Low Inhibitory Control Research Articles

Inhibitory control moderates the association between fear and attention bias to snakes in middle childhood

Fear and inhibitory control interact to affect the attention allocated to threats in clinically anxious populations. We examined whether fear and inhibitory control impact attention bias to threat in a community sample of 6- to 8-year-old children (n = 102). A visual search task used color photographs of snakes and caterpillars as targets and flowers as the distractors. Parents completed questionnaires about their child’s fear and inhibitory control. Results showed that the children exhibited an attentional bias to snakes. Child fear predicted for the attention bias, whereas fear and inhibitory control interacted to predict attention bias. Simple slopes analysis showed the association between fear and attention bias was significant only for children who had high inhibitory control and not significant for those who had low inhibitory control. Models of child anxiety focus on links between fear and inhibitory control; our work extends the occurrence of this phenomena to community, non-clinical populations. • Child fear was positively related to attention bias to snakes 6-to-8-year-olds. • Fear predicted the attention bias only for children with high inhibitory control. • Findings extend models of inhibitory control and fear to non-clinical populations.

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.

Parental math input is not uniformly beneficial for young children: The moderating role of inhibitory control.

Recent work has stressed the importance of considering child-level propensities and environmental opportunities when studying early math achievement; however, few studies investigate the interaction between these factors. This study examined whether children's inhibitory control moderates the association between parental math input and children's math performance. Parental math input via number talk and parent-reported frequencies of math activities were measured in 123 children (M age = 3.9 years) and one of their parents. High levels of parent number talk were associated with higher math achievement among children with higher inhibitory control. This association was not seen in children with lower inhibitory control, for children's vocabulary as the outcome measure, or for parents' overall talk or parent-reported math activities as the opportunity measures. Thus, children may differentially benefit from parental math input depending on their cognitive abilities and this association is specific to parental number talk and children's math abilities.

Exposure to Depression Memes on Social Media Increases Depressive Mood and It Is Moderated by Self-Regulation: Evidence From Self-Report and Resting EEG Assessments.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of depression memes, spread mainly on social media, on depressive mood, and the moderating role of self-regulation based on self-report and electrophysiological (resting EEG frontal alpha asymmetry) assessments. We conducted a semi-online crossover study; first, we collected brain activity data from healthy young adults (n = 32) who were subsequently provided a link to the online experiment. Each participant participated in both the neutral and meme conditions. We also evaluated their level of depressive mood immediately before and after exposure to the stimuli. We further conducted a series of linear mixed effects model analyses and found that depression memes contributed to an increase in depressive symptoms. Specifically, lack of emotional clarity, difficulties in goal-directed behaviors in emotional distress, and impulse control difficulties were linked to greater depressive mood in the case of exposure to depression memes compared with neutral images. However, time interactions were insignificant. These results mainly indicate the centrality of behavioral problems during times of emotional distress caused by depression memes. Lastly, although frontal alpha asymmetry did not predict a change in depressive mood or significantly differ across conditions, lower inhibitory control may result in increased processing of depression memes as negative stimuli. This result is consistent with our self-report results (e.g., impulsivity) as well as other related studies in the literature. However, further research is needed to verify these frontal alpha asymmetry results.

Objective and Subjective Hearing Difficulties Are Associated With Lower Inhibitory Control.

Evidence suggests that hearing loss increases the risk of cognitive impairment. However, the relationship between hearing loss and cognition can vary considerably across studies, which may be partially explained by demographic and health factors that are not systematically accounted for in statistical models. Middle-aged to older adult participants (N = 149) completed a web-based assessment that included speech-in-noise (SiN) and self-report measures of hearing, as well as auditory and visual cognitive interference (Stroop) tasks. Correlations between hearing and cognitive interference measures were performed with and without controlling for age, sex, education, depression, anxiety, and self-rated health. The risk of having objective SiN difficulties differed between males and females. All demographic and health variables, except education, influenced the likelihood of reporting hearing difficulties. Small but significant relationships between objective and reported hearing difficulties and the measures of cognitive interference were observed when analyses were controlled for demographic and health factors. Furthermore, when stratifying analyses for males and females, different relationships between hearing and cognitive interference measures were found. Self-reported difficulty with spatial hearing and objective SiN performance were better predictors of inhibitory control in females, whereas self-reported difficulty with speech was a better predictor of inhibitory control in males. This suggests that inhibitory control is associated with different listening abilities in males and females. The results highlight the importance of controlling for participant characteristics when assessing the relationship between hearing and cognitive interference, which may also be the case for other cognitive functions, but this requires further investigations. Furthermore, this study is the first to show that the relationship between hearing and cognitive interference can be captured using web-based tasks that are simple to implement and administer at home without any assistance, paving the way for future online screening tests assessing the effects of hearing loss on cognition.

