Individual Differences In Executive Control Research Articles

Dysregulated Emotion and Trying Substances in Childhood: Insights from a Large Nationally Representative Cohort Study

Objective Transdiagnostic perspectives on the shared origins of mental illness posit that dysregulated emotion may represent a key driving force behind multiple forms of psychopathology, including substance use disorders. The present study examined whether a link between dysregulated emotion and trying illicit substances could be observed in childhood. Method In a large (N = 7,418) nationally representative sample of children (Mage = 9.9), individual differences in emotion dysregulation were indexed using child and parent reports of frequency of children’s emotional outbursts, as well as children’s performance on the emotional N-Back task. Two latent variables, derived from either parental/child-report or performance-based indicators, were evaluated as predictors of having ever tried alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana. Results Results showed that reports of dysregulated emotion were linked to a greater likelihood of trying both alcohol and tobacco products. These findings were also present when controlling for individual differences in executive control and socioeconomic status. Conclusions These results suggest that well-established links between dysregulated negative emotion and substance use may emerge as early as in childhood and also suggest that children who experience excessive episodes of uncontrollable negative emotion may be at greater risk for trying substances early in life.

The Insidious Influence of Stress: An Integrated Model of Stress, Executive Control, and Psychopathology.

Although exposure to acute stress undoubtedly contributes to psychopathology, most individuals do not develop psychopathology following stress exposure. To explain this, biological, emotional, and cognitive responses to stress have been implicated, but individual differences in executive control (i.e., top-down control of cognition and behavior) measured in response to stress has only recently emerged as a potential factor contributing to psychopathology. In this review, we introduce a model-the integrated model of stress, executive control, and psychopathology-positing how the impairing effects of acute stress on executive control can contribute to psychopathology. We link to research on biological, emotional, and cognitive processes, all of which can be impacted by executive control, to propose a framework for how poorer executive control under conditions of acute stress can contribute to psychopathology. This integrated model is intended to further our understanding of who is more susceptible to the negative consequences of stress.

Executive functioning moderates the decline of retrieval fluency in time

Prevailing theoretical accounts consider that automatic and controlled processes are uniformly engaged in memory retrieval across performance of the semantic verbal fluency (SVF) task. We tested this proposal against the alternative, namely that a rapid automatic retrieval, exploiting stable associative structure in the early stages of the performance, is followed by a slower, more executively demanding, retrieval in later stages. Eighty-five healthy adults completed low- and high-demand SVF tasks that were assessed for retrieval rate, response typicality, and inter-response similarity across the performance. Additional measures of executive functioning were collected to estimate individual differences in executive control. We found that decrease in fluency in time was associated with lower typicality and weaker semantic similarity of the responses. Critically, the time-dependent retrieval slowing was steeper in individuals with less efficient interference control, particularly in high-demand SVF tasks. Steeper retrieval slowing was also associated with poorer working-memory capacity. Our findings show that the relative contribution of automatic and controlled processes to semantic retrieval changes with associative sparsity over time and across task demands, and provide implications for the use of SVF tasks in clinical assessment.

High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex modulates decision-making and executive control.

Previous neuroimaging evidence highlights the translational implications of targeting the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), i.e. a key node of the networks underlying conflict monitoring and decision-making, in brain stimulation treatments with clinical or rehabilitative purposes. While the optimized modelling of "high-definition" current flows between multiple anode-cathode pairs might, in principle, allow to stimulate an otherwise challenging target, sensitive benchmark metrics of dACC neuromodulation are required to assess the effectiveness of this approach. On this basis, we aimed to assess the modulatory effect of anodal and cathodal high-definition tDCS (HD-tDCS) of the dACC on different facets of executive control and decision-making in healthy young individuals. A combined modelling/targeting procedure provided the optimal montage for the maximum intensity of dACC stimulation with six small "high-definition" electrodes delivering anodal, cathodal or sham HD-tDCS for 20min in a within-subject design with three separate sessions. Following stimulation, participants performed Flanker and gambling tasks unveiling individual differences in executive control and both loss- and risk-aversion in decision-making, respectively. Compared to both anodal and sham conditions, cathodal dACC stimulation significantly affected task performance by increasing control over the Flanker conflict effect, and both loss and risk-aversion in decision-making. By confirming the feasibility and effectiveness of dACC stimulation with HD-tDCS, these findings highlight the implications of modelling and targeting procedures for neuromodulation in clinical research, whereby innovative protocols might serve as treatment addressing dysfunctional dACC activity, or combined with cognitive training, to enhance higher-order executive functioning in different neuropsychiatric conditions.

