Executive control in a modified antisaccade task: Effects of aging and bilingualism.

Two studies are reported that assess differences associated with aging and bilingualism in an executive control task. Previous work has suggested that bilinguals have an advantage over monolinguals in nonlinguistic tasks involving executive control; the major purpose of the present article is to ascertain which aspects of control are sensitive to the bilingual experience. Study 1 used an antisaccade task and found no effects of aging or bilingualism. Study 2 used the identical visual display but coupled to keypress responses. The results showed that bilinguals resolved various types of response conflict faster than monolinguals and that this bilingual advantage generally increased with age. A speculative interpretation of this pattern of results is offered in conclusion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How does bilingualism improve executive control? A comparison of active and reactive inhibition mechanisms.

It has been claimed that bilingualism enhances inhibitory control, but the available evidence is equivocal. The authors evaluated several possible versions of the inhibition hypothesis by comparing monolinguals and bilinguals with regard to stop signal performance, inhibition of return, and the attentional blink. These three phenomena, it can be argued, tap into different aspects of inhibition. Monolinguals and bilinguals did not differ in stop signal reaction time and thus were comparable in terms of active-inhibitory efficiency. However, bilinguals showed no facilitation from spatial cues, showed a strong inhibition of return effect, and exhibited a more pronounced attentional blink. These results suggest that bilinguals do not differ from monolinguals in terms of active inhibition but have acquired a better ability to maintain action goals and to use them to bias goal-related information. Under some circumstances, this ability may indirectly lead to more pronounced reactive inhibition of irrelevant information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What it takes to forgive: When and why executive functioning facilitates forgiveness.

To establish what it takes to forgive, the present research focused on the cognitive underpinnings of the forgiveness process. We conducted four studies that examined and supported the prediction that executive functioning (a set of cognitive control processes) facilitates forgiveness. First, a correlational study revealed a positive relation between executive functioning and dispositional forgiveness (Study 1). Second, a longitudinal study demonstrated that executive functioning predicts the development of forgiveness over a period of 5 weeks after the offense (Study 2). Finally, two experiments examined when and why executive functioning facilitates forgiveness. Specifically, and in line with predictions, Studies 3 and 4 showed that executive functioning facilitates forgiveness only in the case of relatively severe (as compared with mild) offenses. Furthermore, Study 4 provided evidence for a psychological mechanism underlying the relation between executive functioning and forgiveness by demonstrating the mediating role of rumination about the offense. Implications of these findings for the literature on forgiveness and the role of executive functioning in interpersonal relationships more generally are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Double dissociation in the anatomy of socioemotional disinhibition and executive functioning in dementia.

Objective: To determine whether socioemotional disinhibition and executive dysfunction are related to dissociable patterns of brain atrophy in neurodegenerative disease. Previous studies have indicated that behavioral and cognitive dysfunction in neurodegenerative disease are linked to atrophy in different parts of the frontal lobes, but these prior studies did not establish that these relationships were specific, which would best be demonstrated by a double dissociation. Method: Subjects included 157 patients with neurodegenerative disease. A semiautomated parcellation program (Freesurfer) was used to generate regional cortical volumes from structural MRI scans. Regions of interest (ROIs) included anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Socioemotional disinhibition was measured using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Principal component analysis including 3 tasks of executive function (EF; verbal fluency, Stroop Interference, modified Trails) was used to generate a single-factor score to represent EF. Results: Partial correlations between ROIs, disinhibition, and EF were computed after controlling for total intracranial volume, Mini-Mental State Examination, diagnosis, age, and education. Brain regions significantly correlated with disinhibition (ACC, OFC, IFG, and temporal lobes) and EF (MFG) were entered into separate hierarchical regressions to determine which brain regions predicted disinhibition and EF. OFC was the only brain region to significantly predict disinhibition, and MFG significantly predicted EF performance. A multivariate general linear model demonstrated a significant interaction between ROIs and cognitive–behavioral functions. Conclusions: These results support a specific association between orbitofrontal areas and behavioral management as compared with dorsolateral areas and EF. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal ability and executive functioning development in preschoolers at head start.

Research suggests that executive functioning skills may enhance the school readiness of children from disadvantaged homes. Questions remain, however, concerning both the structure and the stability of executive functioning among preschoolers. In addition, there is a lack of research addressing potential predictors of longitudinal change in executive functioning during early childhood. This study examined the structure of executive functioning from fall to spring of the preschool year using a multimethod battery of measures. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed a unidimensional model fit the data well at both time points, and tests of measurement invariance across time points indicated that children's mean latent executive functioning scores significantly improved over time. Verbal ability was a significant predictor of longitudinal change in executive functioning. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contribution of specific cognitive processes to executive functioning in an aging population.

