Development Of Inhibitory Control Research Articles

The role of inhibitory control in the development of musical abilities in children taking music classes

Introduction. Inhibitory control is one of the components of executive functions in children. Through the ability of inhibition, a child can control attention and stop his or her automatic reactions. The results of numerous studies demonstrate the relationship between inhibition and music lessons. However, the role of inhibition in the development of musical ability in children taking music lessons remains incompletely understood. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between inhibitory control and musical ability and the role of inhibition in teachers' assessment of musical ability in children taking music classes. Methods. The study involved 198 children aged from 64 to 108 months (M=79.28; SD=6.46), studying music in children's music and art schools in Moscow and Krasnodar. To test the level of development of cognitive inhibitory control we used the "Inhibition" subtest of the NEPSY-II complex. To test the level of physical inhibitory control, the "Statue" subtest of the same diagnostic complex was used. To assess children's musical abilities, teachers completed the questionnaire "Assessment of Children's Musical Abilities". Correlation analysis and linear regression were applied to process the obtained data. Results. The Spearman's correlation analysis revealed significant interrelations between inhibition and teachers' estimates of children's musical abilities such as sense of rhythm (r=0,200, p<0,01), pitch hearing (r=0,394; p<0,01), harmony sense (r=0,167; p<0,05) and emotional sensitivity (r=0,282; p<0,01). In addition, the results of regression analysis demonstrate a significant effect of the ability to inhibit spontaneous intentions and follow instructions on the assessments of musical ability. Conclusion. The conducted study confirmed that the children have better skills of response to meaningful tasks and rejection of insignificant ones, the higher teachers evaluate in such children the ability to identify melody's intonational and rhythmic characteristics, as well as the sensitivity to changes in its mood.

Development of inhibitory control in Head Start children: Association with approaches to learning and academic outcomes in kindergarten

Inhibitory control (IC) and Approaches to Learning (AtL) are two critical domain-general indicators of school readiness that develop rapidly in early childhood and are associated with children's academic outcomes. IC undergoes rapid developmental changes between the ages of 3 and 5, and more studies are needed to examine this change over time. AtL describes how children learn in a classroom, and as such, it may mediate the relationship between IC and academic outcomes. AtL may mediate the relationship between IC and academic achievement for children; growth in IC supports children's ability to direct attention to teachers and peers during interactions, while AtL helps children persist and seek learning opportunities during interactions. Using the Age 3 cohort from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2009 (FACES 2009), a latent growth curve analysis was used to examine how both the initial level and growth of IC in HS years to kindergarten were associated with children's academic outcomes in kindergarten as well as the potential mediational role of AtL. The intercept and slope of IC were found to predict children's abilities in AtL, language, and math scores in kindergarten. Moreover, AtL was identified as a mediator between the development of IC and the subsequent gains in math skills from Head Start to kindergarten. These findings underscore the significance of fostering IC development before children enter kindergarten, with AtL emerging as a crucial factor influencing their achievements in mathematics.

유아의 시각적 조망수용 및 억제 통제와 언어 발달과의 관계에서 글자 지각의 매개효과

Objectives The purposes of this study is to analyze the mediating effect of letter perception on the relationship between visual perception, inhibitory control and language development.
 Methods The data were collected from 66 preschool students and their parents in Gyeonggi-do province. Including reliability analysis, technical statistics, correlation analysis, and stepwise multiple regression analysis were conducted using the SPSS 27.0. A three-step regression analysis was performed to verify the mediating effect.
 Results As a result of this study, first, there was a significant correlation between visual view acceptance and all other variables, as well as between language development and letter perception. Second, the mediating effect of letter perception was significant in the relationship between visual perspective taking and language development.
 Conclusions The results of this study suggest the necessity of improving visual perspective taking for language development. Also, it suggest the importance of educating language that helps improve letter perception in the preshool period.

