Cool Executive Function Research Articles

The role of parenting in autonomy and executive function development among young children experiencing homelessness

A large body of research has shown homelessness is a risk factor for academic difficulties. However, some children experiencing homelessness begin kindergarten well-prepared and continue to succeed; this variability has motivated a search for protective factors supporting academic achievement in the context of homelessness. Two such factors might be children’s autonomy and executive function (EF), which allow children to take control of their own learning. The current study examined links between autonomy and EF skills, as well as the role of parenting in their development among young children experiencing homelessness. Participants included 78 parents and their children (Mage = 53 months) residing in emergency housing. Children were given an autonomy assessment and both cool and hot EF tasks; parent–child dyads completed a problem-solving task to measure autonomy-supportive parenting. Results indicated that child autonomy was significantly correlated with both cool and hot EF. Cool EF was related to academic skills. Autonomy-supportive parenting was significantly linked only to children’s cool EF above and beyond parental warmth, suggesting this dimension of parenting may play a unique role in the development of cool EF in the context of homelessness.

Self-regulation and academic achievement among Singaporean young children: A cross-cultural comparison in a multicultural Asian society

Cultural contexts influence the development of self-regulation. However, cross-cultural variations and consistencies in different aspects of self-regulation and their academic outcomes within the Asian context are less clear. This study investigated (1) the extent to which the development of hot and cool Executive Function (EF) might differ among children from different cultural backgrounds in a multicultural Asian society, and (2) whether and how the predictive power of hot and cool EF on academic skills might vary across subcultures within the nation. Longitudinal data were collected over two waves from a national probability sample of 2,527 young children in Singapore, consisting of ethnic Chinese, Malays, and Indians. Working memory (WM), Delay of Gratification (DoG), and parent-reported self-control were measured during their preschool years (3–6 years of age) in Wave 1. Reading and mathematical skills were assessed approximately 2 years later in Wave 2. Results demonstrated that ethnic Chinese children typically delayed gratification at age 4, whereas Malay and Indian children only started to delay gratification at age 6. Chinese children also outperformed their Malay and Indian counterparts in WM tasks and standardized achievement tests in reading and mathematics. Parent-reported child self-control did not differ by ethnicity. Across subcultures in Singapore, WM was a robust predictor of reading and mathematical skills and explained the longitudinal relations of DoG to academic skills. Our findings suggest that the developmental gaps in EF during early childhood can contribute to later gaps in academic achievement among ethnic groups. Nurturing self-regulation during the preschool years is essential for promoting children’s school readiness.

Relationships Among Maternal Interactive Behaviors, Preschoolers’ Hot and Cool Executive Function, and Conscience

Objectives: Preschoolers’ conscience refers to a concept revolving around moral emotion, cognition and behavior. This study investigates the relationships among preschoolers’ conscience, hot and cool executive function, and maternal interactive behaviors. Furthermore, it examines the mediating role of preschoolers’ executive function in the relationship between maternal interactive behaviors and preschoolers’ conscience.Methods: Participants comprised 220 mothers and teachers engaging with preschoolers. Data were collected during the COVID-19 period. Therefore, a research process, which suited the changing operations of day-care centers and kindergartens due to social distancing, was adopted. The mothers answered questionnaires on preschoolers’ conscience and maternal interactive behaviors, and the teachers on hot and cool executive function. Obtained data were analyzed using correlations, multiple regression, hierarchical regression, and bootstrapping.Results: Results revealed that the preschoolers’ conscience was significantly related to maternal interactive behaviors and preschoolers’ hot and cool executive function. The preschoolers’ executive function mediated the effect of maternal interactive behaviors on their conscience. Specifically, the plannning and organizing of the executive function fully mediated the relationship between maternal efficient interactive behaviors and preschoolers’ internalized conduct. The bootstrapping result suggested that the indirect effect is statistically significant.Conclusion: This study explored an area of morality that is less researched and incorporated the importance of executive function into it. Additionally, the results confirmed the mediating effect of preschoolers’ executive function on their conscience. The results obtained are expected to help organize activities for developing morality.

