Involvement Of Executive Functions Research Articles

Involvement of executive functions, emotional intelligence, and study habits in mathematical problem-solving and calculation in elementary school

As mathematics is the most difficult subject for students from an early age, it is necessary to understand the underlying processes. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between calculation and mathematical problem-solving (MPR) skills with Executive Functions (EF), Emotional Intelligence (EI), and Study Habits and Techniques (SHT) in children aged 9-12 years. The study was carried out with 70 students (40 girls) from five schools in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country of Spain. The results showed that MPR was significantly related to EF, SHT, and EI, while calculation was only related to EF and SHT, all this controlling the effect of IQ. Furthermore, MPR has correlated with a greater number of EF, EI, and SHT subscales than calculation. Along with this, significant differences have been observed in EF and EI depending on the level of performance in MPR, while in calculation the significant differences have been found in EF and SHT. Therefore, different neuropsychological processes underlie each mathematical skill, which implies the need for differential intervention with each of them. All of this through programs that encourage the mathematical learning of all students indiscriminately or that promote the development of mathematical skills according to the specific difficulty of the student.

Projections of the insular cortex to orbitofrontal and medial prefrontal cortex: A tracing study in the rat.

The dense fiber pathways that connect the insular cortex with frontal cortices are thought to provide these frontal areas with interoceptive information, crucial for their involvement in executive functions. Using anterograde neuroanatomical tracing, we mapped the detailed organization of the projections from the rat insular cortex to its targets in orbitofrontal (OFC) and medial prefrontal (mPFC) cortex. In OFC, main insular projections distribute to lateral and medial parts, avoiding ventral parts. Whereas projections from the primary gustatory cortex densely innervate dorsolateral OFC, likely corresponding to what in primates is known as the secondary gustatory cortex, these projections avoid mPFC. Instead, mPFC is targeted almost exclusively by projections from agranular fields of the insular cortex. Finally, "parietal" domains of the insular cortex project specifically to the dorsolateral OFC, and strongly innervate ventral portions of mPFC, i.e., the dorsal peduncular cortex.

Association between working memory updating ability and cognitive reappraisal: An investigation into a modulatory role of the individual's sex.

Cognitive reappraisal has been shown to be an effective emotion regulation strategy that contributes to mental health. Previous studies focused on sex differences in the frequency of use and ability to use this strategy, and the association of fequency of use and ability with executive functioning. However, there is a lack of behavioral studies examining whether the involvement of executive functions in cognitive reappraisal use and ability differs for men and women. Such a sex difference may inform the design of cognitive interventions directed at enhancing cognitive reappraisal use and ability. The present study used a sample of 125 Chinese university students and focused on one key component of executive functioning: working memory updating. Frequency of cognitive reappraisal use was assessed by self-report. Ability to use cognitive reappraisal and working memory updating capacity were each assessed with a laboratory task. The results revealed no sex difference in cognitive reappraisal use or ability. However, of primary interest, the ability to apply cognitive reappraisal was associated with working memory updating performance, but only for women. If confirmed in further studies, these findings suggest that cognitive interventions in general, and working memory updating trainings more specifically, are more likely to enhance the ability to use cognitive reappraisal as a means to regulate emotions in women than in men.

The validity and reliability of the Test of Memory Strategies among Italian healthy adults.

BackgroundPrevious literature has shown that executive functions (EF) are related to performance in memory (M) tasks. Nevertheless, there is a shortage of psychometric tests that examine these two constructs simultaneously. The Test of Memory Strategies (TMS; previously validated in Spain and Portugal) could be a useful verbal learning task that evaluates these two constructs at once. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the TMS in an Italian adult sample.MethodOne hundred twenty-one healthy volunteers (74 F, Mean age = 45.9 years old, SD = 20.4) who underwent a neuropsychological examination participated in this study. We conducted a Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to evaluate the structural validity of the TMS. We conducted a latent variable analysis to examine convergent and discriminant validity of the TMS sub-scale scores reflecting executive functions and memory. We also examined the TMS reliability in terms of internal consistency through the McDonald’s omega.ResultsThe CFA confirmed the expectation that the TMS-1 and TMS-2 subtests reflect a factor and that the TMS-3, TMS-4, and TMS-5 subtests reflect a different factor. This result is in line with the prediction that TMS-1 and TMS-2 require the use of executive functions and memory simultaneously, and therefore we called this factor executive functions (EF); whereas the TMS-3, TMS-4, and TMS-5 subtests require less involvement of executive functions, thus reflecting a construct that we named memory (M). The TMS subtests for EF and M showed convergent validity with the test scores using a traditional neuropsychological battery, assessing memory and executive functions separately. Finally, the reliability of the subtests was good.ConclusionsThese preliminary findings suggest that TMS is a valid and reliable scale to simultaneously assess M and EF while among Italian healthy adults.