Development of inhibitory control in 5-year-olds in preschool education: influence on the quality of their engagement

Development of inhibitory control in 5-year-olds in preschool education: influence on the quality of their engagement

Associations between screen media use and young children's inhibitory control: Evidence from behavioral and fNIRS study

In the “digital age”, children have widespread access to electronic devices, potentially impacting inhibitory control (IC) development. We examined this association at both the behavioral and neural levels with two experiments. In Experiment 1, we assessed 188 participants (91 girls), averaging 37.74 months old, using maternal self-report questionnaire for screen time and Day-Night Task for IC measurement. In experiment 2, we evaluated 42 participants (24 girls), averaging 41.24 months old, using maternal self-report questionnaires for screen time, a modified version Flanker task for IC, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure neural activity during IC task. Results from Experiment 1 indicated a negative correlation between young children's screen media use time and IC, with high users performing worse IC performance than low users. Experiment 2 confirmed these findings and revealed marginally reduced activation in the left PFC among high users compared to low users, with a moderate effect size and weak supporting evidence. These preliminary results underscore a detrimental association between screen media use and IC, emphasizing the significance of restricting screen exposure in young children to prevent overexposure. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to validate these results and draw causal conclusions.

Intraindividual variability is a developmental marker of cool, hot-positive, and hot-negative inhibitory control.

The present study used a novel, well-controlled paradigm to investigate the development of cool, hot-positive, and hot-negative inhibitory control in a sample of children (6- to 11-year-old; N = 38, 21 females), adolescents (12- to 18-year-old; N = 38, 24 females), and adults (19- to 38-year-old; N = 38, 28 females; sample location: United Kingdom). An ex-Gaussian approach was employed on stop signal task data to distinctly examine for the first time how mean and intraindividual variability measures of inhibitory control are modulated at different time spans of development and neutral and socioaffective contexts. Results show a combination of adolescent-emergent, adolescent-specific, and adult-emergent patterns for distinct ex-Gaussian measures of cool, hot-positive, and hot-negative inhibition performance, suggesting a much more complex account of inhibitory control development than previously believed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Development of prosocial behavior and inhibitory control in late childhood: A longitudinal exploration of sex differences and reciprocal relations.

This study examined longitudinal development of prosocial behavior, assessed by the parent-reported Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire, and inhibitory control, measured by the Opposite Worlds Task, in a sample aged 9 and 12 years (n = 9468, 49.9% girls, 85.8% White) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. The goal was to assess whether the level of prosocial behavior at age 9 relates to change in inhibitory control, and vice versa. Sex differences were also explored. Latent change score models showed that low inhibitory control in boys at age 9 was associated with more decreases in prosocial behavior from 9 to 12 years of age. This may suggest that interventions targeting inhibitory control in boys may also foster their social competence.

Influence of physical fitness and retinal microcirculation on the development of cognitive abilities from childhood to preadolescence

The retinal microcirculation serves a proxy of cerebrovascular function and has been linked with both physical fitness and cognitive function. We investigated the role of physical fitness for the development of executive function in children as well as its mediation by microvascular health. Using a cross-lagged panel design, 365 children aged six to eight years completed a baseline assessment, which was followed up after four years. Retinal vessel analysis was performed on digital retinal images obtained with a fundus camera. Additionally, a computerized Flanker task was administered to assess the inhibitory aspect of executive function. With regard to physical fitness tests, participants completed a shuttle run and 20-m sprints. Path-analyses showed that higher performance on the shuttle run and 20-m sprint at baseline were both associated with lower reaction times on the Flanker task at follow-up, when autoregressive effects were accounted for. Stages achieved on the shuttle run at baseline were further related to narrowing of retinal venular diameters, which in turn predicted performance on the Flanker task. However, the direct relation of physical fitness components to reaction time was higher compared to the indirect relation via retinal venular diameters. High physical fitness contributes to the development of cognitive abilities from childhood to preadolescence. This association is not mediated by retinal vessel diameters, while the microvascular phenotype of narrower retinal venules is independently related to a better development of information processing and inhibitory control.

Contrasting one's share of the shared life space: Comparing the roles of metacognition and inhibitory control in the development of theory of mind among Scottish and Japanese children.

