age group. The results showed that children with the combined attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder subtype demonstrated significantly more deficits than the control group, in both behavioural planning and inhibition control. No significant differences between the hyperactive/impulsive and inattentive attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder subtypes and the control group were found. Gender and age did not influence performance with regard to planning and inhibition tasks. Correlations between planning behaviour and response inhibition were low, which suggests that they are distinct processes.

Commonality between executive functioning and effortful control related to adjustment

This study examined the association between executive functioning (EF) and effortful control (EC), and tested whether cognitive control as the commonality of EF and EC, predicted competence and internalizing and externalizing symptomatology in children (N = 218, 6-8 years) and adolescents (N = 157, 13-14 years). Confirmatory factor analyses suggested cognitive control-inhibitory control and attentional control-as a significant overlap between EF and EC. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that the cognitive control latent factor was associated with competence and internalizing and externalizing symptomatology among children and externalizing symptomatology among adolescents. The results provide evidence that inhibitory control and attentional control are the commonality between EF and EC and highlight that they are linked with positive and negative adjustment outcomes.

Short-Term Memory, Inhibition, and Attention in Developmental Stuttering: A Meta-Analysis

PURPOSE

This study presents a meta-analytic review of differences in verbal short-term memory, inhibition, and attention between children who stutter (CWS) and children who do not stutter (CWNS).

METHOD

Electronic databases and reference sections of articles were searched for candidate studies that examined verbal short-term memory, inhibition, and attention using behavioral and/or parent report measures. Twenty-nine studies met the eligibility criteria, which included, among other things, children between the ages of 3 and 18 years and the availability of quantitative data for effect size calculations. Data were extracted, coded, and analyzed, with the magnitude of the difference between the 2 groups of children being estimated using Hedge's g (Hedges & Olkin, 1985).

RESULTS

Based on the random-effects model (Hunter & Schmidt, 2004), findings revealed that CWS scored lower than CWNS on measures of nonword repetition (Hedges' g = -0.62), particularly at lengths of 2 and 3 syllables (Hedges' g = -0.62 and - 0.50, respectively), and forward span (Hedges' g = -0.40). Analyses further revealed that the parents of CWS rated their children as having weaker inhibition (Hedges' g = -0.44) and attentional focus/persistence (Hedges' g = -0.36) skills than the parents of CWNS, but there were no significant differences between CWS and CWNS in behavioral measures of inhibition and attention.

CONCLUSION

The present findings were taken to suggest that cognitive processes are important variables associated with developmental stuttering.

Executive functioning of Portuguese preschoolers in the Shape School test: A cross cultural study

The Shape School is a neuropsychological test of executive functions (EF) for preschool-aged children. The purposes of this study were: (a) to adapt the use of the Shape School for European Portuguese preschool children and (b) to examine the cultural sensitivity of this test comparing the performance of Portuguese sample and U.S. normative sample. The executive functioning of 233 typically developing children aged 3 to 5 years old (M = 57.52; SD = 10.25; in months) was analyzed and according to our results, the adapted version was appropriate to obtain the discrimination among age-groups. Portuguese and American preschoolers show similar EF profiles. It was possible, in both samples, to note the sensitivity of the measurement to age-related differences, with the older age groups outperforming the younger. Therefore, the Portuguese version of the Shape School was considered suitable for research and clinical purposes.

Assessing Executive Functions in Preschoolers Using Shape School Task

Over the last two decades, there has been a growing interest in the study of the development of executive functions (EF) in preschool children due to their relationship with different cognitive, psychological, social and academic domains. Early detection of individual differences in executive functioning can have major implications for basic and applied research. Consequently, there is a key need for assessment tools adapted to preschool skills: Shape School has been shown to be a suitable task for this purpose. Our study uses Shape School as the main task to analyze development of inhibition, task-switching and working memory in a sample of 304 preschoolers (age range 3.25–6.50 years). Additionally, we include cognitive tasks for the evaluation of verbal variables (vocabulary, word reasoning and short-term memory) and performance variables (picture completion and symbol search), so as to analyze their relationship with EFs. Our results show age-associated improvements in EFs and the cognitive variables assessed. Furthermore, correlation analyses reveal positive relationships between EFs and the other cognitive variables. More specifically, using structural equation modeling and including age direct and indirect effects, our results suggest that EFs explain to a greater extent performance on verbal and performance tasks. These findings provide further information to support research that considers preschool age to be a crucial period for the development of EFs and their relationship with other cognitive processes.