The impairing effect of acute stress on suppression-induced forgetting of future fears and its moderation by working memory capacity

Unwanted imaginations of future fears can, to some extent, be avoided. This is achieved by control mechanisms similar to those engaged to suppress and forget unwanted memories. Suppression-induced forgetting relies on the executive control network, whose functioning is impaired after exposure to acute stress. This study investigates whether acute stress affects the ability to intentionally control future fears and, furthermore, whether individual differences in executive control predict a susceptibility to these effects. The study ran over two consecutive days. On day 1, the working memory capacity of one hundred participants was assessed. Thereafter, participants provided descriptions and details of fearful episodes that they imagined might happen in their future. On day 2, participants were exposed to either the stress or no-stress version of the Maastricht Acute Stress Test, after which participants performed the Imagine/No-Imagine task. Here, participants repeatedly imagined some future fears and suppressed imaginings of others. Results demonstrated that, in unstressed participants, suppression successfully induced forgetting of the episodes’ details compared to a baseline condition. However, anxiety toward these events did not differ. Acute stress was found to selectively impair suppression-induced forgetting and, further, this effect was moderated by working memory capacity. Specifically, lower working memory predicted a susceptibility to these detrimental effects. These findings provide novel insights into conditions under which our capacity to actively control future fears is reduced, which may have considerable implications for understanding stress-related psychopathologies and symptomatologies characterized by unwanted apprehensive thoughts.

Associations of natural language switching with executive control in early bilinguals

AbstractThis study aimed at identifying linguistic factors that could contribute to understanding individual differences in executive control among bilinguals. Directionality and type of natural language switching, age of second language acquisition, and language proficiency were evaluated in a sample of 112 early bilingual adults. Participants performed several computerized tasks tapping into three dimensions of executive control: inhibition of interference, working memory updating, and shifting. Regression analyses showed that frequent switching to the second language was associated with more efficient executive processing, enhanced working memory updating processes, and better shifting ability. Moreover, higher frequency of unintended language switches was associated with lower interference control abilities. Frequency of language switching behavior was the principal predictor of executive control, beyond age of second language acquisition and language proficiency. Results suggest that frequent language switching is related to enhanced executive control, while the unintended switching of languages could be associated with low interference control.

Individual differences in executive control

According to the Posner’s theory of executive control there are three functional networks of attention: 1) alerting; 2) orienting; 3) executive control. Individual differences in executive control may be associated with personality. The aim of this study is to investigate relationships between the Big Five and executive control. Nighty eight volunteers participated in the experiment with Attentional Network Test (ANT, E-Prime version, Fan&Posner, 2002) during EEG recording. Personality characteristics were measured by «Big Fife» (Personality structure: Emergence of the five-factor model Digman J.M., 1990; Goldberg L.R.,1993), Trait Meta Mood Scale (TMMS, Salovey et al., 1995), Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ, Gross & John, 2003), Mood scale of DSSQ (The Dundee Stress State Questionnaire, DSSQ, Matthews et al., 2002). Alpha Cronbach were calculated for all questionnaires scales. Scales «Attention to emotion» and «Suppression» were reconstructed due lower alpha Cronbach. Dynamics of attentional networks showed significant attenuation in Alerting to the end of task. Results showed significant correlations between behavioral data and personality characteristics. For instance, «Alerting» positively correlated with «neuroticism» and «frustration» after experiment, and executive control with «frustration» before experiment. Hence, those personality and mood components are important for cognitive function control. Key words: extraversion, introversion, emotional intelligence, executive control, Attentional Network Test.

Resisting attraction: Individual differences in executive control are associated with subject-verb agreement errors in production.