Cultural comparisons suggest that an understanding of other minds may develop sooner in independent versus interdependent settings, and vice versa for inhibitory control. From a western lens, this pattern might be considered paradoxical, since there is a robust positive relationship between theory of mind (ToM) and inhibitory control in western samples. In independent cultures, an emphasis on one's own mind offers a clear route to 'simulate' other minds, and inhibitory control may be required to set aside one's own perspective to represent the perspective of others. However, in interdependent cultures, social norms are considered the key catalyst for behaviour, and metacognitive reflection and/or suppression of one's own perspective may not be necessary. The cross-cultural generalizability of the western developmental route to ToM is therefore questionable. The current study used an age-matched cross-sectional sample to contrast 56 Japanese and 56 Scottish 3-6-year-old's metacognition, ToM and inhibitory control skills. We replicated the expected cultural patterns for ToM (Scotland>Japan) and inhibitory control (Japan>Scotland). Supporting western developmental enrichment theories, we find that inhibitory control and metacognition predict theory of mind competence in Scotland. However, these variables cannot be used to predict Japanese ToM. This confirms that individualistic mechanisms do not capture the developmental mechanism underlying ToM in Japan, highlighting a bias in our understanding of ToM development. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: We replicate an independent cultural advantage for theory of mind (Scotland>Japan) and interdependent advantage for inhibitory control (Japan>Scotland). From a western lens, this pattern might be considered paradoxical, since there is a robust positive relationship between theory of mind and inhibitory control. Supporting western developmental enrichment theories, we find that the development of inhibitory control mediates the link between metacognition and theory of mind in Scotland. However, this model does not predict Japanese theory of mind, highlighting an individualistic bias in our mechanistic understanding of theory of mind development.

The Interplay between Socioeconomic Status, Parenting and Temperament Predicts Inhibitory Control at Two Years of Age.

This paper investigates the interplay between environmental factors (socioeconomic status (SES) and parenting) and temperament in the development of inhibitory control (IC) at 2 years of age. We administered to toddlers (n = 59) a delay of gratification task which measures IC in the context of self-regulation. Parents reported their toddlers' temperament, parenting strategies, and SES. We hypothesized that poorer IC would be associated with more reactive temperament, less effortful control, lower SES and inconsistent/coercive parenting practices. Finally, we explored the interaction between temperament, parenting and SES. We found that both coercive parenting and low-SES were negatively correlated to IC at the age of 2 years. Temperamental reactivity was unrelated to IC, whereas temperamental effortful control (EC) was positively associated with IC. Results revealed a moderation effect of EC on the influence of coercive parenting and SES in toddlers' IC. Toddlers from lower SES backgrounds and with lower EC were more affected by inconsistent/coercive parenting practices and showed the poorest IC. In contrast, toddlers exhibiting high and average levels of EC seemed to be protected from the detrimental effect of low-SES and inconsistent/coercive parenting on IC. These results suggest that strengthening toddlers' EC and improving parents' parenting skills might be especially relevant for the development of IC in the context of self-regulation, particularly by preventing self-regulatory problems in children from socioeconomically deprived environments. Future studies with larger samples, focusing on populations from severe socioeconomically deprived environments, or intervention studies will be needed in order to confirm and expand our findings.

The effectiveness of a school mindfulness-based intervention on the neural correlates of inhibitory control in children at risk: A randomized control trial.

Interest in the applications of mindfulness practice in education is growing in the scientific community. Recent research has shown that mindfulness practice in schools may be beneficial for executive functions (EFs) which are abilities crucial for healthy development. The study of the effects of mindfulness practices on children's neural correlates of EFs, particularly inhibitory control, may provide relevant information about the impact and mechanisms of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in children. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a MBI in elementary school children on the neural correlates of inhibitory control via a randomized controlled trial. Children from two 4th grade classrooms and two 5th grade classrooms located in a school identified as having low socioeconomic status in Santiago de Chile were randomly assigned to either receive a MBI or serve as active controls and receive a social skills program. Both before and after the interventions, electroencephalographic activity was recorded during a modified version of the Go/Nogo task in a subsample of children in each group. Additionally, teachers completed questionnaires of students' EFs and students completed self-report measures. Results revealed increases in EFs assessed by questionnaires together with improved P3 amplitude associated with successful response inhibition in children who received the MBI compared to active controls. These results contribute to the understanding of the ways in which mindfulness practices can promote the development of inhibitory control together with EF improvement, factors identified as critical for children's social and emotional development and positive mental health. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This study investigated the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention in children from a low socioeconomic status school on neural correlates of EFs. Children performed a Go/Nogo task while electroencephalographic activity was recorded and completed questionnaires before and after a MBI or an active control program. Improvements in EFs assessed by questionnaires together with an increased Nogo-P3 activity associated with successful inhibition in children who received the MBI were found. The results could contribute to understand how mindfulness practice can promote the development of inhibitory control in children from vulnerable populations.