Stroop performance is related to reading profiles in Hebrew-speaking individuals with dyslexia and typical readers.

There is a debate in the literature regarding the level of contribution of executive functions (EF) to reading comprehension (RC), in the context of the simple view of reading (SVR) model. The current study aims to create sub-profiles of reading and cognitive abilities based on a measure traditionally used for evaluating EF, that is, the Stroop task, and specifically, Stroop time. Ninety-seven adults with and without reading difficulties performed reading and cognitive tasks, including the Stroop tests. Four groups were created based on Stroop performance time and a reading profile was created for each group. A mediation analysis was conducted to determine if reading accuracy and linguistic abilities predict RC mediated by Stroop time. Participants with a shorter Stroop time demonstrated better reading abilities, whereas those with longer Stroop time showed decreased reading performance. Stroop time was also negatively associated with better performance in additional cognitive abilities. A mediation analysis suggested that decoding ability and linguistic ability predict RC through EF. Our findings support the SVR model and the involvement of EF in reading proficiency and might be used for designing EF-based interventions for reading and RC difficulties.

First Event-Related Potentials Evidence of Auditory Morphosyntactic Processing in a Subject-Object-Verb Nominative-Accusative Language (Farsi).

While most studies on neural signals of online language processing have focused on a few—usually western—subject-verb-object (SVO) languages, corresponding knowledge on subject-object-verb (SOV) languages is scarce. Here we studied Farsi, a language with canonical SOV word order. Because we were interested in the consequences of second-language acquisition, we compared monolingual native Farsi speakers and equally proficient bilinguals who had learned Farsi only after entering primary school. We analyzed event-related potentials (ERPs) to correct and morphosyntactically incorrect sentence-final syllables in a sentence correctness judgment task. Incorrect syllables elicited a late posterior positivity at 500–700 ms after the final syllable, resembling the P600 component, as previously observed for syntactic violations at sentence-middle positions in SVO languages. There was no sign of a left anterior negativity (LAN) preceding the P600. Additionally, we provide evidence for a real-time discrimination of phonological categories associated with morphosyntactic manipulations (between 35 and 135 ms), manifesting the instantaneous neural response to unexpected perturbations. The L2 Farsi speakers were indistinguishable from L1 speakers in terms of performance and neural signals of syntactic violations, indicating that exposure to a second language at school entry may results in native-like performance and neural correlates. In nonnative (but not native) speakers verbal working memory capacity correlated with the late posterior positivity and performance accuracy. Hence, this first ERP study of morphosyntactic violations in a spoken SOV nominative-accusative language demonstrates ERP effects in response to morphosyntactic violations and the involvement of executive functions in non-native speakers in computations of subject-verb agreement.

New insights into visual-motor integration exploring process measures during copying shapes

The link between visual-motor integration (VMI) and executive functions (EF) has been repeatedly documented in preschool children. VMI is often assessed using the Copy Design task measuring the product, thereby neglecting the processes that lead to a specific copy. Furthermore, EF are assumed to be mainly involved when a task is new. The involvement of EF after minimal practice in VMI, however, is unknown. Therefore, the present study investigated product- (i.e., accuracy) and process-based measures, namely velocity, and fluency, in five consecutive trials of copying shapes. Contributions of manual dexterity and EF to both VMI product and VMI processes across five trials were investigated in a sample of 5- to 6-year-old kindergarten children. Results revealed that children did not copy the shapes more accurately across the five trials, but quicker and more fluently. In line with previous findings, children's performance on VMI, manual dexterity, and EF were interrelated. The results indicate that over and above the copy's accuracy, also fluency of copying is a crucial indicator of VMI, which is related to EF and manual dexterity. Furthermore, findings on the VMI–EF link point to strong EF involvement during copying when the task is new and to a decreasing EF involvement with increasing practice, already after five trials. New insights into VMI in preschool children are discussed with regard to underlying cognitive processes.