Executive Function Among Preschool Children: Unitary Versus Distinct Abilities

Working memory (WM) and inhibitory control (IC) are considered related but separable executive functions (EFs) among adults and adolescents. Although available evidence suggests that these constructs have not diverged especially among younger preschool children, questions remain regarding the age at which separable factors emerge. This study used confirmatory factor analysis to test a 2-factor model of EF among 289 preschool children whose ages ranged from 45 to 63 months (M = 55.74, SD = 7.56). As hypothesized, the model including separate but related factors provided a significantly better fit than a unitary model, indicating the presence of distinct WM and IC factors. Based on evidence that WM and IC measured during preschool relate differently to a variety of academic and behavioral outcomes, it was hypothesized that a model including separate factors for each EF would fit the observed data better than a single-factor model. Although the two-factor model provided the best fit for the full sample, the correlation between WM and IC factors was significantly higher for younger (ϕ =.95) than older (ϕ =.68) children, indicating increasing divergence as a function of age.

A cross-cultural investigation of inhibitory control, generative fluency, and anxiety symptoms in Romanian and Russian preschoolers

The current study focused on the early development of inhibitory control in 5- to 7-year-old children attending kindergarten in two Eastern-European countries, Romania and Russia. These two countries share many aspects of child-rearing and educational practices, previously documented to influence the development of inhibitory control. Using the Lurian-based developmental approach offered by the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment battery, the study aimed to contribute to cross-cultural developmental neuropsychology by exploring (a) early interrelationships between subcomponents of inhibitory control (response suppression and attention control) and generative fluency (verbal and figural) in these two cultures, as well as (b) the predictive value of external factors (culture and maternal education) and individual differences (age, gender, nonverbal intelligence, trait anxiety) on inhibitory control and fluency outcomes in children from both countries. First, findings in both culture samples suggest that even at this young age, the construct of inhibitory control cannot be considered a unitary entity. Second, differences in maternal education were not predictive of either inhibitory control or fluency scores. However, children's attention control performance varied as a function of culture, and the direction of these cultural effects differed by whether the target outcome involved performance accuracy versus efficiency as an output. Findings also confirmed the previously documented intensive developmental improvement in preschoolers' inhibitory control during this period, influencing measures of response suppression and particularly attention control. Finally, the results further stress the importance of individual differences effects in trait anxiety on attention control efficiency across cultures.

Inhibition and working memory in young preschool children with symptoms of ADHD and/or oppositional-defiant disorder

BACKGROUND

Early symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD) are associated with deficits in cognitive self-regulatory processes or executive functions (EF)s. However, the hypothesis that neurocognitive deficits underlying the two disorders are already evident during early preschool years still has limited empirical support. The present study investigated associations between symptoms of ADHD and/or ODD and two core EFs, inhibition and working memory, in a large nonclinical sample of 3-year old children.

METHOD

Participants were 1045 children (554 boys, age 37-47 months), recruited from the population based Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Relations between behavioral symptoms and measures of inhibition and working memory were studied both categorically and dimensionally.

RESULTS

Children with co-occurring symptoms of ADHD and ODD performed at a significantly lower level than typically developing children in 4 out of 5 EF measures. Symptoms of ADHD, both alone and in combination with ODD, were associated with reduced performance on tests of inhibition in the group comparisons. Dimensional analyses showed that performance within both EF domains contributed to variance primarily in ADHD symptom load. The associations between test results and behavioral symptoms remained significant after gender and verbal skills had been controlled.

CONCLUSION

Young preschoolers show the same pattern of relations between EF and behavioral symptoms of ADHD and/or ODD as previously described in older children diagnosed with ADHD and/or ODD. Effect sizes were generally small, indicating that measures of EF have limited clinical utility at this stage in development.

Infant attention and early childhood executive function

Individual differences in infant attention are theorized to reflect the speed of information processing and are related to later cognitive abilities (i.e., memory, language, and intelligence). This study provides the first systematic longitudinal analysis of infant attention and early childhood executive function (EF; e.g., working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility). A group of 5-month-olds (n = 201) were classified as short or long lookers. At 24, 36, and 48 months of age, children completed age-appropriate EF tasks. Infant short lookers (i.e., more efficient information processors) exhibited higher EF throughout early childhood as compared to infant long lookers, even after controlling for verbal ability (a potential indicator of intelligence). These findings are discussed in relation to the emergence of executive attention.