Longitudinal effects of early psychosocial deprivation on macaque executive function: Evidence from computational modelling.

Executive function (EF) describes a group of cognitive processes underlying the organization and control of goal-directed behaviour. Environmental experience appears to play a crucial role in EF development, with early psychosocial deprivation often linked to EF impairment. However, many questions remain concerning the developmental trajectories of EF after exposure to deprivation, especially concerning specific mechanisms. Accordingly, using an 'A-not-B' paradigm and a macaque model of early psychosocial deprivation, we investigated how early deprivation influences EF development longitudinally from adolescence into early adulthood. The contribution of working memory and inhibitory control mechanisms were examined specifically via the fitting of a computational model of decision making to the choice behaviour of each individual. As predicted, peer-reared animals (i.e. those exposed to early psychosocial deprivation) performed worse than mother-reared animals across time, with the fitted model parameters yielding novel insights into the functional decomposition of group-level EF differences underlying task performance. Results indicated differential trajectories of inhibitory control and working memory development in the two groups. Such findings not only extend our knowledge of how early deprivation influences EF longitudinally, but also provide support for the utility of computational modelling to elucidate specific mechanisms linking early psychosocial deprivation to long-term poor outcomes.

Predicting behavioral and brain markers of inhibitory control at preschool age from early measures of executive attention.

Inhibitory control (IC) is the ability to prevent prepotent responses when inappropriate. Longitudinal research on IC development has mainly focused on early childhood and adolescence, while research on IC development in the first years of life is still scarce. To address this gap in the literature, we explored the association between executive attention (EA) and elementary forms of IC in infancy and toddlerhood, with individual differences in IC later at 5 years of age. We conducted a five-wave longitudinal study in which children's EA and IC (n = 96) were tested at the age of 9 and 16 months and 2, 3, and 5 years. Children performed various age-appropriate EA and IC tasks in each wave, measuring inhibition of attention, endogenous control of attention, inhibition of the response, and conflict inhibition. At 5 years of age, IC was measured with a Go/No-go task while recording event-related potentials. After correlation analyses, structural equation model analyses were performed to predict IC at 5 years of age from EA and early IC measures. The results revealed that EA at 9 months predicted IC measures at 2 years of age. Likewise, measures of IC at 2 years predicted performance on the Go/No-go task at behavioral and neural levels. No direct association was found between EA at 9 months and IC at 5 years of age. We further observed that some EA and IC measures were not associated across time. As we expected, EA skills in infancy and toddlerhood were related to better performance of children on IC tasks, toghether with a more mature inhibition-related brain functioning. Altogether, the results indicate that IC in early childhood could be predicted from EA and IC at 9 months and 2 years of age and suggest that the early emergence of IC relies on the development of particular EA and basic IC skills. However, some discontinuities in the longitudinal development of IC are observed in the first 5 years of life. These findings provide further support for the hierarchical model of IC development.