Structure and mechanism of addictive impulsivity based on the interaction between drive and control

<p id="p00005">Impulsivity, consisted of driving forces and controlling forces, is an endophenotypic feature which predicts addiction. The driving force is the factor that determines the impulsivity of addiction, while inhibitory control plays the role of regulating the driving force. The addicts of different types all tend to act at a low level of inhibitory control and an abnormally high level of driving force. The imbalance of the two forces can result in drug abuse and relapse. <br/>Reward effect of substance is the main driving force of addiction. Besides, the stimulus-response association triggered by conditional learning, and the personality traits of addicts such as sensation seeking and negative urgency, are all factors associated with driving force. These psychological phenomena can trigger significant impulsivity and evoke habitual and compulsive drug use when inhibitory control is low. <br/>The controlling force mainly includes: the response inhibition characteristic that related to impulsivity personality trait, the cognitive control defect (waiting impulsivity) that cannot delay gratification. Behavioral and neurophysiological studies showed that addicts do possess the traits of low inhibitory control, including at least high sensation seeking and low response inhibition. Rooted in the unusual neurophysiological mechanism, these characteristics may result in the innate susceptibility to drug use and weak inhibitory control among individuals with addition. Waiting impulsivity based on ventral striatum - prefrontal lobe function may also relate to inherited personality traits. <br/> For individuals with addiction, response inhibition and executive control functions that regulate their impulsivity level are influenced by genetic factors and may deteriorate along the course of drug use. The inhibitory and executive control of addicts cannot regulate the tendency of drug use caused by driving forces, thus resulting in impulsive drug use in different stages of addiction.Empirical studies have found that inhibitory control functions remain largely unchanged after short-term abstinence. Moreover, the psychological phenomenon of impulsive personality, which is hereditary, is difficult to be changed within a short time. That is to say, even after a long-term abstinence, it is hardly possible for addicts to elevate the inhibitory control fundamentally. Therefore, one potential way to decrease impulsivity is to alleviate the driving force. Through reducing the reward effect, eliminating the S-R connection or reducing the appearance of related stimulus, the driving force can be decreased, thereby mitigating the impulsivity of drug use. This method might be effective in the treatment of addiction and the prevention of relapse with strong practicability and applicability.

Developmental connections between socioeconomic status, self-regulation, and adult externalizing problems.

Children from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds are at particularly heightened risk for developing later externalizing problems. A large body of research has suggested an important role for self-regulation in this developmental linkage. Self-regulation has been conceptualized as a mediator as well as a moderator of these connections. Using data from the Child Development Project (CDP, N=585), we probe these contrasting (mediating/moderating) conceptualizations, using both Frequentist and Bayesian statistical approaches, in the linkage between early SES and later externalizing problems in a multi-decade longitudinal study. Connecting early SES, physiology (i.e., heart rate reactivity) and inhibitory control (a Stroop task) in adolescence, and externalizing symptomatology in early adulthood, we found the relation between SES and externalizing problems was moderated by multiple facets of self-regulation. Participants from lower early SES backgrounds, who also had high heart rate reactivity and lower inhibitory control, had elevated levels of externalizing problems in adulthood relative to those with low heart rate reactivity and better inhibitory control. Such patterns persisted after controlling for externalizing problems earlier in life. The present results may aid in understanding the combinations of factors that contribute to the development of externalizing psychopathology in economically marginalized youth.

Understanding patterns of heterogeneity in executive functioning during adolescence: Evidence from population-level data.

Executive functioning (EF) is fundamental to positive development. Yet, little is known about how to best characterize constellations of EF skills that may inform disparate associations between EF and behavior during adolescence. In the current study, cross-validated latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to derive profiles of EF based on measures of inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility using data from 11,672 youth (52.2% male, mean age=9.91 years) in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study. Four meaningful EF profiles emerged from the data representing Average EF, High EF, Low Inhibitory Control, and Low EF. Boys, youth from low-income households, and early developing youth were more likely to be in profiles distinguished by lower EF. Profile membership also predicted differences in externalizing, internalizing, and other problem behaviors assessed one year later. Findings indicate that youth may have distinct constellations of EF skills, underscoring the need for person-centered approaches that focus on patterns of individual characteristics.