Die computergestützte Aufmerksamkeitstestbatterie für Kinder (KITAP): Zusammenhänge mit dem Arbeitsgedächtnis und der Verarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit

Die vorliegende Studie überprüft Zusammenhänge zwischen verschiedenen Aspekten der Aufmerksamkeit (Subtests der KITAP: Ablenkbarkeit, Alertness, Flexibilität, geteilte Aufmerksamkeit und Go/NoGo) mit kognitiven Leistungen (Subskalen im HAWIK-IV: Verarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit und Arbeitsgedächtnis). Dazu wurden N = 456 Kinder (52.2 % Jungen) im Alter von 7 bis 10 Jahren (M = 105 Monate, SD = 5.86) untersucht. Die Aspekte der Aufmerksamkeit ließen sich nicht überzeugend differenzieren, eine konfirmatorische Faktorenanalyse ergab zwei latente Variablen (Leistungsgeschwindigkeit und Leistungsgüte) mit gutem Modellfit. Die Leistungsgüte hängt signifikant mit dem Arbeitsgedächtnis und der Verarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit zusammen (r = -.31 bzw. r = -.24). Die Leistungsgeschwindigkeit zeigt bedeutsame, aber niedrigere Zusammenhänge mit den kognitiven Leistungen. Folgerungen für die differenzierte Interpretation der KITAP-Subtests werden diskutiert.

Assessment of attention in preschoolers

In the past two decades, there has been an increased interest in the assessment and treatment of preschool children presenting with concerns about attention problems. This article reviews the research and clinical literature involving assessment of attention and related skills in the preschool years. While inattention among preschoolers is common, symptoms alone do not necessarily indicate a disorder, and most often represent a normal variation in typical preschool child development. Thus, accurate identification of "disordered" attention in preschoolers can be challenging, and development of appropriate, norm-referenced tests of attention for preschoolers is also difficult. The current review suggests that comprehensive assessment of attention and related functions in the preschool child should include thorough review of the child's history, planned observations, and formal psychometric testing. The three primary methods of psychometric assessment that have been used to characterize attentional functioning in preschool children include performance-based tests, structured caregiver interviews, and rating scales (parent, teacher, and clinician). Among performance-based methods for measurement of attention in the preschool years, tests have been developed to assess sustained attention, selective (focused) attention, span of attention (encoding/manipulation), and (top-down) controlled attention--including freedom from distractibility and set shifting. Many of these tests remain experimental in nature, and review of published methods yields relatively few commercially available, nationally normed tests of attention for preschoolers, and an overall dearth of reliability and validity studies on the available measures.

The effect of delayed responding on Stroop-like task performance among preschoolers

Forty-four preschoolers completed 2 conditions of a Stroop-like procedure (e.g., saying "boat" for car and "car" for boat) that differed in whether a 3-s delay was imposed before responding. The test card was visible during the delay period for half of the children and occluded for the other children. Preschoolers' interference control was significantly improved in the delay condition. There was no difference between the two delay variants (test card visible or occluded). Children were more prone to interference as testing progressed regardless of whether the delay was present. These results suggest that delays effectively reduce interference by reducing the potency of the competing response during test trials, although memory demands may moderate the effectiveness of delays.

Visual attention in the first years: typical development and developmental disorders

The development of attention is critical for the young child's competence in dealing with the demands of everyday life. Here we review evidence from infants and preschool children regarding the development of three neural subsystems of attention: selective attention, sustained attention, and attentional (executive) control. These systems overlap with dorsal cortical visual streams and their disorders are related to the general hypothesis of 'dorsal stream vulnerability'. Infants' ability to control spatial selective attention can be measured using the 'Fixation Shift' task. From around 4 months of age, infants start to show cortical control in disengaging to switch between competing targets. Fixation shifts have proved to be an effective early indicator of attentional disorders associated with perinatal brain damage. Executive function emerges slowly, starting around 1 year of age. The new Early Childhood Attention Battery has identified the three attention subsystems as distinct before 5 years of age in typical development and allows assessment of individual attention profiles across these subsystems. The Early Childhood Attention Battery is now being used to identify specific profiles associated with developmental syndromes such as Williams, Down, and fragile X. These new methods offer the possibility of very early identification of attention disorders, raising the challenge of effective remediation and treatment at an early age.

Underpinnings of the costs of flexibility in preschool children: the roles of inhibition and working memory

This study addressed the respective contributions of inhibition and working memory to two underlying components of flexibility, goal representation (as assessed by mixing costs) and switch implementation (as assessed by local costs), across the preschool period. By later preschool age (4 years, 6 months and 5 years, 3 months), both inhibition and working-memory performance were associated with mixing costs, but not with local costs, whereas no relation was observed earlier (3 years, 9 months). The relations of inhibition and working memory to flexibility appear to emerge late in the preschool period and are mainly driven by goal representation.