Children’s Poverty Exposure and Hot and Cool Executive Functions: Differential Impacts of Parental Financial Strain

ABSTRACT Children living in poverty often show delayed cognitive and social development compared with children reared in more affluent environments. However, much of the research focuses on how objective financial strain (e.g. household income) impacts preschoolers’ executive function (EF); little research has considered the impacts of parents’ psychological experience of financial strain. The current study examined impoverished children’s (N =106, Mage =52.78 months) hot (i.e., emotionally-salient) and cool (i.e., not emotionally-salient) EF in concert with parents’ psychological experiences of financial strain. One hundred six preschool children from low-income families completed the Day/Night Stroop task and the Whisper task, assessing cool and hot EF, respectively. Parents completed the Economic Strain Questionnaire and provided objective socioeconomic information. Findings revealed that parents’ psychological experience of economic strain fully mediated the relation from poverty severity to children’s cool EF, and moderated the link between poverty exposure and children’s hot EF performance. These findings suggest that parents’ subjective financial strain plays a significant and unique role on economically at-risk children’s EF performance, over and above the impacts of objective financial strain. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Cool Executive Function and Verbal Comprehension Mediate the Relation of Hot Executive Function and Theory of Mind in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Impaired executive function (EF), verbal comprehension, and theory of mind (ToM) may contribute to social difficulties in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The linkage between cool (cognitive) EF and ToM has been widely investigated, but the relations between hot (affective) EF and ToM remain largely unknown. The roles of cool EF and verbal comprehension have not been previously explored together to address hot EF-ToM relations. This study applied mediation analysis to investigate the mediating effects of cool EF and verbal comprehension to further elaborate the link between hot EF and ToM in children with ASD and average intellectual abilities. A total of 97 children with ASD aged from 6 to 12 years participated in this study. Children's cool EF, hot EF, and verbal comprehension were, respectively, measured with the computerized Dimensional Change Card Sort task, Children's Gambling Task, and the verbal comprehension index of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-fourth edition. Children's ToM was assessed with the Theory of Mind Task Battery. Partial correlation coefficients indicated that hot EF was significantly related with ToM with age controlled for. The results of the mediation analysis showed that cool EF and verbal comprehension mediated the linkage between hot EF and ToM. These findings highlight not only the connections between hot EF and ToM but also the importance of cool EF and verbal comprehension on hot EF-ToM relations in clinical assessments and interventions for school-aged children with ASD and average intellectual abilities. LAY SUMMARY: Relatively few studies have investigated the hot (affective) executive function (EF)-theory of mind (ToM) relations in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study discovered that hot EF was significantly related to ToM, while cool (cognitive) EF and verbal comprehension mediated the relationship between hot EF and ToM. Therefore, the influence of cool EF and verbal comprehension on hot EF-ToM relations should be considered in studies involving children with ASD. Autism Res 2021, 14: 921-931. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Hot and Cool Executive Function in Elite- and Amateur- Adolescent Athletes From Open and Closed Skills Sports.

BackgroundExecutive functions (EFs) not only play an important role in shaping adolescent’s goal-directed, future-oriented cognitive skills under relatively abstract, non-affective conditions (Cool EF), but also under motivationally significant, affective conditions (Hot EF). Empirical evidence suggest a link between EF, exercise and physical activity, specifically elite adult athletes appear to outperform amateur athletes in Cool EF; however, no previous studies have examined the relationship between Hot and Cool EFs and impulsivity during the developmentally sensitive period of adolescence comparing different types of sport (open- vs. closed-skills), and levels (elite athletes vs. amateurs).MethodsA total 86 boys and girls between 13 and 15 years of age (mean: 14.0, SD: 0.79) from different sports (track-and-field; team handball) were recruited. Participants were further divided into two groups: (a) 40 elite, and (b) 46 amateur athletes. They completed four Cool EF tasks including Trail-Making Test, Trail-Walking-Test, Flanker task, n-back-task, and one Hot EF task on Game of Dice task. Data on subjective impulsivity (UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale; Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-15) was also collected.ResultsThere was a significant overall effect for expertise in favor of elite athletes (Wilks’ Lambda = 0.61, F(14,69) = 3.19, p = 0.001, = 0.393), but no overall main effect for type of sport or an interaction for expertise by type of sport. Specifically, elite athletes showed significantly better performances on dual tasks. For Hot EF, there were no main effects for type of sport, expertise level, training experience or training duration. We also found positive correlations among Cool EF and impulsivity measures, and between Hot EF and Impulsivity, but no significant relationship between Cool and Hot EF.ConclusionThe current understanding of the decisive cognitive abilities does not correspond to sporting reality, so that the tests frequently used are not sensitive enough to distinguish between elite and amateur athletes or different sports. However, it should also be remembered that the factors underlying complex sporting performance are multidimensional and are obviously difficult to trace back to selected partial aspects. Without being able to answer this question conclusively, we proposed a 4-D classification of experimental paradigms, in which we differentiate between tasks of different specificity, between Cool and Hot EF, and between task complexity, and type of sport.