Inhibitory control and problem solving in early childhood: Exploring the burdens and benefits of high self-control.

Low inhibitory control (IC) is sometimes associated with enhanced problem‐solving amongst adults, yet for young children high IC is primarily framed as inherently better than low IC. Here, we explore associations between IC and performance on a novel problem‐solving task, amongst 102 English 2‐ and 3‐year‐olds (Study 1) and 84 Swedish children, seen at 18‐months and 4‐years (Study 2). Generativity during problem‐solving was negatively associated with IC, as measured by prohibition‐compliance (Study 1, both ages, Study 2 longitudinally from 18‐months). High parent‐reported IC was associated with poorer overall problem‐solving success, and greater perseveration (Study 1, 3‐year‐olds only). Benefits of high parent‐reported IC on persistence could be accounted for by developmental level. No concurrent association was observed between problem‐solving performance and IC as measured with a Delay‐of‐Gratification task (Study 2, concurrent associations at 4‐years). We suggest that, for young children, high IC may confer burden on insight‐ and analytic‐aspects of problem‐solving.

A Study of High and Low Behavior Inhibitory Control on Emotional Labeling Effect from ERPs

Emotional labeling effect refers to the reduction of Emotion in labeling or naming emotional features of stimulus. Previous researches have explored whether the ability of behavioral inhibition affects the regulation of explicit emotions, while there are no studies learning about the impact of behavioral inhibition on implicit emotions regulation. This study used ERPs to examine whether individuals with high and low behavioral inhibition control ability differed in their emotional labeling effects. Dual-choice Oddball task was used to screen out groups with high and low behavioral inhibition ability, and they were asked to make judgments on faces with different emotions and genders, and the LPP amplitude after picture presentation was analyzed. The results showed that the LPP amplitude induced by high inhibition ability group was significantly lower than that induced by gender labeling, while the LPP amplitude induced by low inhibition ability group was not significantly different between emotion labeling and gender labeling. The results show that individuals with high inhibition ability can produce emotion labeling effect, and the higher the inhibition ability of individuals, the better the emotional labeling effect.

Young Children’s Eating in the Absence of Hunger: Links With Child Inhibitory Control, Child BMI, and Maternal Controlling Feeding Practices

This study aimed to gain a better understanding of the associations between young children’s eating in the absence of hunger (EAH), inhibitory control, body mass index (BMI) and several maternal controlling feeding practices (food as reward, restriction for health, restriction for weight control). In addition, to more properly assess the relationship between children’s and maternal variables, the link between EAH and restriction was explored separately in two directionalities: “child to parent” or “parent to child.” To do this, mothers of 621 children aged 2.00–6.97years (51% boys, M=4.11years, SD=1.34) filled in a questionnaire with items from validated questionnaires. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results showed, whatever the directionality considered, a positive association between children’s eating in the absence of hunger and their BMI z-scores. Restriction for health and restriction for weight control were differently linked to EAH and to children’s BMI z-scores. Namely, low child inhibitory control, food as reward and restriction for health were identified as risk factors for EAH. Restriction for weight control was not linked to EAH, but was predicted by child BMI z-scores. Interventions aiming to improve children’s abilities to self-regulate food intake could consider training children’s general self-regulation, their self-regulation of intake, and/or promoting adaptive parental feeding practices.

Do executive functions and gross motor skills predict writing and mathematical performance in children with developmental coordination disorder?

Aim: To examine whether executive functions, and gross motor skills were predictors for school performance in children with DCD, with risk for DCD (r-DCD), and with typical development (TD). Methods: Participants were 63 children with DCD (M age = 8.70, SD age = .64), 31 children with r-DCD (M age = 8.90, SD age = 0.74), and 63 typical development children (M age = 8.74, SD age = .63). Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2, Test of Gross Motor Development-3, Oral Word Span in Sentences, Odd-One-Out, Go/No-Go, Hayling Test, Trail Making Test, Five Digits Test, and the Test of School Performance-II were utilized. Results: In DCD, processing speed (β = −.42, p = .005), and auditory-motor inhibition (β = −.36, p = .009), and auditory-verbal inhibition (β = −.38, p = .023) predicted math performance; and auditory-motor (β = −.40, p = .38) and visuospatial working memory (β = −.33 p = .011) predicted writing performance. In r-DCD, auditory-motor (β = − .67; p = .002) and visual-motor (β = −.40; p = .040) inhibition predicted math performance; visual-motor inhibition predicted writing performance (β = −.47; p = .015). Conclusion: Lower inhibitory control and visuospatial working memory scores affect children with DCD and r-DCD’ school performance.

