Helping children apply their knowledge to their behavior on a dimension‐switching task

Kirkham, Natasha Z.; Cruess, Loren; Diamond, Adele

doi:10.1111/1467-7687.00300

Cited by 403 publications

(538 citation statements)

References 125 publications

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“…Furthermore, our results may shed light on the relation between prefrontal activation and perseverative behaviors. Developmental psychologists suggest that functional development of the prefrontal cortex may help young children to improve their perseverative behaviors (12,13). This speculation is based on the results of the WCST in patients with prefrontal damage (2-4).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the postswitch phase, children are asked to sort the cards according to a second rule (e.g., shape). Typically, 3-year-old children perseverate to the first rule, whereas 4-and 5-year-old children do not (12)(13)(14)(15). The perseverative errors in 3-year-old children are apparently similar to those in patients with prefrontal damage.…”

mentioning

confidence: 83%

“…The perseverative errors in 3-year-old children are apparently similar to those in patients with prefrontal damage. Therefore, developmental psychologists assume that maturation of the lateral prefrontal cortex may play an essential role in the development of cognitive shifting (12,13). Extensive behavioral research has supported the assumption.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Neural origin of cognitive shifting in young children

Moriguchi

Hiraki

2009

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

165

192

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Cognitive shifting is the ability to adapt to changes in the environment. Extensive research has revealed that the prefrontal cortex plays an important role in cognitive shifting. Adult neuroimaging studies have shown that the inferior prefrontal cortex is activated during cognitive shifting tasks. Developmental studies have shown that cognitive shifting changes significantly during preschool years. It is known that 3-year-old children often perseverate to previous mental sets, whereas 5-year-old children do not. Developmental psychologists assume that maturation of the prefrontal cortex plays an essential role in the development of shifting; however, direct supporting evidence is lacking. We used near-infrared spectroscopy and showed that inferior prefrontal activation is associated with successful shifting in young children. We also showed that even preschool children display adult-like inferior prefrontal activation during a simple cognitive shifting task. This report demonstrates the neural origins of cognitive shifting in young children. These results have the potential to contribute to our understanding of cognitive and brain development in both typically and atypically developed children.cognitive development ͉ inferior prefrontal cortex ͉ near-infrared spectroscopy ͉ preschool children ͉ executive function

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 83%

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Neural origin of cognitive shifting in young children

Moriguchi

Hiraki

2009

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

165

192

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“…Working memory and inhibition are central to executive control (Miyake et al, 2000, Zacks & Hasher, 1994). Diamond and her colleagues have argued that working memory and inhibition together play a critical role in the ability to overcome "attentional inertia," that is, focusing on the same, previously-relevant aspects of a stimulus even when contextual demands change (Kirkham, Cruess, & Diamond, 2003). The first model tested in the present study was a two-factor model including factors of Inhibition and Working Memory, with at least three tasks specified to load on each latent factor (see Figure 1).…”

Section: Models Of Executive Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using confirmatory factor analysis to understand executive control in preschool children: I. Latent structure.

Wiebe¹,

Espy²,

Charak³

2008

Developmental Psychology

674

585

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Although many tasks have been developed recently to study executive control in the preschool years, the constructs that underlie performance on these tasks are poorly understood. In particular, it is unclear whether executive control is comprised of multiple, separable cognitive abilities (e.g., inhibition and working memory) or whether it is unitary in nature. A sample of 243 normally developing children between 2.25 and 6 years of age completed a battery of ageappropriate executive control tasks. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to compare multiple models of executive control empirically. A single-factor, general model was sufficient to account for the data. Furthermore, the fit of the unitary model was invariant across subgroups of children divided by socioeconomic status or sex. Girls displayed a higher level of latent executive control than boys, and children of higher and lower SES did not differ in level. In typically-developing preschool children, tasks conceptualized as indices of working memory and inhibitory control in fact measured a single cognitive ability, despite surface differences between task characteristics.Keywords: executive control, inhibition, working memory, preschool, confirmatory factor analysis Preschool Executive Control 3Using confirmatory factor analysis to understand executive control in preschool children:I. Latent structure Executive control is a term used to refer broadly to those cognitive abilities that are associated with, or subserved by, prefrontal cortex and interconnected subcortical system (Diamond, 2001;Stuss, 1992). Although research on executive control has been underway for several decades, remarkably there remains no well-agreed-upon definition as yet. One school of thought has conceptualized executive control as a group of relatively independent, or fractionated, cognitive abilities, typically including working memory, the ability to keep information in mind to guide ongoing or later behavior (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974); inhibitory control, the ability to keep irrelevant or misleading information from interfering with performance (Diamond, 1990;Harnishfeger & Bjorklund, 1993); and set-shifting, or adapting strategies to changing situational demands (Zelazo, Frye, & Rapus, 1996). In contrast, others have argued that executive control is a unitary, domain general construct that manifests in different ways depending on contextual demands (e.g., Duncan & Miller, 2002;Duncan & Owen, 2000).Prefrontal systems undergo a protracted course of development (Benes, 2001). In comparison with posterior cortical areas, the phases of prefrontal cortical development, including neuronal generation, differentiation, and synaptic pruning, occur later and over a longer period of time (Giedd et al., 1999;Huttenlocher, 1990). Myelination of fibers within prefrontal cortex is not complete until early adulthood (Paus et al., 2001). Executive control undergoes a similarly delayed developmental trajectory where, for example, performance on "classic" executive tasks like the T...

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“…Set-Shifting: The Dimensional Change Card Sorting Task (DCCS; Frye et al 1995) is based on Kirkham et al (2003) version of Frye et al (1995) DCCS task. The task measures the child's ability to switch categorical sorting dimensions (e.g., color, shape) based upon specified rules.…”

Section: Verbal Working Memory (Vwm) the Memory Formentioning

confidence: 99%

Latent Dimensions of Executive Functions in Early Childhood

Decker

Ezrine

Ferraracci

2016

J Pediatr Neuropsychol

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Executive functions (EF) are known to be a multidimensional construct in adults; however, the underlying dimensions of EF in early childhood are unclear. Theoretical models of EF have generally suggested the importance of language, attention, and inhibition abilities as developmental foundations for EF abilities. This study investigated the construct validity of EF by administering a diverse battery of measures of EF along with cognitive measures representing different theoretical models of EF (language, attention, and inhibition) to 70 preschool children. The EF battery included measures of working memory (verbal and nonverbal), set shifting, and problem solving. A maximum likelihood factor analysis with oblimin rotation resulted in a three factor model; however, only two factors (language and inhibition) were related to EF measures. Results from the current study suggest language and behavioral inhibition are two foundational latent abilities for the development of EF abilities in early childhood. Attention, although important in many EF theories, may also be important for cognitive development but appears to be less important for EF abilities in preschool children. Results from this study suggest executive functions in early childhood consist of multiple distinct but interrelated components that are associated with underlying cognitive foundations.

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Helping children apply their knowledge to their behavior on a dimension‐switching task

Cited by 403 publications

References 125 publications

Neural origin of cognitive shifting in young children

Neural origin of cognitive shifting in young children

Using confirmatory factor analysis to understand executive control in preschool children: I. Latent structure.

Latent Dimensions of Executive Functions in Early Childhood

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