유아의 인지능력, 인지 및 정서실행기능이 정서 · 행동 유능성에 미치는 영향

본 연구는 유아의 정서․행동 유능성과 인지능력 그리고 인지 및 정서실행기능 간의 관계를 밝히고 유아의 정서․행동 유능성에 인지능력과 인지 및 정서실행기능이 미치는 영향을 분석하고자 하였다. 연구대상은 유치원과 어린이집에 재원 중인 만 4-5세 유아 총 212명이었으며, 평균 월령은 65.12개월이었다. ‘유아용 정서․행동 유능성 척도’, ‘K-ABC-2’, ‘인지실행기능 검사(별과 꽃 과제, 카드분류과제) 및 정서실행기능 검사(역보상과제, 스티커 찾기 과제)’ 도구들을 통해 연구자료를 수집하였다. 수집된 자료는 Pearson 적률 상관과 위계적 중다회귀분석을 통해 검증하였다. 1단계에서는 인지능력 변인을 2단계에서는 인지 및 정서실행기능변인을 투입하였다. 연구결과, 유아의 정서․행동 유능성과 인지능력, 인지 및 정서실행기능간에 정적상관이 있는 것으로 밝혀졌다. 유아의 순차처리 능력과 인지실행기능이 정서 · 행동유능성의 정적 예측 변인으로 나타났다. 또한 하위변인 별로 분석한 결과 학습준비도에는 순차처리와 인지실행기능이 유의미한 예측 변인으로, 정서조절에는 순차처리와 정서실행기능이 유의미한 예측 변인으로, 가족 참여에는 인지실행기능이 유일한 예측변인으로 밝혀졌으며 마지막으로 사회적 자신감에는 순차처리와 인지 및 정서실행기능 모두 유의미한 예측변인으로 나타났다.

Altered Small-World Networks in First-Episode Schizophrenia Patients during Cool Executive Function Task.

At present, little is known about brain functional connectivity and its small-world topologic properties in first-episode schizophrenia (SZ) patients during cool executive function task. In this paper, the Trail Making Test-B (TMT-B) task was used to evaluate the cool executive function of first-episode SZ patients and electroencephalography (EEG) data were recorded from 14 first-episode SZ patients and 14 healthy controls during this cool executive function task. Brain functional connectivity between all pairs of EEG channels was constructed based on mutual information (MI) analysis. The constructed brain functional networks were filtered by three thresholding schemes: absolute threshold, mean degree, and a novel data-driven scheme based on orthogonal minimal spanning trees (OMST), and graph theory was then used to study the topographical characteristics of the filtered brain graphs. Results indicated that the graph theoretical measures of the theta band showed obvious difference between SZ patients and healthy controls. In the theta band, the characteristic path length was significantly longer and the cluster coefficient was significantly smaller in the SZ patients for a wide range of absolute threshold T. However, the cluster coefficient showed no significant changes, and the characteristic path length was still significantly longer in SZ patients when calculated as a function of mean degree K. Interestingly, we also found that only the characteristic path length was significantly longer in SZ patients compared with healthy controls after using the OMST scheme. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the characteristic path length was positively correlated with executive time of TMT-B for the combined SZ patients and healthy controls (r = 0.507, P = 0.006), but not for SZ patients alone (r = 0.072, P = 0.612). The above results suggested a less optimal organization of the brain network and could be useful for understanding the pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying cool executive dysfunction in first-episode SZ patients.

유아의 인지적⋅정서적 실행기능 발달과 언어 능력과의 관계

유아의 인지적⋅정서적 실행기능 발달과 언어 능력과의 관계

Hot and Cool Executive Functions in Adolescence: Development and Contributions to Important Developmental Outcomes.

Despite significant theoretical advancement in the area of child neuropsychology, limited attention has been paid to the developmental features of adolescence. The present study intends to address this issue in relation to executive function (EF). EF refers to the psychological processes that underlie goal-directed behavior; recent studies separate cool EF (psychological process involves pure logic and critical analysis) and hot EF (psychological process driven by emotion). Although neurological findings suggest that adolescence is a sensitive period for EF development, data on comparing the developmental progression in hot or cool EFs is highly missing. Moreover, while evidence has confirmed the relationships between EF and day-to-day functioning, whether and how hot and cool EFs contribute to core developmental outcomes in adolescence is still remained unknown. The current study aims to enhance our understanding of the development and impacts of hot and cool EFs in adolescence. A total of 136 typically developing adolescents from age 12 to 17 completed four cool EF tasks including Backward digit span, Contingency naming test, Stockings of Cambridge, and Stroop Color and Word test, and one hot task on Cambridge gambling task. Data on academic performance and psychological adjustment was also collected. Results showed that cool and hot EF exhibited different patterns of age-related growth in adolescence. Specifically, cool EF ascended with age while hot EF showed a bell-shaped development. Moreover, there were correlations among cool EF measures but no association between cool and hot EFs. Further, cool EF was a better predictor of academic performance, while hot EF uniquely related to emotional problems. The results provide evidence for the association among cool EF tests and the differentiation of hot and cool EFs. The bell-shaped development of hot EF might suggest a period of heightened risk-taking propensity in middle adolescence. Given the plastic nature of EF, especially over adolescence, the current findings may have practical implications for future EF identification and training.