Perinatal Exposure to an Environmentally Relevant Mixture of Phthalates Results in a Lower Number of Neurons and Synapses in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Decreased Cognitive Flexibility in Adult Male and Female Rats

The growth and organization of the developing brain are known to be influenced by hormones, but little is known about whether disruption of hormones affects cortical regions, such as mPFC. This region is particularly important given its involvement in executive functions and implication in the pathology of many neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we examine the long-term effects of perinatal exposure to endocrine-disrupting compounds, the phthalates, on the mPFC and associated behavior. This investigation is pertinent as humans are ubiquitously exposed to phthalates through a variety of consumer products and phthalates can readily cross the placenta and be delivered to offspring via lactation. Pregnant dams orally consumed an environmentally relevant mixture of phthalates at 0, 200, or 1000 μg/kg/d through pregnancy and for 10 d while lactating. As adults, offspring were tested in an attentional set-shifting task, which assesses cognitive flexibility. Brains were also examined in adulthood for stereological quantification of the number of neurons, glia, and synapses within the mPFC. We found that, independent of sex, perinatal phthalate exposure at either dose resulted in a reduction in neuron number, synapse number, and size of the mPFC and a deficit in cognitive flexibility. Interestingly, the number of synapses was correlated with cognitive flexibility, such that rats with fewer synapses were less cognitively flexible than those with more synapses. These results demonstrate that perinatal phthalate exposure can have long-term effects on the cortex and behavior of both male and female rats.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Humans globally are exposed on a daily basis to a variety of phthalates, which are endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The effects of phthalate exposure on the developing brain, especially on cognitively relevant regions, such as the mPFC, are not known. Here, we use a rat model of human prenatal exposure to an environmentally relevant mixture of phthalates and find that there is an appreciable reduction in neuron number, synapse number, and size of the mPFC and a deficit in cognitive flexibility. These results may have serious implications for humans given that the mPFC is involved in executive functions and is implicated in the pathology of many neuropsychiatric disorders.

Raven coloured progressive matrices in migraine without aura patients.

Conflicting results emerged from studies investigating cognitive performances in migraine patients. Based on clinical and neuroradiological aspects, the possible involvement of executive functions has been especially taken into consideration. The aim of this study was to evaluate, in a population of subjects affected by migraine without aura (MwoA), frontal lobe cognitive functions. We enrolled all the consecutive patients affected by MwoA referred to our headache centre for a first evaluation. Each patient underwent a neuropsychological evaluation including Raven coloured progressive matrices (CPM). We collected variables as age, education, years of migraine, frequency of attacks and CPM scores. Relationship between continuous variables was explored with multiple regression lines, selecting the best-fitting trendline for each relationship. We obtained a final sample of 36 subjects (females: 62.5%; mean age: 42.25±10.21years). Patients had mean length of migraine history of 12.25±11.00years and a mean frequency of attacks of 8.06±7.15 per month. Linear regression underlines a progressive decrease of CPM score with the increase of the migraine history's length (R 2=0.8871; p<0.001), and the frequency of migraine attacks (R 2=0.3122; p<0.05). Our findings suggest that pathological CPM scores can be associated with the severity of migraine. These data seem to confirm the hypothesis of an impairment of executive functions in MwoA. Different hypotheses to explain cognitive impairment in migraine have been postulated including the impact of the typical white matter lesions and a long history of drug abuse. The possible relevant clinical consequence of a full comprehension of this particular aspect related to migraine deserves further attention and consideration.

Linguistic and Cognitive Profiles of 8- to 15-Year-Old Children With Specific Reading Comprehension Difficulties

This article presents two studies investigating the role of executive functioning in written text comprehension in children and adolescents. In a first study, the involvement of executive functions in reading comprehension performance was examined in normally developing children in fifth grade. Two aspects of text comprehension were differentiated: literal and inferential processes. The results demonstrated that while three aspects of executive functioning (working memory, planning, and inhibition processes) were significantly predictive of the performance on the inferential questions of the comprehension test, these factors did not predict the scores on the literal tasks of the test. In a second experiment, the linguistic and cognitive profiles of children in third/fifth and seventh/ninth grades with a specific reading comprehension deficit were examined. This analysis revealed that the deficits experienced by the less skilled comprehenders in both the linguistic and the executive domains could evolve over time. As a result, linguistic factors do not make it possible to distinguish between good and poor comprehenders among the group of older children, whereas the difficulties relating to executive processing remain stable over development. These findings are discussed in the context of the need to take account of the executive difficulties that characterize less skilled comprehenders of any age, especially for remediation purposes.