The current study investigated executive function measures emphasizing Alpha Span (ASp) to understand relationships among executive and nonexecutive tasks. Nondemented older participants (N = 417) received a comprehensive cognitive battery. Age and vocabulary adjusted correlations revealed associations among ASp, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Revised (D. Wechsler, 1981) Digit Span subtests, and fluency tasks. Principal-components analysis with varimax rotation revealed a 4 component solution (86.4% of the variance) with executive variables contributing to all loadings. Calculated component indices were submitted to a regression analysis predicting ASp performance. After accounting for age (6.3% of the variance), Component 3 reflecting brief attention-mental manipulation accounted for 13.4% of ASp variance; Component 1, verbal language ability, 11.5%; Component 2, sustained attention-mental tracking, 1.9%; and Component 4, visuoperceptual spatial organization-planning, 0.9%. Results stress the importance of considering executive and nonexecutive aspects of cognition when conceptualizing executive functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social inappropriateness, executive control, and aging.

Age-related deficits in executive control might lead to socially inappropriate behavior if they compromise the ability to withhold inappropriate responses. Consistent with this possibility, older adults in the current study showed greater social inappropriateness than younger adults—as rated by their peers—and this effect was mediated by deficits in executive control as well as deficits in general cognitive ability. Older adults also responded with greater social inappropriateness to a provocative event in the laboratory, but this effect was unrelated to executive functioning or general cognitive ability. These findings suggest that changes in both social and cognitive factors are important in understanding age-related changes in social behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between formal thought disorder and executive functioning component processes.

In 2 studies, associations between formal thought disorder (FTD) and 2 components of executive functioning, processing of context and interference resolution, were investigated. One study, involving people with schizophrenia, examined associations between performance on processing of context (N-back) and interference resolution (interference in Steinberg probe recognition) tasks and FTD. The second study, involving nonpsychiatric participants, was an analogue study that examined the effects of simulated processing of context (performance of 1-back with distraction) and interference resolution (telling new stories about previously seen pictures) deficits on FTD in a speech production task. In both studies, processing of context deficits predicted FTD. Moreover, in both studies, the effect of processing of context deficits on FTD was especially pronounced when combined with interference resolution deficits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Constructive thinking, executive functioning, antisocial behavior, and drug use involvement in adolescent females with a substance use disorder.

The aim of this study was to determine how constructive thinking (CT), executive functioning (EF), and antisocial behavior (ASB) are related to drug use involvement in 282 adolescent females, 14–18 yrs of age, with a substance use disorder (SUD) and in controls. CT was measured using the Constructive Thinking Inventory, EF was measured using a battery of neuropsychological tests, and ASB was measured using the Youth Self-Report Inventory and a psychiatric interview. Females with an SUD demonstrated lower CT and EF scores and higher ASB scores compared with the controls. Low CT and low EF were significantly related to increased drug use involvement even when controlling for age, socioeconomic status, and vocabulary level. ASB partially mediated the relation between CT and drug use involvement, and it fully mediated the relation between EF and drug use involvement. Moreover, ASB moderated the relation between EF and drug use involvement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Plasticity of executive functioning in young and older adults: Immediate training gains, transfer, and long-term maintenance.

The authors investigated immediate training gains, transfer effects, and 18-month maintenance after 5 weeks of computer-based training in updating of information in working memory in young and older subjects. Trained young and older adults improved significantly more than controls on the criterion task (letter memory), and these gains were maintained 18 months later. Transfer effects were in general limited and restricted to the young participants, who showed transfer to an untrained task that required updating (3-back). The findings demonstrate substantial and durable plasticity of executive functioning across adulthood and old age, although there appear to be age-related constraints in the ability to generalize the acquired updating skill. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self and parent ratings of executive functioning after adolescent traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To examine the level of agreement between adolescents with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their parents in standardized ratings of executive functioning, and to determine correlates of discrepancies between those ratings. Participants: Ninety-eight 11- to 16-year-old adolescents with TBI and their parents, and 97 neuropsychologically healthy controls. Method: Five-year consecutive series of rehabilitation referrals for TBI. Measures: Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function–Self Report (BRIEF–SR) and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) parent report versions. Results: Self and parent ratings were moderately positively correlated in both the TBI group and the control group, but parents generally identified more executive dysfunction than did the adolescents. Parent-adolescent discrepancies were statistically significantly greater in the TBI group than in the control group on the Metacognitive index but not the Behavioral Regulation index. The degree of the former discrepancy was predicted by duration of coma in the TBI group. Conclusions: Adolescents with more severe TBI may underestimate their own degree of executive dysfunction in daily life, particularly aspects of metacognitive abilities, possibly, in part, because of an organic-based lack of deficit awareness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining the impact of traffic environment and executive functioning on children's pedestrian behaviors.

