Abstract
Executive function (EF) development is remarkable in early childhood. EF is an ability that provides a foundation for future success; accordingly, supporting children during their early childhood is crucial. So far, there have been many findings on EF in early childhood based on behavioral observation. This exploratory case study examines the measurement of prefrontal cortex activity during the performance of EF tasks using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). This study aims to explore the following hypothesis. (1) The prefrontal cortex during early childhood becomes more active as a task becomes more difficult. (2) However, brain activity decreases and stabilizes as time progresses. (3) The evaluation can be easily measured with two-channel fNIRS. Experimental results showed that the preschooler and the child in lower elementary school displayed high levels of brain activity in the order of increasing difficulty in terms of behavioral indicators. Moreover, the preschooler showed higher levels of reaction than the child in lower elementary school. This result is useful and will broaden the perspectives of scholars in the fields of psychology, pedagogy, and neuroscience, those involved in child support.
Highlights
Executive function (EF) is an advanced cognitive control process (Moriguchi & Hiraki, 2013; Moriguchi, 2015) and is involved in various aspects of cognitive development (Anderson, Storfer-Isser, Taylor, Rosen, & Redline, 2009)
The developmental sprouting of EFs is seen in infancy, and it develops markedly in early childhood, with gradual development continuing from childhood to adulthood (Moriguchi, 2015, 2019)
In terms of EF, brain activity in response to the representative index task of each subcomponent is measured in a cross-sectional manner using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)
Summary
Executive function (EF) is an advanced cognitive control process (Moriguchi & Hiraki, 2013; Moriguchi, 2015) and is involved in various aspects of cognitive development (Anderson, Storfer-Isser, Taylor, Rosen, & Redline, 2009). With regard to the structure, its development has a strong genetic influence (Friedman et al, 2008), where the child-rearing environment is an important factor (Anderson, Storfer-Isser, Taylor, Rosen, & Redline, 2009). Previous studies have found that inhibition, cognitive shifting, and working memory are the subcomponents of EF in adults (Miyake et al, 2000; Moriguchi & Hiraki, 2013). The developmental sprouting of EFs is seen in infancy (infants: 0 years old, toddlers: 1-2 years old), and it develops markedly in early childhood (preschool children: 3-6 years old), with gradual development continuing from childhood (lower elementary school children: 7-9 years old, higher elementary school children: 10-12 years old) to adulthood (Moriguchi, 2015, 2019)
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