Event‐related potential measures of executive functioning from preschool to adolescence

Abstract

ABBREVIATIONS CDAContralateral delay activity [Abstract]Executive functions are a set collection of skills cognitive abilities necessary for behavioural control and regulation and are important for school success. Executive deficits are common across acquired and developmental disorders in childhood and beyond. This review aims to summarize how studies using event-related potential (ERP) can provide insight into mechanisms underpinning the development ofhow executive functions develop in children from preschool to adolescence. We specifically focus on ERP components that are considered to be well-established markers of executive functioning, including the ability to resist distraction (inhibition, N200), hold scenes in mind (visuospatial working memory, contralateral delay activity), attend to specific stimuli (information processing, P300), follow rules [Boxed text to appear on page 2] What this review adds[SC8][MD9] Event-related components show maturational changes from preschool to adolescence. Altered developmental trajectories are associated with atypical executive functioning. Event-related potentials can serve as biological markers for the development and dysfunction of executive skills.[ Main text]Executive functions are a set collection of cognitive processes that help us to control and regulate our thoughts and behaviours to make plans, solve problems, and attain goals. 1,2 These skills are important throughout the lifespan, contributing to school readiness and academic achievement 3 as well asand to later career success. Major subcomponents of executive functioning have been described as attention, inhibition, self-regulation, working memory, cognitive flexibility, planning, organization, problem-solving, and performance-monitoring skills. 4 Basic executive functions, such as the ability toincluding the inhibition of an inappropriate motor response, emerge early in life and subsequently lay down the foundations for the later development of higher-order more complex executive functions, such as reasoning, including planning, and problem-solving. Whether the subcomponents of executive functioning are already differentiated in the first few years of life or emerge from a more undifferentiated system with development is still debated. Although it is widely agreed that, from around 7 years of age, the overarching structure of executive functions is relatively stable, 5,6 the structure of executive functions may be more unitary and less differentiated earlier in life. Here, we provide an overview of ERP studies relevant to the development of executive functions development from preschool to adolescence. ERP research from this period of development has not previously been reviewed, despite the growing number of studies and the substantial changes observed in ERP components related to executive functions during this developmental stage. This review aims to provide a summary of developmental changes observed in key ERP components throughout this period, collating studies that look at different domains of e...

Event-Related Potentials in a Cued Go-NoGo Task Associated with Executive Functions in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder; A Case-Control Study

“…Executive functions are often affected in neurodevelopmental disorders such as ASD (Hill, 2004; Pugliese et al, 2014) and have been shown to have broad and significant implications for everyday life (Miyake and Friedman, 2012; Downes et al, 2017). The prefrontal cortex is regarded as the main brain region involved in executive functions (Friedman and Miyake, 2017), and prefrontal processes seem also to be involved in RRB (Mosconi et al, 2009; Agam et al, 2010).…”

“…The reactive control processes after S2 therefore include conflict monitoring and execution or inhibition of the planned response. The N2 is a negative deflection ~200 ms after S2, and is suggested to reflect the cognitive control necessary for interference suppression and successful inhibition (Donkers and Van Boxtel, 2004; Downes et al, 2017) and thereby conflict monitoring or the degree of experienced conflict (Hammerer et al, 2010). The P3, a positive deflection ~300 ms after both stimuli (S1 and S2), has been suggested to indicate the classification of the stimulus and the selection of responses, and in NoGo trials evaluate the inhibitory process after S2 (Aasen and Brunner, 2016).…”

“…However, they summarized that ASD showed attenuated P3b amplitudes and attributed this to abnormal information processing in the selection of responses. Deviant Cue P3, N2, and P3 NoGo are frequently found in other neurodevelopmental disorders (Johnstone et al, 2013; Downes et al, 2017). …”

“…Age-related changes of ERP components related to response preparation, conflict monitoring, and response inhibition are previously investigated in TD (Tecce, 1971; Cohen, 1973; Jonkman, 2006; Lamm et al, 2006; Lewis et al, 2006; Downes et al, 2017). Jonkman (2006) found CNV amplitude significantly larger in adults than children indicating a linear increase with age.…”

“…Both the enhanced CNV and Cue P3 are suggesting a higher response preparation (Jonkman, 2006). The amplitude of N2 is typically described as decreasing with age (Jonkman, 2006; Downes et al, 2017), but also dependent on task performance; better performance is associated with reduced amplitude (Lamm et al, 2006). Hammerer et al (2010) described decreasing N2 from childhood to young adulthood, steeper decreasing in NoGo than Go condition.…”