Behavioral and Brain Measures of Executive Attention and School Competence in Late Childhood

Checa, Purificación; Rueda, M. Rosario

doi:10.1080/87565641.2011.591857

Cited by 75 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…These findings match prior research revealing that improvements associated to EF training are reflected in the most demanding cognitive tasks such as rule changing (Diamond, 2012;Diamond & Ling, 2016;Goldin et al, 2014). Regarding attentional capacity, our findings conflict with those from prior research (Checa & Rueda, 2011;Ison, 2011). This may be due to the study intervention group design.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Cognitive stimulation in children at social risk: its transference to school performance

Korzeniowski

Ison

Anglat

2017

Int. j. psychol. res.

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Intervención cognitiva grupal destinada a fortalecer funciones ejecutivas en niños en riesgo socialCelina Korzeniowski 1 2 *, Mirta Susana Ison 1 2 and Hilda Difabio 3 AbstractThe present study set out to evaluate the effectiveness of a group cognitive intervention aimed at promoting executive functions in children at social risk. The quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design included a control group. The sample was made up of 178 children (52% boys), aged 6-10. The children were evaluated by means of a battery of neuropsychological EF tests and a teacher-rated behavioral EF scale. The intervention program included 30 group cognitive stimulation sessions that increased in difficulty and were embedded into school currícula. Trained children performed better in terms of cognitive flexibility, planning, metacognition and inhibitory control, as compared to their baseline values and to children in the control group. This study provides new evidence of the effectiveness of cognitive interventions for children and of children's capability to transfer cognitive improvements to daily school activities. ResumenEl presente trabajo se propuso evaluar la efectividad de una intervención cognitiva grupal destinada a promover las funciones ejecutivas en niños en riesgo social. Se utilizó un diseño cuasi-experimental pretest-postest con grupo control. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 178 niños argentinos (52% varones) de 6 a 10 años de edad. Se empleó una batería de tests neuropsicológicos y una escala de funcionamiento ejecutivo versión docente. La intervención incluyó 30 sesiones grupales, de dificultad creciente y se insertó dentro de la curr'icula escolar. Los niños entrenados evidenciaron un mejor desempeño en flexibilidad cognitiva, planificación, metacognición y control inhibitorio en comparación con su desempeño basal y sus controles. Estos resultados aportan nueva evidencia sobre la efectividad de las intervenciones cognitivas infantiles y su capacidad para transferir las mejoras cognitivas a las actividades cotidianas de los niños en elámbito escolar.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Cognitive stimulation in children at social risk: its transference to school performance

Korzeniowski

Ison

Anglat

2017

Int. j. psychol. res.

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“…Executive attention and effortful control have been related to academic outcome, aspects of social adjustment (16), and inhibitory control to early arithmetic competency (17). More specifically, lower performance on the flanker task (see below) has been related to poorer social behavior, increased rates of peer rejection and more disturbing behavior in the classroom (18), dimensions of school competence (19), and parent-reported temperamental effortful control (20). This finding makes it possible to study the neural foundation of self-regulation by using validated cognitive tasks with a high degree of experimental control.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multimodal imaging of the self-regulating developing brain

