Sensitive periods in executive function development

Thompson, Abigail; Steinbeis, Nikolaus

doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.08.001

Cited by 54 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…And fourth, the notion that learning is lost suggests that it is unlikely to be recouped. However, most skills, competencies, and knowledge related to reading and mathematics, the arts, history, and social studies can be engaged with successfully at any point in an individuals' lifespan, albeit potentially requiring greater intensity and personalization of instruction and practice (Thompson and Steinbeis 2020;Woodard and Pollak 2020). The special education and intervention literature would dispute the notion that achievement is forever compromised if skills are not taught and learned at a fixed point in time (Marita and Hord 2017;Lovett et al 2020;Vaillancourt et al 2020).…”

Section: Covid-19 and Learning Lossmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of COVID-19 on the learning and achievement of vulnerable Canadian children and youth

Whitley

Beauchamp

Brown

2021

FACETS

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Many children and youth in Canada are identified as vulnerable due to educational, environmental, and social factors. They are more likely to be negatively affected by events that cause significant upheaval in daily life. The changes imposed by COVID-19, such as physical distancing, school closures, and reductions in community-based services all have the potential to weaken the systems of support necessary for these children to learn and develop. Existing inequities in educational outcomes experienced by vulnerable children prior to the pandemic have been greatly exacerbated as cracks in our support structures are revealed. Many children and youth have experienced disengagement, chronic attendance problems, declines in academic achievement, and decreased credit attainment during the pandemic, with the impact far deeper for those already at-risk. This chapter examines what is known to date regarding the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable children and youth and provides recommendations to guide postpandemic planning. Vulnerable children, youth, and their families require access to reliable high-speed internet, effective and inclusive learning spaces, and a range of coordinated social services. All stakeholders need to develop and fund initiatives that address these critical areas to ensure that educational opportunities for all children and youth can be realized.

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Section: Covid-19 and Learning Lossmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of COVID-19 on the learning and achievement of vulnerable Canadian children and youth

Whitley

Beauchamp

Brown

2021

FACETS

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“…Comparisons between the two age groups for common EF and each subcomponent Compared with adolescents, adults showed differences in convergence in the prefrontal cortex (inferior frontal gyrus) and superior/inferior parietal lobule for common EF and each subcomponent. Evidence has shown that EF is developmentally correlated with prefrontal activation (Ferguson et al, 2021;Thompson & Steinbeis, 2020). However, the prefrontal cortex matures in the very late period of adolescence and on the transition to adulthood (O'Hare & Sowell, 2008).…”

Section: 23mentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural substrates of the executive function construct, age‐related changes, and task materials in adolescents and adults: ALE meta‐analyses of 408 fMRI studies

Zhang

Peng

Eickhoff

et al. 2021

Developmental Science

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To explore the neural substrates of executive function (EF), we conducted an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of 408 functional magnetic resonance imaging studies (9639 participants, 7587 activation foci, 518 experimental contrasts) covering three fundamental EF subcomponents: inhibition, switching, and working memory. Our results found that activation common to all three EF subcomponents converged in the multiple-demand network across adolescence and adulthood. The function of EF with the multiple-demand network involved, especially for the prefrontal cortex and the parietal regions, could not be mature until adulthood. In adolescents, only working memory could be separable from common EF, whereas in adults, the three EF subcomponents could be separable from common EF. However, findings of switching in adolescents should be treated with substantial caution and may be exploratory due to limited data available on switching tasks. For task materials, inhibition and working memory showed both domain generality and domain specificity, undergirded by the multiple-demand network, as well as different brain regions in response to verbal and nonverbal task materials, respectively. In contrast, switching showed only domain generality with no activation specialized for either verbal or nonverbal task materials. These findings, taken together, support and contribute to the unitary-diverse nature of EF such that EF should be interpreted in an integrative model that relies on the integration of the EF construct, development, and task materials.

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“…For example, there are particularly sensitive periods of development (Hartley & Frankenhuis, 2020) where removing or adding certain stimuli or experiences can have substantive downstream consequences which would not occur during other periods. Specifically, evidence suggests that reduced cognitive stimulation during development is associated with alterations in later life cognitive functioning (e.g., working memory; Thompson & Steinbeis, 2020). An observed effect size from such a study would only have a generalized effect if the population of interest is in the relevant stage of development.…”

Section: Stage Of Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Not all effects are indispensable: Psychological science requires verifiable lines of reasoning for whether an effect matters.

Anvari¹,

Kievit²,

Lakens³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Psychological researchers currently lack guidance for how to evaluate the practical relevance of observed effect sizes, i.e. whether a finding will have impact when translated to a different context of application. Although psychologists have recently highlighted theoretical justifications for why small effect sizes might be practically relevant, such justifications are simplistic and fail to provide the information necessary for evaluation and falsification. Claims about whether an observed effect size is practically relevant need to consider both the mechanisms amplifying and counteracting practical relevance, as well as the assumptions underlying each mechanism at play. To provide guidance for systematically evaluating whether an observed effect size is practically relevant, we present examples of widely applicable mechanisms and the key assumptions needed for justifying whether an observed effect size can be expected to generalize to different contexts. Routine use of these mechanisms to justify claims about practical relevance has the potential to make researchers’ claims about generalizability substantially more transparent. This transparency can help move psychological science towards a more rigorous assessment of when psychological findings can be applied in the world.

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Sensitive periods in executive function development

Cited by 54 publications

References 77 publications

The impact of COVID-19 on the learning and achievement of vulnerable Canadian children and youth

The impact of COVID-19 on the learning and achievement of vulnerable Canadian children and youth

Neural substrates of the executive function construct, age‐related changes, and task materials in adolescents and adults: ALE meta‐analyses of 408 fMRI studies

Not all effects are indispensable: Psychological science requires verifiable lines of reasoning for whether an effect matters.

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