We propose that attraction errors in agreement production (e.g., the key to the cabinets are missing) are related to two components of executive control: working memory and inhibitory control. We tested 138 children aged 10 to 12, an age when children are expected to produce high rates of errors. To increase the potential of individual variation in executive control skills, participants came from monolingual, bilingual, and bidialectal language backgrounds. Attraction errors were elicited with a picture description task in Dutch and executive control was measured with a digit span task, Corsi blocks task, switching task, and attentional networks task. Overall, higher rates of attraction errors were negatively associated with higher verbal working memory and, independently, with higher inhibitory control. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the role of both working memory and inhibitory control in attraction errors in production. Implications for memory- and grammar-based models are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

The personality-related implications of Stroop performance: Stress-contingent self-control in daily life

People with higher levels of executive control, relative to low levels, should be more capable of responding to the problems and stressors of their lives, yet we know very little concerning this lab-to-life interface. Two studies (total N=254) sought to speak to questions of this type using the Stroop task, a classic measure of executive control. Individual differences in Stroop costs were assessed in the laboratory, following which the same people completed daily diary protocols for two weeks. Consistent with neurocognitive theories of executive control, both studies found that people capable of overriding the Stroop effect tended to recruit self-control in response to the stressful circumstances of their lives. By contrast, people with high Stroop costs did not exhibit this problem-focused form of recruitment. The findings extend our knowledge of individual differences in executive control and the manner in which they operate in daily life.

Dysfunctional Metacognitive Beliefs Are Associated with Decreased Executive Control.

Dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs (“metacognitions”) and executive control are important factors in mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, but the relationship between these concepts has not been studied systematically. We examined whether there is an association between metacognitions and executive control and hypothesized that decreased executive control statistically predicts increased levels of metacognitions. Two hundred and ninety-nine individuals recruited from the general population and outpatient psychiatric clinics completed the Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 and three subtests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery corresponding to the three-component model of executive functions. Controlling for current depression and anxiety symptoms, decreased ability to shift between mental sets was associated with increased negative beliefs about the uncontrollability and danger of worry and beliefs about the need to control thoughts. The results suggest a basic association between metacognitions and executive control. Individual differences in executive control could prove important in the personalization of metacognitive therapy.

Executive Control and Relationship Maintenance Processes: An Empirical Overview and Theoretical Integration

AbstractWhy do romantic partners sometimes act in ways that potentially threaten relationship satisfaction and stability, even when strongly committed to the relationship? This article discusses research that has addressed this question by examining the role of executive control. We argue that executive control plays a particularly important role in relationship functioning when partners are faced with dilemmas between acting on self‐interest and acting on partner or relationship interest. We review the key findings in this domain, demonstrating that individual differences in executive control are positively associated with sacrifice, forgiveness, and the ability to resist the temptation of attractive alternatives. We conclude with proposing a theoretical model that integrates the role of motivation and capacity factors in promoting pro‐relationship responses and discuss promising areas for future research.

Information Foraging Across the Life Span: Search and Switch in Unknown Patches.

In this study, we used a word search puzzle paradigm to investigate age differences in the rate of information gain (RG; i.e., word gain as a function of time) and the cues used to make patch-departure decisions in information foraging. The likelihood of patch departure increased as the profitability of the patch decreased generally. Both younger and older adults persisted past the point of optimality as defined by the marginal value theorem (Charnov, 1976), which assumes perfect knowledge of the foraging ecology. Nevertheless, there was evidence that adults were rational in terms of being sensitive to the change in RG for making the patch-departure decisions. However, given the limitations in cognitive resources and knowledge about the ecology, the estimation of RG may not be accurate. Younger adults were more likely to leave the puzzle as the long-term RG incrementally decreased, whereas older adults were more likely to leave the puzzle as the local RG decreased. However, older adults with better executive control were more likely to adjust their likelihood of patch-departure decisions to the long-term change in RG. Thus, age-dependent reliance on the long-term or local change in RG to make patch-departure decisions might be due to individual differences in executive control.

Individual differences in executive control relate to metaphor processing: an eye movement study of sentence reading.

Metaphors are common elements of language that allow us to creatively stretch the limits of word meaning. However, metaphors vary in their degree of novelty, which determines whether people must create new meanings on-line or retrieve previously known metaphorical meanings from memory. Such variations affect the degree to which general cognitive capacities such as executive control are required for successful comprehension. We investigated whether individual differences in executive control relate to metaphor processing using eye movement measures of reading. Thirty-nine participants read sentences including metaphors or idioms, another form of figurative language that is more likely to rely on meaning retrieval. They also completed the AX-CPT, a domain-general executive control task. In Experiment 1, we examined sentences containing metaphorical or literal uses of verbs, presented with or without prior context. In Experiment 2, we examined sentences containing idioms or literal phrases for the same participants to determine whether the link to executive control was qualitatively similar or different to Experiment 1. When metaphors were low familiar, all people read verbs used as metaphors more slowly than verbs used literally (this difference was smaller for high familiar metaphors). Executive control capacity modulated this pattern in that high executive control readers spent more time reading verbs when a prior context forced a particular interpretation (metaphorical or literal), and they had faster total metaphor reading times when there was a prior context. Interestingly, executive control did not relate to idiom processing for the same readers. Here, all readers had faster total reading times for high familiar idioms than literal phrases. Thus, executive control relates to metaphor but not idiom processing for these readers, and for the particular metaphor and idiom reading manipulations presented.