Longitudinal antecedents of executive function in preschoolers

Despite an extensive history underscoring the role of social processes and child contributions to the development of executive functions (C. Lewis & J. Carpendale, 2009; L. S. Vygotsky, 1987), research on these relations is sparse. To address this gap, 68 mother-child dyads were examined to determine whether maternal attention-directing behaviors (attention maintaining, attention redirection) and toddlers' temperament predicted executive processes during preschool (mean age = 4.5 years, SD = 0.46)-delay and conflict inhibition. Maternal attention maintaining was associated with high levels of conflict inhibition for inhibited and exuberant children, whereas attention redirection was associated with low levels of delay and conflict inhibition for inhibited children. Therefore, maternal attention-directing behaviors may enhance the development of executive functions but only for children with inhibited and exuberant temperaments.

Early Childhood Predictors of Post-Kindergarten Executive Function: Behavior, Parent-Report, and Psychophysiology

RESEARCH FINDINGS: This study examined whether children's executive functions before kindergarten would predict variance in executive functions after kindergarten. We obtained behavioral (working memory task performance), parental-reported (temperament-based inhibitory control), and psychophysiological (working memory-related changes in heart rate and brain electrical activity) measures of executive functions from a group of preschool-aged children. After children finished kindergarten, approximately 2 years later, parents were asked to complete an assessment of children's executive function skills. A regression analysis revealed that pre-kindergarten behavioral, parental-reported, and psychophysiological measures accounted for variance in post-kindergarten executive functions. Specifically, working memory task performance, temperament-based inhibitory control, and working memory-related changes in brain electrical activity accounted for unique variance in post-kindergarten executive functions. These data provide a unique contribution to the executive function literature: No other study has examined whether behavioral, psychophysiological, and parental-reported executive function measures can account for unique variance in future executive function. PRACTICE OR POLICY: These findings are discussed in relation to children's transition to school and executive function training programs.

Measuring behavioral regulation in four societies

The present study examined the psychometric properties of scores from a direct measure of behavioral regulation, the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task (HTKS) with 3- to 6-year-old children in the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, and China. Specifically, we investigated (a) the nature and variability of HTKS scores, including relations to teacher-rated classroom behavioral regulation; and (b) relations between the HTKS and early mathematics, vocabulary, and literacy skills. Higher HTKS scores were significantly related to higher teacher ratings of classroom behavioral regulation in the United States and South Korea but not in Taiwan and China. Also, higher HTKS scores were significantly related to higher early mathematics, vocabulary, and literacy skills beyond the influence of demographic variables and teacher-rated classroom behavioral regulation. These initial findings suggest that HTKS scores may be interpreted as reflecting early behavioral regulation in these 4 societies and that behavioral regulation is important for early academic success in the United States and in Asian countries.

Childhood fears, neurobehavioral functioning and behavior problems in school-age children

The objective is to examine underlying associations between childhood fears, behavior problems and neurobehavioral functioning (NBF) in school-age children. Healthy, regular school children (N = 135), from second, fourth and sixth grade classes were assessed. Data regarding children's fears and behavioral problems were obtained with the Revised Fear Survey Schedule for Children, the Child Behavior Checklist, and NBF was assessed using a computerized neurobehavioral evaluation system. Significant correlations between childhood fears and NBF measures and somatic complaints were found. Children who reported higher levels of fears demonstrated lower working memory span (r = 0.24, p < 0.05), lower motor speed (r = -0.23, p < 0.05), and had more somatic complaints (r = 0.20, p < 0.05). Furthermore, younger children reported less fears than older ones and girls reported more fears than boys. These results highlight significant association between childhood fears, NBF and behavior problems in a non-clinical group children. Lower working memory span is an important component of executive control that may be an underlying factor in fears and anxiety in children.

Preschoolers' use of feedback for flexible behavior: insights from a computational model

This study addressed preschoolers' cognitive flexibility in an inductive task requiring response feedback processing to infer relevant task goals. A total of 63 4- to 6-year-olds were tested on a perceptual matching task in which they needed to switch attention among three colors. A computational model was designed to track down how responses to positive and negative feedback changed as children progressed through the task. The results showed that children's differential response to positive and negative feedback developed with age. In addition, age differences in feedback responding increased as the task unfolded. These findings are interpreted as reflecting an increase in flexibility with age in terms of growing efficiency in feedback processing.