The Involvement of Executive Functions in Everyday Prospective Memory Performance of Persons With Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract Date Presented 4/9/2016 This study (1) describes cognitive impairments of executive functions and prospective memory that are experienced by persons with multiple sclerosis and the association between executive functions and prospective memory and (2) identifies how the research findings can be applied in to occupational therapy services. Primary Author and Speaker: Lara Borg Additional Author and Speaker: Yael Goverover

Handwriting fluency and visuospatial generativity at primary school

Handwriting is a complex activity that involves continuous interaction between lowerlevel perceptual-motor and higher-level cognitive processes. All handwriting models describe involvement of executive functions (EF) in handwriting development. Particular EF domains associated with handwriting include maintenance of information in working memory, inhibition of prepotent responses, and shifting and sustaining of attention. Generativity, an EF domain that has not been extensively studied, may play a role in the acquisition and automation of handwriting. We hypothesized that neuropsychological performances and handwriting fluency would be mutually associated, and that visuospatial generativity could have a specific role in handwriting speed. We enrolled 96 children who completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. The study found that handwriting speed was associated with visuospatial fluency, which involves behavioural execution and initiation. In learning and performing handwriting, there is an inherent non-exclusive role of fine motor skills.

The development of pragmatic skills in children after hemispherotomy: Contribution from left and right hemispheres

Hemispherotomy (H) is the standard treatment used to cure hemispheric epileptic syndromes in childhood. The postoperative linguistic profile involves hemispheric specialization processes and developmental cognitive plasticity. This research concerns pragmatic aspects of language as a tool for communication which involves both linguistic and extralinguistic communication in context. Our aim was to analyze whether any correlation exists with age at surgery and side of surgery on pragmatic skills following H. Forty children who underwent H (23 females, 16 right H) were evaluated at a mean age of 12.8 years (±2.6) with two receptive tasks (oral comprehension and syntactic judgment), the Children's Communication Checklist (CCC) rating scale, and the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) questionnaire in order to evaluate the role of executive functions on pragmatic skills. Children operated on before the age of 18 months were considered the "early" group (5 right H and 9 left H), while those operated on later were called the "late" group (11 right H and 15 left H). The whole group had significant deficits in all three measures. We demonstrated a statistically significant crossed interaction between the side of H and the age at H with pragmatic language impairments (F(1,36)=17.48; p=.0002) and disorders in executive function (F(1,36)=5.80; p=.021) in left early H and in right late H patients. These findings are consistent with the previous studies of pragmatic language impairments concerning adolescents and adults with right hemisphere damage and emphasize the contribution of structural language in the early stage of verbal communication. These results emphasize for the first time that hemispherotomized children have pragmatic language impairments that are independent of receptive language. Our findings are congruent with the recent theory on pragmatic language development in childhood with evidence of a participation of the left hemisphere at the early age followed by right hemispheric specialization and involvement of executive functions, independently of receptive language.

Involvement of Executive Functions in Children's Metamemory

SummaryThis experiment examined how knowledge of memory strategies and of memory functioning improves during childhood and what variables are involved in this development. Three main aspects of metamemory were assessed based on the performance of a group of 100 children (aged 4, 6, 9 and 11 years) on a battery of executive tasks. At the same time, the influence of variables such as intelligence, vocabulary and parental education level was also investigated. Results of mediation analyses reveal that the relation between children's age and internal strategy knowledge was partially mediated by working memory skills but that executive functions did not mediate the impact of chronological age on children's knowledge of external strategies or of memory functioning. Additionally, verbal fluency predicted internal and external strategy knowledge. Implications for general learning theories in childhood are discussed.Copyright © 2015 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Music training and inhibitory control: a multidimensional model.

Training programs aimed to improve cognitive skills have either yielded mixed results or remain to be validated. The limited benefits of such regimens are largely attributable to weak understanding of (1) how (and which) interventions provide the most cognitive improvements; and (2) how brain networks and neural mechanisms that underlie specific cognitive abilities can be modified selectively. Studies indicate that music training leads to robust and long-lasting benefits to behavior. Importantly, behavioral advantages conferred by music extend beyond perceptual abilities to even nonauditory functions, such as inhibitory control (IC) and its neural correlates. Alternative forms of arts engagement or brain training do not appear to yield such enhancements, which suggests that music uniquely taps into brain networks subserving a variety of auditory as well as domain-general mechanisms such as IC. To account for such widespread benefits of music training, we propose a framework of transfer effects characterized by three dimensions: level of processing, nature of the transfer, and involvement of executive functions. We suggest that transfer of skills is mediated through modulation of general cognitive processes, in particular IC. We believe that this model offers a viable framework to test the extent and limitations of music-related changes.