Maternal control and children’s inhibitory control in China: The role of child exuberance and parenting contexts

Parental control is widely considered to have a detrimental effect on children’s psychological development. However, it is commonplace and generally accepted in China and is intended to regulate children’s behavior. It is unclear whether Chinese parental control promotes or hinders children’s inhibitory control (IC) development. This study investigated the influence of maternal control on Chinese children’s development of IC using a longitudinal design (N = 163), with attention to the influence of children’s temperamental exuberance and different parenting contexts. Children’s exuberance (at 2 years of age) was assessed via laboratory observations. Maternal control (at 3 years of age) was coded during parent–child interaction in play-based and cleanup contexts. Children’s IC (at 3 years of age) was assessed by day–night and snow–grass tasks. Results suggested that maternal control in the play-based context was negatively related to IC development. The association between maternal control in the cleanup context and IC varied in children with different levels of temperamental exuberance. Specifically, maternal control in the cleanup context impeded low-exuberant children’s IC development but promoted it for highly exuberant children. These findings support the self-determination theory and the goodness-of-fit model and have implications for educational practice in China.

Развитие сдерживающего контроля у детей при переходе из детского сада в школу во время пандемии COVID-19: лонгитюдное исследование

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic is a unique situation in the global community which emerged for the first time. Research shows that the pandemic may have a long-term effect on children's development. Inhibition control is one of the main components of executive functioning and a predictor to a child's further academic success. However, there are few works devoted to the study of the impact of the pandemic on inhibition control in preschoolers. The objective of the study was to identify dynamics of the development of inhibition control in children aged 5-7 years (from senior preschool to primary school age) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Indicators of the development of inhibition control in first-graders before and during the pandemic were compared. Methods. Inhibition control was assessed three times (at 5, 6, and then at 7 years of age) with the NEPSY-II Inhibition subtest. Sample. This longitudinal study involved children aged 5 to 8 years at the time of follow-up from 2019 to 2021 (N=101). Additionally, the sample included first-grade children who were trained in kindergarten and first grade before the pandemic (March 2019, N=84). Results. The results of the analysis indicate that inhibition control successfully developed in children from the senior kindergarten group to the first grade of school during the pandemic. At the same time, the level of development of inhibition control in girls after the pandemic is higher than in girls before the pandemic, while no significant differences were found for boys. Conclusion. The level of inhibitory control in preschoolers, whose education in the preparatory group of the kindergarten took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the restrictions introduced and changes in the usual way of life, corresponds to the norms. It has been shown that the results of the development of inhibitory control in children who were caught up in the pandemic and those who were not caught up in the pandemic differ depending on gender.

Using the Flanker Task to Examine Genetic and Environmental Contributions in Inhibitory Control Across the Preschool Period.

The limited research exploring genetic and environmental influences on inhibitory control (IC) in preschoolers has relied on parent ratings or simple delay tasks and has produced mixed results. The present study uses a cognitively-challenging Flanker task to examine genetic and environmental contributions to the development of early IC in a longitudinal sample of 310 same-sex twin pairs (123 MZ; 187 DZ; 51% female) assessed at ages 3, 4 and 5years. IC was significantly heritable at each age (a2: age 3 = .36; age 4 = .36; age 5 = .35). Stability was entirely accounted for by genetic influences, and change was explained by genetic and nonshared environmental factors. No significant shared environmental influences were observed.

Pubertal development underlies optimization of inhibitory control through specialization of ventrolateral prefrontal cortex

Inhibitory control improves into young adulthood after specialization of relevant brain systems during adolescence. However, the biological mechanisms supporting this unique transition are not well understood. Given that adolescence is defined by puberty, we examined relative contributions of chronological age and pubertal maturation to inhibitory control development. 105 8–19-year-olds completed 1–5 longitudinal visits (227 visits total) in which pubertal development was assessed via self-reported Tanner stage and inhibitory control was assessed with an in-scanner antisaccade task. As expected, percentage and latency of correct antisaccade responses improved with age and pubertal stage. When controlling for pubertal stage, chronological age was distinctly associated with correct response rate. In contrast, pubertal stage was uniquely associated with antisaccade latency even when controlling for age. Chronological age was associated with fMRI task activation in several regions including the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, while puberty was associated with right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) activation. Furthermore, task-related connectivity between VLPFC and cingulate was associated with both pubertal stage and response latency. These results suggest that while age-related developmental processes may support maturation of brain systems underlying the ability to inhibit a response, puberty may play a larger role in the effectiveness of generating cognitive control responses.