The process of integrating visual information and planning a safe crossing is cognitively demanding for many young children. We assessed relations between traffic characteristics, aspects of children's executive functioning (EF), and pedestrian behavior, with the aim being to determine whether well-developed EF would predict safer pedestrian behaviors beyond the contributions of child demographic and traffic environment factors. Using the pretend road method, we studied a sample of 83 children aged 6–9 in a series of 5 crossing trials beside a real road in response to actual traffic conditions. Traffic characteristics and pedestrian behaviors were observed and measured across crossing trials. Both traffic characteristics and EF, most notably cognitive efficiency, were strongly related to children's pedestrian crossing behaviors. Traffic characteristics were also found to interact with children's ability to monitor their crossing performance. Examining developmental influences in pedestrian injury etiology broadens researchers' knowledge of and ability to prevent injuries by moving beyond describing what happens to children and examining why pedestrian injuries occur. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structure of four executive functioning tests in healthy older adults.

The authors examined the factor structure of 4 indicators of executive functioning derived from 2 new (i.e., Hayling and Brixton) and 2 traditional (i.e., Stroop and Color Trails) tests. Data were from a cross-sectional sample of 55- to 85-year-old healthy adults (N=427) from the Victoria Longitudinal Study. Confirmatory factor analysis (LISREL 8.52) tested both a 2-factor model of Inhibition (Hayling, Stroop) and Shifting (Brixton, Color Trails) and a single-factor model. The 2-factor model did not fit the data because the covariance matrix of the factors was not positive definite. The single-factor model fit the data well, χ2(2, N=427)=0.32, p=.85, root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA)=.00, comparative fit index (CFI)=1.00, goodness-of-fit index (GFI)=1.00. Moreover, the single-factor structure of executive functioning was invariant (configural and metric) across gender, and invariant (configural with limited metric) across age. Structural relations showed that poorer executive functioning performance was related to older age and lower fluid intelligence, χ2(11, N=418)=23.04, p=.02, RMSEA=.05, CFI=.97, GFI=.98. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Executive functioning, irritability, and alcohol-related aggression.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine (a) whether irritability mediates the relation between executive functioning (EF) and alcohol-related aggression and (b) whether the alcohol-aggression relation is better explained by the interactive effects of EF and irritability above and beyond the effects of either variable alone. EF was measured using seven well-established neuropsychological tests. Irritability was assessed with the Caprara Irritability Scale. Participants were 313 male and female social drinkers between 21 and 35 years of age. Following the consumption of an alcohol or a placebo beverage, participants were tested on a laboratory aggression task in which electric shocks were given to and received from a fictitious opponent under the guise of a competitive reaction-time task. Aggression was operationalized as the shock intensities administered to the fictitious opponent. Results indicated that irritability successfully mediated the relation between EF and intoxicated aggression for men only. Despite the fact that irritability and EF both independently moderated the alcohol-aggression relation in previous studies, no significant interaction for their combined effect was detected here. The findings are discussed, in part, within a cognitive neoassociationistic framework for aggressive behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family-genetic study of executive functioning in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Evidence for an endophenotype?

This study examined familiality of attentional control and mental flexibility in multiplex attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) families. The authors hypothesized that siblings of ADHD probands, although not behaviorally expressing ADHD, have deficits in these executive functions and that the performance of probands, unaffected siblings, and control participants are on a continuum. Participants (aged 6 to 17) were 25 ADHD probands with a family history of ADHD, their 25 unaffected siblings, and 48 control participants. The unaffected siblings did not differ from the ADHD probands on attentional control or on some measures of mental flexibility. Linear changes in performance across the groups reflected an intermediate position of the unaffected siblings between the probands and control participants. These results suggest that these executive functions may be suitable endophenotypes of ADHD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preschool executive functioning abilities predict early mathematics achievement.