Fjell

Walhovd

Brown

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

201

185

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Self-regulation refers to the ability to control behavior, cognition, and emotions, and self-regulation failure is related to a range of neuropsychiatric problems. It is poorly understood how structural maturation of the brain brings about the gradual improvement in self-regulation during childhood. In a large-scale multicenter effort, 735 children (4-21 y) underwent structural MRI for quantification of cortical thickness and surface area and diffusion tensor imaging for quantification of the quality of major fiber connections. Brain development was related to a standardized measure of cognitive control (the flanker task from the National Institutes of Health Toolbox), a critical component of self-regulation. Ability to inhibit responses and impose cognitive control increased rapidly during preteen years. Surface area of the anterior cingulate cortex accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in cognitive performance. This finding is intriguing, because characteristics of the anterior cingulum are shown to be related to impulse, attention, and executive problems in neurodevelopmental disorders, indicating a neural foundation for self-regulation abilities along a continuum from normality to pathology. The relationship was strongest in the younger children. Properties of large-fiber connections added to the picture by explaining additional variance in cognitive control. Although cognitive control was related to surface area of the anterior cingulate independently of basic processes of mental speed, the relationship between white matter quality and cognitive control could be fully accounted for by speed. The results underscore the need for integration of different aspects of brain maturation to understand the foundations of cognitive development.executive function | cognitive conflict | inhibition | morphometry S elf-regulation enables people to make plans, choose from alternatives, control impulses, inhibit thoughts, and regulate social behavior (updated reviews in refs. 1 and 2). Several neuropsychiatric conditions and problems have been related to deficiencies in self-regulation [e.g., Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (3), addiction (4), risk behavior (5), conduct problems (6), and poor school and academic performance (7, 8)]. Although development of self-regulation in children is the result of a dynamic interaction between maturation and learning, we have scarce knowledge about the role played by structural brain characteristics in this process. Recent reports indicate that adjustment problems in childhood psychopathology are related to structural brain characteristics (9-13), but the brain basis for development of self-regulation in normal children is less well-understood. Thus, the purpose of the present paper was to use multimodal neuroimaging to map the structural brain characteristics related to self-regulation and cognitive control in a large sample of 735 children between 4 and 21 y of age.Self-regulation is closely tied to the concepts of cognitive control, attention, and executive f...

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“…It enables individuals to engage in goal-directed behavior, such as control of impulses, inhibition of unwanted thoughts, and regulation of emotions (Hofmann, Schmeichel, & Baddeley, 2012;Heatherton & Wagner, 2011). Deficits in cognitive control have been related to deficits in social behavior, poorer school competence (Checa & Rueda, 2011;Rueda, Checa, & Rothbart, 2010;Blair & Razza, 2007), and various forms of psychopathology, including ADHD (de Zeeuw, Weusten, van Dijk, van Belle, & Durston, 2012;Carr, Henderson, & Nigg, 2010;King, Colla, Brass, Heuser, & Von Cramon, 2007), substance use (Hester, Lubman, & Yücel, 2009;Lubman, Yücel, & Pantelis, 2004), and impulse control disorders (Hughes, Dunn, & White, 1998;Pennington & Ozonoff, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Prefrontal Structural Correlates of Cognitive Control during Adolescent Development: A 4-Year Longitudinal Study

Vijayakumar

Whittle

Yücel

et al. 2014

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

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Maturation of cognitive control abilities has been attributed to the protracted structural maturation of underlying neural correlates during adolescence. This study examined the relationship between development of two forms of cognitive control (proactive and reactive control) and structural maturation of the ACC, dorsolateral pFC, and ventrolateral pFC (vlPFC) between early and mid adolescence using a longitudinal design. Adolescents (n = 92) underwent baseline assessments when they were 12 years old and follow-up assessments approximately 4 years later. At each assessment, structural MRI scans were acquired, and a modified Stroop task was performed. Results showed longitudinal improvements in reactive control between early and mid adolescence. Furthermore, magnitude of the improvement in proactive control was associated with reduced thinning of the right vlPFC across the sample, whereas the magnitude of the improvements in reactive control was associated with reduced thinning of the left ACC in men alone. These findings suggest that individual differences in the maturation of ACC and vlPFC underlie the development of two distinct forms of cognitive control between early and mid adolescence as well as highlight sex differences in this relationship.

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Behavioral and Brain Measures of Executive Attention and School Competence in Late Childhood

Cited by 75 publications

References 37 publications

Cognitive stimulation in children at social risk: its transference to school performance

Cognitive stimulation in children at social risk: its transference to school performance

Multimodal imaging of the self-regulating developing brain

Prefrontal Structural Correlates of Cognitive Control during Adolescent Development: A 4-Year Longitudinal Study

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