Trait Rumination Moderates the Effect of Executive Control Training

The ability to regulate emotions during times of stress plays an important role in risk for psychopathology and resilient responding. Individual differences in executive control may critically affect this ability. Training executive control may therefore improve emotional adjustment to stressful events. The aims of the current study were to examine whether executive control training affects biological stress response and to investigate whether trait rumination moderates the training effect. Using a student sample (N = 69), two versions of the n-back task were administered, one with neutral and one with affective stimuli. The training groups were compared to a control condition on changes in salivary cortisol following a stress induction. Results indicate that trait rumination moderated the training effects. For participants low on trait rumination, condition assignment had no effect on cortisol reactivity. For participants high on trait rumination, however, the training compared to the control condition resulted in diminished cortisol reactivity. These results emphasize the importance of examining moderators when investigating the effects of executive control training.

Spontaneous neuronal activity predicts intersubject variations in executive control of attention

Executive control of attention regulates our thoughts, emotion and behavior. Individual differences in executive control are associated with task-related differences in brain activity. But it is unknown whether attentional differences depend on endogenous (resting state) brain activity and to what extent regional fluctuations and functional connectivity contribute to individual variations in executive control processing. Here, we explored the potential contribution of intrinsic brain activity to executive control by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Using the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) as an index of spontaneous brain activity, we found that ALFF in the right precuneus (PCUN) and the medial part of left superior frontal gyrus (msFC) was significantly correlated with the efficiency of executive control processing. Crucially, the strengths of functional connectivity between the right PCUN/left msFC and distributed brain regions, including the left fusiform gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus and right precentral gyrus, were correlated with individual differences in executive performance. Together, the ALFF and functional connectivity accounted for 67% of the variability in behavioral performance. Moreover, the strength of functional connectivity between specific regions could predict more individual variability in executive control performance than regionally specific fluctuations. In conclusion, our findings suggest that spontaneous brain activity may reflect or underpin executive control of attention. It will provide new insights into the origins of inter-individual variability in human executive control processing.

How Much Do We Know About Our Own Cognitive Control?

The paper investigates whether self-report and performance measures of executive control yield comparable results. We report an empirical study in which the answers to a self-report questionnaire on executive control were compared with the results of three computerized tests of cognitive control. Both the questionnaire and the computerized tests covered three dimensions of executive control, namely, prepotent response inhibition, task switching, and goal monitoring (goal maintenance). The results are rather surprising and negative: The relationships between performance and self-report measures of executive control were either weak or insignificant. Moreover, they tended to disappear when age of participants was controlled. We conclude that people are basically unable to assess the strength of their own cognitive control. However, the two types of assessment tool might analyze different aspects of individual differences in executive control and should therefore be considered in research and practical applications.

Executive control of perceptual features and abstract relations by baboons (Papio papio)

Studies of executive control often reveal significant limitations in nonhuman primate performance relative to that of humans. In the present study, 24 socially housed baboons were tested on a computerized version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST) to assess individual differences in executive control. In a second experiment, the same baboons completed a version of the WCST with paired-relational stimuli rather than those that varied on a single dimension to evaluate their set-shifting abilities with abstract relations (same/different). All baboons completed the required shifts on the traditional WCST, but only 12 baboons succeeded in making relational shifts. Age was found to be a significant factor in the level of success on both tasks with younger baboons (mean age 4 years) outperforming older, albeit not aged, baboons (mean age 11.5 years). These results implicate an earlier decline in executive control processes for nonhuman primates with more pronounced effects for cognitive flexibility of abstract relations.