Impairments in executive function have been documented in school-age children with mathematical learning difficulties. However, the utility and specificity of preschool executive function abilities in predicting later mathematical achievement are poorly understood. This study examined linkages between children's developing executive function abilities at age 4 and children's subsequent achievement in mathematics at age 6, 1 year after school entry. The study sample consisted of a regionally representative cohort of 104 children followed prospectively from ages 2 to 6 years. At age 4, children completed a battery of executive function tasks that assessed planning, set shifting, and inhibitory control. Teachers completed the preschool version of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. Clinical and classroom measures of children's mathematical achievement were collected at age 6. Results showed that children's performance on set shifting, inhibitory control, and general executive behavior measures during the preschool period accounted for substantial variability in children's early mathematical achievement at school. These associations persisted even after individual differences in general cognitive ability and reading achievement were taken into account. Findings suggest that early measures of executive function may be useful in identifying children who may experience difficulties learning mathematical skills and concepts. They also suggest that the scaffolding of these executive skills could potentially be a useful additional component in early mathematics education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal deception from late childhood to middle adolescence and its relation to executive functioning skills.

The present investigation examined 8- to 16-year-olds' tendency to lie, the sophistication of their lies, and related cognitive factors. Participants were left alone and asked not to look at the answers to a test, but the majority peeked. The researcher then asked a series of questions to examine whether the participants would lie about their cheating and, if they did lie, evaluate the sophistication of their lies. Additionally, participants completed measures of working memory, inhibitory control, and planning skills. Results revealed that the sophistication of 8- to 16-year-olds' lies, but not their decision to lie, was significantly related to executive functioning skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interhemispheric connectivity and executive functioning in adults with Tourette syndrome.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is relatively smaller, and the corpus callosum (CC) larger, in adults with Tourette syndrome (TS). The authors explored the possible roles of the PFC and the CC in mediating interhemispheric interference and coordination in TS adults. They measured performance on M. Kinsbourne and J. Cook's (1971) verbal-manual interference task and on the bimanual Purdue Pegboard in 38 adults with TS and 34 healthy adults. Compared with controls, TS subjects were impaired on the bimanual Purdue Pegboard. On the dual task, right-hand performance did not differ between groups, but the normally expected left-hand advantage (opposite hemisphere condition) was absent in TS subjects. In the control group only, better left-hand performance accompanied larger PFC volumes but not CC cross-sectional area. PFC dysfunction might have precluded executive control of interference in the TS group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Characterizing executive functioning in older special populations: From cognitively elite to cognitively impaired.

The authors examined the structure and invariance of executive functions (EF) across (a) a continuum of cognitive status in 3 groups of older adults (cognitively elite [CE], cognitively normal [CN], and cognitively impaired [CI]) and (b) a 3-year longitudinal interval. Using latent variable analyses (LISREL 8.80), the authors tested 3-factor models (“Inhibition”: Hayling [Burgess & Shallice, 1997], Stroop [Regard, 1981]; “Shifting”: Brixton [Burgess & Shallice, 1997], Color Trails [D’Elia et al., 1996]; and “Updating”: Reading and Computational Span [Salthouse & Babcock, 1991]) and 1-factor models within each group. Participants (initial N = 570; 53–90 years) were from the Victoria Longitudinal Study (Sample 3, Waves 1 and 2). Cross-sectionally, the authors observed a 3-factor EF structure especially for the CE group and 1-factor solutions for all 3 groups. Longitudinally, temporal invariance was supported for the 3-factor model (CE and CN groups) and the 1-factor model (CI and CN groups). Subgroups with higher cognitive status and greater 3-year stability performed better on EF factors than corresponding groups with lower cognitive status and less stability. Studies of EF structure, performance, dedifferentiation, and dysfunction will benefit from considering initial cognitive status and longitudinal stability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability and stability of executive functioning in older adults.

A number of methodological questions have been raised about the reliability and validity of measuring executive functioning (EF) across multiple time points. In this study, correlational and latent-variable analyses were used to examine test-retest reliability of 5 common measures of EF and the stability of a latent EF construct. One hundred eighteen nondemented older adults were tested twice over a 4- to 8-week period. Findings demonstrated modest reliability of individual EF measures but very high stability of a latent EF construct. Relative contributions of each measure to the latent EF factor did not change across measurement trials. In addition, age-related effects on EF were similar at the 2 time points and were within the expected range. Implications for future studies of EF are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)