Inhibitory Control Moderates the Intervention Effects of a Preventive Parenting Program on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Among Male Service Members.

Military servicemembers face substantial challenges due to war-related trauma exposure, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Individuals with deficits in inhibitory control (IC) may have an increased risk of developing PTSD due to a reduced ability to regulate their cognitive responses to and disengage from trauma-related stimuli. After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools (ADAPT) is a mindfulness-infused parenting program for military families that has also been found to have crossover effects on parental mental health. The present study examined whether fathers' IC at baseline affected their response to this emotional skills-focused intervention and further influenced their PTSD symptoms 1 year later. The sample included 282 male National Guard and Reserve (NG/R) service members who had recently been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Fathers were randomly assigned to either the ADAPT program or a control condition, with IC measured at baseline and PTSD symptoms measured at baseline and 1-year follow-up. Intent-to-treat analyses revealed no significant main effect of the intervention on fathers' PTSD symptoms. However, fathers' IC moderated intervention effects on PTSD symptoms, f2 = 0.03. The intervention had more beneficial effects on reducing fathers' PTSD symptoms for participants with low IC at baseline. These findings are consistent with compensatory effects in the risk moderation hypothesis, which suggests that prevention or intervention programs are more effective for high-risk subgroups.

A Multi-Theoretical and Multi-Method Family Study Approach to Preschool Inhibitory Control: Links to Working Memory, Receptive Vocabulary, Behavioral Maladjustment, and Parent Mental Health in the Context of Temperament and Executive Functioning Perspectives.

Inhibitory control (IC) is defined as the executive functioning (EF) and self-regulatory temperamental inhibition of impulsive or pre-potent behavior and has been consistently linked to multiple forms of childhood cognitive and socio-emotional maladjustment including academic and learning challenges, externalizing behaviors, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, the results of relevant investigations are somewhat dependent on the method of IC assessment and the theoretical approach of the researcher. The two primary theoretical perspectives on IC are the temperament and the EF approaches, and although there is considerable overlap between these perspectives, there are some distinctions with regard to assessment and emphases on cognition vs. emotion. Therefore, investigations including both temperament and EF approaches to IC are of considerable interest and will best inform future education, prevention, and intervention efforts. This investigation examined associations between child IC, working memory (WM), receptive vocabulary, externalizing behavioral problems, and primary caregiver depression and anxiety symptoms using a family study design. The sample was composed of 99 families with two typically developing preschool children (n = 198; 2.5–5.5 years old; M = 3.88, SD = 1.04) and one primary caregiver/parent. Child IC was assessed using a multi-method approach consisting of one parent-rated questionnaire, three independent observer rating subscales, two videotaped in-person laboratory temperament episodes, and an EF Stroop task. Child WM and receptive vocabulary were measured in the laboratory using standard assessment techniques, and the remaining measures were parent-reported. Male child participants had significantly higher levels of observer-rated hyperactivity and impulsivity, and females had higher levels of observer-rated attention and Stroop-assessed IC. Correlational results showed that excepting IC-Stroop and a snack delay task, all IC measures were significantly correlated. All IC measures except snack delay were positively correlated with WM, and with receptive vocabulary (except Lab-TAB snack delay and observer-rated hyperactivity), and WM and receptive vocabulary were also positively correlated. All IC variables, WM, and receptive vocabulary were significantly related to externalizing behavior problems. Generally, children with higher IC, WM, and receptive vocabulary had lower levels of behavioral maladjustment. Lower parent-rated IC and higher levels of externalizing behavior problems were positively associated with maternal depression and anxiety (lower receptive vocabulary level was related to depression only). Employing structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses, we further examined the interrelationships among IC temperament variables, IC-Stroop, WM, and receptive vocabulary, controlling for age, gender, externalizing behaviors, maternal depression and anxiety, and the parent-rater variance (the multi-method effect). The results of our hypothesized model showed that the IC Temperament factor, composed of the six temperament IC measures, showed a positive effect on receptive vocabulary, while the IC-Stroop positively predicted WM. The IC Temperament factor and IC-Stroop were positively correlated with each other, and the IC Temperament factor, IC-Stroop, WM, and receptive vocabulary were positively related to age. The IC Temperament factor was also associated with fewer externalizing behavior problems, maternal depression had a negative effect on receptive vocabulary, and females showed lower levels of WM and receptive vocabulary than males. Overall, the IC Temperament factor and other covariates together accounted for 22.5% of the variance in vocabulary, whereas IC-Stroop and other controlled variables could explain 49.8% of the variance in WM. These findings indicate that theoretical perspectives (in this case temperament and EF IC contexts) and the different types of assessments used are crucial considerations when interpreting the results of studies of early childhood IC. Although most assessments of IC were associated with the outcomes under study, we found specific associations between temperament measures of IC and receptive vocabulary as well as externalizing, and IC-Stroop and WM. In addition, maternal depression had an effect on receptive vocabulary, emphasizing the developmental importance of family environment in preschool. These findings are relevant to the field of child development because they address several important questions about child EF and self-regulation. 1. Do temperament and EF conceptions of IC differentially predict outcomes? 2. How does the way we measure IC from the EF and self-regulation/temperament perspectives impact our conceptualizations of these important constructs? 3. How can we reconcile the various ways different disciplines define IC and their independence/overlap? 4. How can multi-method and multi-disciplinary perspectives and data collection approaches be combined to better understand both the temperament and EF conceptions of IC? Future studies with this sample will employ this multi-theoretical and multi-method approach on assessment in preschool to predict temperament, EF, and behavioral and academic adjustment in elementary school longitudinally.

