Dimensions of executive functioning: Evidence from children (original) (raw)
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The Elusive Nature of Executive Functions: A Review of our Current Understanding
Executive functions include abilities of goal formation, planning, carrying out goal-directed plans, and effective performance. This article aims at reviewing some of the current knowledge surrounding executive functioning and presenting the contrasting views regarding this concept. The neural substrates of the executive system are examined as well as the evolution of executive functioning, from development to decline. There is clear evidence of the vulnerability of executive functions to the effects of age over lifespan. The first executive function to emerge in children is the ability to inhibit overlearned behavior and the last to appear is verbal fluency. Inhibition of irrelevant information seems to decline earlier than set shifting and verbal fluency during senescence. The sequential progression and decline of these functions has been paralleled with the anatomical changes of the frontal lobe and its connections with other brain areas. Generalization of the results presented here are limited due to methodological differences across studies. Analysis of these differences is presented and suggestions for future research are offered.
Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 2001
Executive functions may be de®ned as those skills necessary for purposeful, goal-directed activity, and are generally considered to be largely mediated by the frontal and prefrontal cortices of the brain. These cerebral regions are relatively immature during childhood, with development thought to be a protracted process which continues into early adolescence. While early theorists suggested that executive skills were not functional until cerebral maturity, recent research provides evidence that such skills can be elicited in early childhood. The aim of this paper is to review current theories of development of executive functions throughout childhood. In keeping with contemporary approaches to child neuropsychology, three critical dimensions will be evaluated; biological factors, psychological dimensions, and developmental trajectories. In addition, the literature which addresses assessment of these functions will be examined, with reference to developmental trajectories observed in normal populations, and in brain-damaged samples, where there may be disruption to the underlying neural substrates thought to be subsuming these functions.
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 2018
One problem with well-established executive function theories is that developmental disorders, brain injury, neuropathology, psychiatric conditions, and cognitive decline typically produce cross-cutting problems in social, cognitive, and emotional domains that seldom correspond to executive function models. Consequently, there is an argument that conceptual theories of executive function do not accord with clinical presentation (Manchester et al., 2004), and that executive function tests have limited predictive clinical utility (Barker et al., 2004; Burgess et al., 2006). Currently, there is need for unification of executive function approaches across disciplines, populations, and life span, further, it is also necessary for narrowing the conceptual gap between theoretical positions, clinical symptoms, and measurement. This research topic includes findings on the development of executive functions in childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Taylor et al. found that the executive functions developed non-linearly in late adolescence and early adulthood, with peaks and troughs in executive ability corresponding to morphological brain change at these age ranges. These findings have ramifications for understanding the normal and abnormal development of executive functions. The reviewed evidence also indicates that working memory, attention, and inhibitory control develop alongside time keeping skills and may depend upon shared but distinct neural substrates (Vicario).
Executive functions in late childhood: age differences among groups
Psychology and Neuroscience, 2013
Executive functions (EF) have been a major focus of interest in neuropsychology. However, there are few studies about their development in healthy children. To fill this gap in the literature, the current study aims to compare the performance in EF tasks in children from 6 to 12 (n=90) years old. Three age groups (6-7, 8-10 and 11-12 yearsold) were assessed using the following instruments: verbal fluency, narrative discourse, random number generation, N-Back, Bells Test and Hayling Test. Analyses of variance were used to compare the scores among groups. There was a significant effect of age in all executive performance scores, especially between the youngest and oldest groups. The most significant differences were observed in the central executive component of working memory and inhibition, which showed a marked development between 6-7 and 8-10 years of age. In addition, a remarkable peak was observed in the tasks that assess planning and processing speed in the group of 11-12 year-old children. The current results suggest that the development of all components of EF should be further investigated in school-aged children in normative studies so that possible dissociations in the development of these abilities can be better understood.
Executive functions: definition, contexts and neuropsychological profiles
Journal of Neuroscience and Neurological Surgery, 2019
Starting from the concept of "executive functions", we proceeded to describe the object under examination in a more complete and functional way, and their possible role in neuropsychology and developmental psychopathology. The use of statistical methods and clinical observation have allowed us to emphasize the understanding of the multicomponential structure of the processes themselves. Paying particular attention to the psychopathological contents listed in the DSM-V psychiatric manual, the main pathological forms were then analyzed to better contextualize the present discussion, also from a psychotherapeutic point of view, with the preferential choice of the strategic approach for the management of pathological disorders related to the deficit of executive functions
A Developmental Perspective on Executive Function
Child Development, 2010
This review article examines theoretical and methodological issues in the construction of a developmental perspective on executive function (EF) in childhood and adolescence. Unlike most reviews of EF, which focus on preschoolers, this review focuses on studies that include large age ranges. It outlines the development of the foundational components of EF-inhibition, working memory, and shifting. Cognitive and neurophysiological assessments show that although EF emerges during the first few years of life, it continues to strengthen significantly throughout childhood and adolescence. The components vary somewhat in their developmental trajectories. The article relates the findings to long-standing issues of development (e.g., developmental sequences, trajectories, and processes) and suggests research needed for constructing a developmental framework encompassing early childhood through adolescence.
Developmental Changes in Executive Functioning
Child Development, 2013
Although early studies of executive functioning in children supported Miyake et al.'s (2000) three factor model, more recent findings supported a variety of undifferentiated or two factor structures. Using a cohort-sequential design, this study examined whether there were age-related differences in the structure of executive functioning amongst 6 to 15-year-olds (N = 688). Children were tested annually on tasks designed to measure updating and working memory, inhibition, and switch efficiency. There was substantial task based variation in developmental patterns on the various tasks. Confirmatory factor analyses and tests for longitudinal factorial invariance showed that data from the 5 to 13-year-olds conformed to a two factor structure. For the 15-year-olds, a well separated three factor structure was found.
Further evidence that not all executive functions are equal
Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 2007
The current study presents a comparison of 2 structural equation models describing the relationship between the executive functions of updating and inhibiting. Although it has been ar-gued that working memory capacity is defined by one's ability to control the focus of attention, the findings of the current study support a view of the executive control of attention that reflects updating and inhibiting as not entirely dependent on the same resources.
Executive Functions and Neurology in Children and Adolescents
Occupational Therapy - Therapeutic and Creative Use of Activity
This chapter discusses the theoretical and methodological issues of creating a developmental perspective on executive function (EF) in childhood and adolescence. Focusing on school periods, this section outlines the development of the basic components of EF-inhibition, working memory, and attention. Cognitive and neurophysiological evaluations show that despite the emergence of EF in the first few years of life, it continues to grow significantly in childhood and adolescence. The components vary slightly according to their developmental sequence. The chapter links findings to long-standing developmental issues (i.e. developmental sequences and processes) and suggests the necessary research to establish a developmental framework covering early childhood throughout adolescence.