Subthalamic nucleus involvement in executive functions with increased cognitive load: a subthalamic nucleus and anterior cingulate cortex depth recording study

We studied the appearance of broadband oscillatory changes (ranging 2-45 Hz) induced by a cognitive task with two levels of complexity. The event-related de/synchronizations (ERD/S) in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were evaluated in an executive function test. Four epilepsy surgery candidates with intracerebral electrodes implanted in the ACC and three Parkinson's disease patients with externalized deep brain stimulation electrodes implanted in the STN participated in the study. A Flanker test (FT) with visual stimuli (arrows) was performed. Subjects reacted to four types of stimuli presented on the monitor by pushing the right or left button: congruent arrows to the right or left side (simple task) and incongruent arrows to the right or left side (more difficult complex task). We explored the activation of STN and the activation of the ACC while processing the FT. Both conditions, i.e. congruent and incongruent, induced oscillatory changes in the ACC and also STN with significantly higher activation during incongruent trial. At variance with the ACC, in the STN not only the ERD beta but also the ERD alpha activity was significantly more activated by the incongruent condition. In line with our earlier studies, the STN appears to be involved in activities linked with increased cognitive load. The specificity and complexity of task-related activation of the STN might indicate the involvement of the STN in processes controlling human behaviour, e.g. in the selection and inhibition of competing alternatives.

Monitoring behaviour in a time-based prospective memory task: The involvement of executive functions and time perception

This study investigated time-based prospective memory (PM) performance in 76 younger and 76 older adults with a time-monitoring task in which participants were required to press a designated key every 5 minutes while watching a movie. Participants were assigned to two conditions, free and fixed monitoring. In free monitoring participants could check a clock when they wanted, but in fixed monitoring they were restricted a maximum of six times every 5 minutes. We also investigated the involvement of time perception, inhibition, and updating in time-based PM performance. We hypothesised that participants with inefficiencies in those three cognitive functions would have less strategic monitoring behaviour and would also be less accurate at the target time. In the free-monitoring condition older adults checked the clock more frequently than younger participants, but presented with a similar pattern of monitoring behaviour and increased their frequency of clock checking closer to the target time. In the fixed-monitoring condition younger participants checked the clock more frequently than older adults and showed a strategic pattern of monitoring. Older adults did not show strategic use of clock checking and their monitoring function remained unchanged. Differences in PM accuracy and monitoring behaviour are discussed according to different involvement of cognitive abilities.

When Interference Helps: Increasing Executive Load to Facilitate Deception Detection in the Concealed Information Test

The possibility to enhance the detection efficiency of the Concealed Information Test (CIT) by increasing executive load was investigated, using an interference design. After learning and executing a mock crime scenario, subjects underwent three deception detection tests: an RT-based CIT, an RT-based CIT plus a concurrent memory task (CITMem), and an RT-based CIT plus a concurrent set-shifting task (CITShift). The concealed information effect, consisting in increased RT and lower response accuracy for probe items compared to irrelevant items, was evidenced across all three conditions. The group analyses indicated a larger difference between RTs to probe and irrelevant items in the dual-task conditions, but this difference was not translated in a significantly increased detection efficiency at an individual level. Signal detection parameters based on the comparison with a simulated innocent group showed accurate discrimination for all conditions. Overall response accuracy on the CITMem was highest and the difference between response accuracy to probes and irrelevants was smallest in this condition. Accuracy on the concurrent tasks (Mem and Shift) was high, and responses on these tasks were significantly influenced by CIT stimulus type (probes vs. irrelevants). The findings are interpreted in relation to the cognitive load/dual-task interference literature, generating important insights for research on the involvement of executive functions in deceptive behavior.

2020 – Neuropsychological evaluation of executive functionsin schizophrenic “psychosocial care center” users in cabedelo / PB

Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder of unknown origin, which has stimulated scholars to want to fully understand it. Through neuropsychological testing it has been possible to delimit areas and brain functions; executive functions have been increasingly studied since studies with people with schizophrenia have shown that its impairment can be related to the person's social and occupational dysfunction. This work aimed to evaluate the executive functions of schizophrenic patients of the CAPS I(a Psychosocial Care Center) in the city of Cabedelo in the state of Paraiba. This study was based on a sample of 20 patients with schizophrenia according to the DSM IV, which were later on tested with the Block Design subtest of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III), the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and a socio-demographic questionnaire. The results showed possible involvement in executive functions, indicated by poor performance in the WCST, showing mainly a high level of preservative errors, few administered trials and a small number of categories completed. As for the performance in the block subtest, it was also possible to indicate levels of cognitive impairment established by a high number of below average test scores. Both results were significant in testing the executive function impairment, which may be one of the premises of socio-occupational dysfunction, found within the socio-demographic data. It is concluded that there is loss of executive functions in individuals with schizophrenia.

Involvement of Executive Functions and Motivation in Sustained Visual Attention: An Event-related Potential Study

Involvement of Executive Functions and Motivation in Sustained Visual Attention: An Event-related Potential Study