Assessing methamphetamine-related cue reactivity in people with methamphetamine use disorder relative to controls

Methamphetamine use disorder involves methamphetamine-related cues invoking intense craving leading to relapse. Such cue reactivity is thought to arise from Pavlovian conditioning that occurs during the drug-taking experience. Cue reactivity then should be selective to methamphetamine cues (and not other cues), and not observed in people who have never experienced methamphetamine. However, these premises have never been tested and reported using objective measures such as skin conductance response (SCR). The primary aim of this study was to test these premises using a cue reactivity paradigm we developed using control cues. The secondary aim was to explore the relationship between cue reactivity, drug use characteristics, and cognition. Thirty people with a current diagnosis of methamphetamine use disorder and 30 matched controls with no history of substance use disorder were recruited. We observed higher overall subjective reactivity (F = 62.810; p < 0.001) and cue-selective physiological reactivity (F = 5.160; p = 0.026) in people with methamphetamine use disorder but not in controls. Co-morbid sedative use was associated with higher subjective craving (r = 0.521; p = 0.003). People who use methamphetamine intravenously had higher cue-selective SCR than smokers (t = 3.750; p < 0.001). Low inhibitory control measured by the Stroop task was associated with increased craving across the cue paradigm (r = −0.494; p = 0.006). Overall, these results support that cue reactivity in people with methamphetamine use disorder is due to Pavlovian conditioning. Its association with drug use and cognition highlights cue reactivity paradigm’s utility in understanding methamphetamine use disorder to develop new treatments targeting cue-induced craving.

Substance Use Outcomes from Two Formats of a Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Aggressive Children: Moderating Roles of Inhibitory Control and Intervention Engagement.

Although cognitive-behavioral interventions have reduced the risk of substance use, little is known about moderating factors in children with disruptive behaviors. This study examined whether aggressive preadolescents’ inhibitory control and intervention engagement moderates the effect of group versus individual delivery on their substance use. Following screening for aggression in 4th grade, 360 children were randomly assigned to receive the Coping Power intervention in either group or individual formats. The sample was primarily African American (78%) and male (65%). Assessments were made of children’s self-reported substance use from preintervention through a six-year follow-up after intervention, parent-reported inhibitory control at preintervention, and observed behavioral engagement in the group intervention. Multilevel growth modeling found lower increases in substance use slopes for children with low inhibitory control receiving individual intervention, and for children with higher inhibitory control receiving group intervention. Children with low inhibitory control but who displayed more positive behavioral engagement in the group sessions had slower increases in their substance use than did similar children without positive engagement. Aggressive children’s level of inhibitory control can lead to tailoring of group versus individual delivery of intervention. Children’s positive behavioral engagement in group sessions is a protective factor for children with low inhibitory control.

Does Early Phonetic Differentiation Predict Later Phonetic Development? Evidence From a Longitudinal Study of /ɹ/ Development in Preschool Children.