Hot and Cool Executive Function and its Relation to Theory of Mind in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

ABSTRACTPrevious research has clearly demonstrated that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involves deficits in multiple neuropsychological functions, such as executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM). A conceptual distinction is commonly made between cool and hot EF. In ASD, continued attention has been paid to the cool areas of executive dysfunction. Cool EF has been strongly related to ToM, but research has not taken into account the association between hot EF and ToM in ASD. The present study investigated the associations between hot and cool EF and ToM in 56 school-aged children with ASD and 69 controls on tasks tapping cool EF (i.e., working memory, inhibition, planning), hot EF (i.e., affective decision making, delay discounting), and ToM (i.e., mental state/emotion recognition and false belief). Significant group differences in each EF measure support an executive dysfunction in both domains in ASD. Strong associations between delay discounting and ToM mental state/emotion recognition were found, suggesting that hot EF makes a unique contribution to ToM above and beyond cool EF in typical development and ASD. This study improves understanding of the profile of higher-order cognitive deficits in children with ASD, which may inform diagnosis and intervention.

Hot and Cool Executive Function in Childhood and Adolescence: Development and Plasticity

AbstractExecutive function (EF), which refers to the more deliberate, top‐down neurocognitive processes involved in self‐regulation, develops most rapidly during the preschool years, together with the growth of neural networks involving prefrontal cortex but continues to develop well into adulthood. Both EF and the neural systems supporting EF vary as a function of motivational significance, and this article discusses the distinction between the top‐down processes that operate in motivationally and emotionally significant situations (“hot EF”) and the top‐down processes that operate is more affectively neutral contexts (“cool EF”). Emerging evidence indicates that both hot and cool EF are surprisingly malleable, with implications for intervention and prevention.

A control study on the development of "cool" and "hot" executive functions between cerebral palsy children and normal children

Objective To explore the differences and development of executive function(EF) between cerebral palsy(CP) children and normal children. Methods Forty-eight 4 ～6 years old CP children and fiftyeight normal children were tested by cool and hot EFs. Results There were significant differences between cool EF of CP children(18.34±14.31) and normal children(6.94 ±3. 18) ( t = 3. 83, P<0.01 ) ;and there were significant differences between hot EF of CP children(279.67 ±330. 18) and normal children(709.31 ± 304. 13)( t = -4.93, P< 0.01). There were significant age differences on the cool EF ( F=8.689, P< 0.01) and hot EF ( F=3. 833, P<0.05) of CP children. There were significant age differences on the cool EF ( F= 15.469, P<0.01) and on the hot EF ( F=8.470, P<0.01) of normal children. There was negative correlation between cool EFs and hot EFs( r= -0.440, P<0.01). Conclusion Cool and hot EFs of CP children are lower than those of normal children. Cool and hot EFs can develop from 4 to 6 years old,but the development of EFs are not absolutely consistent between CP children and normal children. There is correlation between cool and hot EFs in patients with CP,but not dissociation. Key words: Cerebral palsy; Executive function; Child

Assessment of Hot and Cool Executive Function in Young Children: Age-Related Changes and Individual Differences

Although executive function (EF) is often considered a domain-general cognitive function, a distinction has been made between the "cool" cognitive aspects of EF more associated with dorsolateral regions of prefrontal cortex and the "hot" affective aspects more associated with ventral and medial regions (Zelazo & M�ller, 2002). Assessments of EF in children have focused almost exclusively on cool EF. In this study, EF was assessed in 3- to 5-year-old children using 2 putative measures of cool EF (Self-Ordered Pointing and Dimensional Change Card Sort) and 2 putative measures of hot EF (Children's Gambling Task and Delay of Gratification). Findings confirmed that performance on both types of task develops during the preschool period. However, the measures of hot and cool EF showed different patterns of relations with each other and with measures of general intellectual function and temperament. These differences provide preliminary evidence that hot and cool EF are indeed distinct, and they encourage further research on the development of hot EF.