ADHD and ASD symptoms in young males with fragile X syndrome: associations with early trajectories of inhibitory control

ABSTRACT Inhibitory control (IC), the ability to suppress inappropriate responses, emerges late in the first year of life and improves across typical development, concurrent with brain maturation. The development of IC is critical to various social-emotional and behavioral functions, with IC difficulties being linked to numerous neurodevelopmental disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a single-gene disorder characterized by IC difficulties, and elevated rates of ADHD and ASD, making it a useful model for understanding the early development and consequences of IC. In this longitudinal study, we characterized IC trajectories across multiple time points between 16 and 71 months of age in young males with FXS (n = 79) relative to neurotypical (NT) controls (n=49). To explore the association between behavioral outcomes and IC, we identified a subsample of 50 children with longitudinal IC data and an outcome assessment for ADHD and ASD symptoms at age 5 (FXS: n = 26, NT: n = 24). Results indicated that, compared to their NT peers, young males with FXS exhibit differences in IC as early as 24 months, with group differences increasing through age 5. Additionally, we determined that lower IC levels at 24 months were associated with later ADHD symptoms and a decreasing slope in IC over time was associated with later ASD symptoms in male children with FXS. These findings help refine early developmental phenotypes of FXS and highlight IC as a potential target for early detection and intervention of ASD and ADHD symptoms in male children with FXS.

Preschoolers’ Vocabulary Skills And Inhibitory Control: The Role Of Classroom Engagement

ABSTRACT Research Findings: Preschoolers’ vocabulary skills and inhibitory control have been demonstrated critical for later school success; however, the ways in which the individual classroom experiences dynamically interchange with these skills is still unclear. In this paper, we examine the role of children’s individual engagement with teachers, peers, and tasks in facilitating children’s skill development across the school year. Using a sample of 895 preschoolers across 223 classrooms drawn from the Professional Development Study, the current study examined engagement as both outcomes of children’s vocabulary and inhibitory control in the fall of the preschool year and as mediators of linkages between them across the preschool year. Results suggested that vocabulary skills and inhibitory control each shape different aspects of classroom engagement. Children’s vocabulary was associated with positive engagement with teachers and peers, whereas inhibitory control was associated with positive task engagement and negative engagement. We also found that negative engagement as composited by conflicts with teachers and peers and off-task behaviors mediated the association between fall inhibitory control with spring vocabulary and inhibitory control. Practice or Policy: Together, these findings suggest the critical role of individual classroom experiences in explaining children’s vocabulary and inhibitory control development.

Corticolimbic DCC gene co-expression networks as predictors of impulsivity in children

Inhibitory control deficits are prevalent in multiple neuropsychiatric conditions. The communication- as well as the connectivity- between corticolimbic regions of the brain are fundamental for eliciting inhibitory control behaviors, but early markers of vulnerability to this behavioral trait are yet to be discovered. The gradual maturation of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), in particular of the mesocortical dopamine innervation, mirrors the protracted development of inhibitory control; both are present early in life, but reach full maturation by early adulthood. Evidence suggests the involvement of the Netrin-1/DCC signaling pathway and its associated gene networks in corticolimbic development. Here we investigated whether an expression-based polygenic score (ePRS) based on corticolimbic-specific DCC gene co-expression networks associates with impulsivity-related phenotypes in community samples of children. We found that lower ePRS scores associate with higher measurements of impulsive choice in 6-year-old children tested in the Information Sampling Task and with impulsive action in 6- and 10-year-old children tested in the Stop Signal Task. We also found the ePRS to be a better overall predictor of impulsivity when compared to a conventional PRS score comparable in size to the ePRS (4515 SNPs in our discovery cohort) and derived from the latest GWAS for ADHD. We propose that the corticolimbic DCC-ePRS can serve as a novel type of marker for impulsivity-related phenotypes in children. By adopting a systems biology approach based on gene co-expression networks and genotype-gene expression (rather than genotype-disease) associations, these results further validate our methodology to construct polygenic scores linked to the overall biological function of tissue-specific gene networks.