Purpose We evaluated whether children whose inaccurate /ɹ/ productions showed evidence phonetic differentiation with /w/ at 3.5-4.5 years of age improved in /ɹ/ production over the next year more than children whose inaccurate productions did not show evidence of such differentiation. We also examined whether speech perception, inhibitory control, and vocabulary size predicted growth in /ɹ/. Method A set of typically developing, monolingual English-speaking preschool children (n = 136) produced tokens of /ɹ/- and /w/-initial words at two time points (TPs), at which they were 39-52 and 51-65 months old. Children's productions of /ɹ/ and /w/ were narrowly phonetically transcribed. Children's productions at the earlier time point were rated by naïve listeners using a visual analog scale measure of phoneme goodness; these ratings were used to assess the degree of phonetic differentiation between /ɹ/ and /w/. Results Accuracy for both phonemes varied considerably at both TPs. The growth in accuracy of /ɹ/ between the two TPs was not predicted by any individual-differences measures, nor by the degree of differentiation between /ɹ/ and /w/at the earlier time point. Conclusion Low vocabulary size, low inhibitory control, poor speech perception, and the absence of early phonetic differentiation are not necessarily limiting factors in predicting /ɹ/ growth in individual children in the age range we studied.

Emotional eating

Emotional Eating (EE) is defined as eating under the influence of negative emotions, and is associated with Eating Disorders, impulsivity, depression and weight gain. However, previous literature is not clear regarding how these variables explain EE. The present study aimed to identify predictors of EE and its relationship to impulsivity, depression, eating style, and weight status in young adults. Sex differences in eating style were examined, and differences in EE between obese/overweight and normal/underweight individuals were tested. Two-hundred college students completed online questionnaires assessing all variables. Low inhibitory control, depression symptoms, female sex, and higher body mass index significantly predicted scores on EE. Obese/overweight and female participants presented increased EE. Correlation analysis evidenced positive associations between EE, Uncontrolled Eating, body mass, and low inhibitory control. Results indicate that EE is related to psychological factors such as impulsivity and depression, and to biological factors, such as sex and body mass.

Executive function as a mechanism linking socioeconomic status to internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in children and adolescents

IntroductionThe association between low socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood and increased risk for psychopathology is well established, but the mechanisms explaining this relationship are poorly understood. Here, we investigate the potential role of difficulties in executive functioning (EF) as a mechanism linking childhood and adolescent SES with externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. MethodsWe examined whether difficulties with EF mediated the association between SES and externalizing and internalizing psychopathology in two cross-sectional samples of children and adolescents (Study 1: N = 94, ages 6–18, 51.1% male; Study 2: N = 259, ages 8–16, 54.1% male) from diverse SES backgrounds in the United States. EF was measured through behavioral tasks and parent-reported behavioral regulation (BR). ResultsIn both samples, children and adolescents from lower SES families were more likely to experience both externalizing and internalizing psychopathology than youth from more advantaged backgrounds and exhibited greater EF difficulties – they had lower performance on a task measuring inhibitory control and lower parent-rated BR. Reduced inhibitory control and BR, in turn, were associated with higher externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. In Study 1, difficulties with BR mediated the association of low-SES with both externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. In Study 2, low inhibitory control mediated the association between low-SES and externalizing psychopathology. These findings largely persisted after adjusting for exposure to violence, a form of adversity that is common in children from low-SES backgrounds. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that reduced EF may be an underlying mechanism through which low-SES confers risk for psychopathology in children and adolescents.

The interplay between inhibitory control and metaphor conventionality.

When a metaphor is first encountered (lawyers are sharks), several meanings are activated, but the literal ones (lawyers have fins) need to be inhibited to successfully compute the figurative meaning (lawyers are aggressive). With repeated exposure that metaphor becomes conventionalized, and its figurative meaning may be easily accessible without the need to inhibit the corresponding literal meaning. Thus, a central question in the field, and the objective of the current project, relates to how metaphor conventionality and inhibitory control contribute to metaphor comprehension. Participants completed a sense-nonsense task in which they indicated whether metaphorical and literal phrases had sensible meanings. In Experiment 1, participants also completed an inhibitory control task that assessed their ability to inhibit task-irrelevant responses. Participants with lower inhibitory control were slower at responding to more novel metaphors and faster at responding to more conventional metaphors compared with participants with higher inhibitory control. In Experiment 2, we used a dual-task paradigm to reduce participants' inhibitory control resources while performing the sense-nonsense task. Participants completed the sense-nonsense task concurrently with a different secondary task. This assessed their ability to evaluate phrases under low and high inhibitory load conditions. Performance on the sense-nonsense task was higher when processing more conventional than more novel metaphors when participants' inhibitory control processes were taxed in the high load condition. These findings suggest that inhibitory control does play a role in metaphor comprehension-the less conventional a metaphor, the more inhibitory skills are required to compute the figurative meaning.