Task-switching and associative-learning indexes ?but not chronological age? predict individual differences in executive control in normal aging

Event Abstract Back to Event Task-switching and associative-learning indexes –but not chronological age– predict individual differences in executive control in normal aging Myriam Oliver1* and Francisco Barcelo1 1 Clinical Neuropsychology Unit, University of the Balearic Islands, Spain The design of efficient neuropsychological testing procedures for the sensitive detection of age-related cognitive impairment has enormous interest. This study examined several recent neuropsychological markers of executive function in a sample of healthy aging adults (n = 80; 49-80 y.o.). In doing so, we adopted a multiple linear regression approach whereby chronological age, as well as several newly devised test scores were employed as predictors of executive function: the Paired-Associate Learning (PAL) sub-test from the CANTAB battery (Robbins et al., 1997), the Madrid card sorting test, a Wisconsin card sorting analogue (MCST; Barceló, 2003), and three different types of behavioral costs (local, restart, mixing) obtained from a task-switching MCST version. The overall z-score from a composite of six well-known neuropsychological indexes of executive function was used as the criterion variable. Multiple regression analyses showed no predictive value from typical indexes of pathology (i.e., PAL 6-shapes, MCST-perseverative scores). In a final combined model, PAL 1st-trial scores showed the biggest share with the criterion (R2 = .159; p < .01), followed by MCST-distraction scores (R2 = .103; p < .01). Importantly, all 3 types of task-switching costs reached significance, explaining up to 25% of variance in the criterion. In contrast, Age did not reach significance as a predictor of executive function in none the regression models. The absence of collinearity between MCST and PAL scores suggested that these test scores account for independent aspects of executive function. We conclude that a multiple regression approach may help select the most sensitive neuropsychological markers for the early detection of age-related cognitive impairments. Funding: Supported by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant PSI2010-17419/PSIC). Keywords: Aging, MCI, task-switching, WCST Conference: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster Sessions: Cognitive Aging Citation: Oliver M and Barcelo F (2011). Task-switching and associative-learning indexes –but not chronological age– predict individual differences in executive control in normal aging. Conference Abstract: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00614 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 15 Nov 2011; Published Online: 28 Nov 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. Myriam Oliver, Clinical Neuropsychology Unit, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma, Mallorca, Spain, myriam.oliver4@gmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Myriam Oliver Francisco Barcelo Google Myriam Oliver Francisco Barcelo Google Scholar Myriam Oliver Francisco Barcelo PubMed Myriam Oliver Francisco Barcelo Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Assessed Brain Responses during an Executive Task Depend on Interaction of Sleep Homeostasis, Circadian Phase, and PER3 Genotype

Cognition is regulated across the 24 h sleep-wake cycle by circadian rhythmicity and sleep homeostasis through unknown brain mechanisms. We investigated these mechanisms in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of executive function using a working memory 3-back task during a normal sleep-wake cycle and during sleep loss. The study population was stratified according to homozygosity for a variable-number (4 or 5) tandem-repeat polymorphism in the coding region of the clock gene PERIOD3. This polymorphism confers vulnerability to sleep loss and circadian misalignment through its effects on sleep homeostasis. In the less-vulnerable genotype, no changes were observed in brain responses during the normal-sleep wake cycle. During sleep loss, these individuals recruited supplemental anterior frontal, temporal and subcortical regions, while executive function was maintained. In contrast, in the vulnerable genotype, activation in a posterior prefrontal area was already reduced when comparing the evening to the morning during a normal sleep-wake cycle. Furthermore, in the morning after a night of sleep loss, widespread reductions in activation in prefrontal, temporal, parietal and occipital areas were observed in this genotype. These differences occurred in the absence of genotype-dependent differences in circadian phase. The data show that dynamic changes in brain responses to an executive task evolve across the sleep-wake and circadian cycles in a regionally specific manner that is determined by a polymorphism which affects sleep homeostasis. The findings support a model of individual differences in executive control, in which the allocation of prefrontal resources is constrained by sleep pressure and circadian phase.

From executive control to self-control: predicting problem drinking among college students

This study tested whether individual differences in executive control can be used to predict problem drinking among college students. Performance on tests of executive control functions was contrasted in two groups of students. The groups were defined by how often they experienced negative consequences of drinking. The executive control measures included both objective and self-report measures from neuropsychological batteries, and a novel measure of working memory scanning that allowed us to test performance on theoretically dissociable executive functions. The students who experienced high levels of negative consequences of drinking made fast decisions, but they displayed high levels of interference from prepotent responses. In addition, the self-report measure of executive function was a very strong predictor of group membership.