Development of Metacognitive and Emotional Executive Functions in Children

Abstract

It has been proposed that two major components of executive functions can be distinguished: (1) one related to complex cognition (metacognition, such as planning, problem solving, etc.); (2) the other related to coordinating and controlling emotional behavior. Contemporary neuroimaging techniques have demonstrated that there are two distinct functional-anatomical networks within the prefrontal cortex: one associated with cognitive control and the other associated with value based decision making—each related to specific frontal-lobe areas. Metacognitive (but not emotional) executive functions have been demonstrated to be correlated with general intellectual level (intelligence). Research has shown that emotional executive functions (such as attention control) develop earlier in life (during the 1st year), before the development of metacognitive executive functions (such as planning and verbal fluency), which develop around the age of 3 and are correlated with the development of a grammatical language.