What Is Executive Function
Executive-function skills help us stay on task, make plans, set goals, and carry them out successfully—even when complex things are happening around us. Brain regions; Clinical neuropsychology; Cognitive neuropsychology; Cognitive neuroscience; Dementia; Human brain; Neuroanatomy; Neurophysiology; Neuropsychological. Executive Functioning Issues Signs and Symptoms Executive functioning issues impact kids in different ways. Kids may have weakness in only one or two areas, or in all of them. The signs of problems with executive function often look like the signs of ADHD. That’s because ADHD is a.
.Executive functions (collectively referred to as executive function and cognitive control) are a set of that are necessary for the cognitive control of: selecting and successfully monitoring behaviors that facilitate the attainment of chosen goals. Executive functions include basic cognitive processes such as,. Higher order executive functions require the simultaneous use of multiple basic executive functions and include and (e.g., and ).Executive functions gradually develop and change across the lifespan of an individual and can be improved at any time over the course of a person's life.
Similarly, these cognitive processes can be adversely affected by a variety of events which affect an individual. Both (e.g., the ) and rating scales (e.g., the ) are used to measure executive functions. They are usually performed as part of a to diagnose neurological and psychiatric disorders.Cognitive control and, which is associated with and, represent opposite processes (internal vs external or environmental, respectively) that compete over the control of an individual's elicited behaviors; in particular, inhibitory control is necessary for overriding stimulus-driven behavioral responses (stimulus control of behavior). The is necessary but not solely sufficient for executive functions; for example, the and also have a role in mediating inhibitory control.Cognitive control is impaired in, and a number of other. Stimulus-driven behavioral responses that are associated with a particular tend to dominate one's behavior in an addiction. Contents.Neuroanatomy Historically, the executive functions have been seen as regulated by the prefrontal regions of the frontal lobes, but it is still a matter of ongoing debate if that really is the case.
Even though articles on prefrontal lobe lesions commonly refer to disturbances of executive functions and vice versa, a review found indications for the but not for the of executive function measures to frontal lobe functioning. This means that both frontal and non-frontal brain regions are necessary for intact executive functions. Probably the frontal lobes need to participate in basically all of the executive functions, but it is not the only brain structure involved.and studies have identified the functions which are most often associated with the particular regions of the prefrontal cortex and associated areas. The (DLPFC) is involved with 'on-line' processing of information such as integrating different dimensions of cognition and behavior. As such, this area has been found to be associated with verbal and design fluency, ability to maintain and, planning, response inhibition, working memory, organisational skills, reasoning, problem solving and abstract thinking. Side view of the brain, illustrating dorsolateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortex.
The (ACC) is involved in emotional drives, experience and integration. Associated cognitive functions include inhibition of inappropriate responses, decision making and motivated behaviors. Lesions in this area can lead to low drive states such as, or and may also result in low drive states for such basic needs as food or drink and possibly decreased interest in social or vocational activities and sex. The (OFC) plays a key role in impulse control, maintenance of set, monitoring ongoing behavior and socially appropriate behaviors. The orbitofrontal cortex also has roles in representing the value of rewards based on sensory stimuli and evaluating subjective emotional experiences.
Lesions can cause disinhibition, impulsivity, aggressive outbursts, sexual promiscuity and antisocial behavior.Furthermore, in their review, Alvarez and Emory state that: 'The frontal lobes have multiple connections to cortical, subcortical and brain stem sites. The basis of 'higher-level' cognitive functions such as inhibition, flexibility of thinking, problem solving, planning, impulse control, concept formation, abstract thinking, and creativity often arise from much simpler, 'lower-level' forms of cognition and behavior. Thus, the concept of executive function must be broad enough to include anatomical structures that represent a diverse and diffuse portion of the central nervous system.' The also appears to be involved in mediating certain executive functions. Hypothesized role The executive system is thought to be heavily involved in handling novel situations outside the domain of some of our 'automatic' psychological processes that could be explained by the reproduction of learned or set behaviors. Further information:The executive functions are among the last mental functions to reach maturity. This is due to the delayed maturation of the, which is not completely until well into a person's third decade of life.
Development of executive functions tends to occur in spurts, when new skills, strategies, and forms of awareness emerge. These spurts are thought to reflect maturational events in the frontal areas of the brain.
Attentional control appears to emerge in infancy and develop rapidly in early childhood. Cognitive flexibility, goal setting, and information processing usually develop rapidly during ages 7–9 and mature by age 12. Executive control typically emerges shortly after a transition period at the beginning of adolescence.
It is not yet clear whether there is a single sequence of stages in which executive functions appear, or whether different environments and early life experiences can lead people to develop them in different sequences. Early childhood and act as basic executive functions that makes it possible for more complex executive functions like problem-solving to develop. Inhibitory control and working memory are among the earliest executive functions to appear, with initial signs observed in infants, 7 to 12-months old. Then in the preschool years, children display a spurt in performance on tasks of inhibition and working memory, usually between the ages of 3 to 5 years. Also during this time, cognitive flexibility, goal-directed behavior, and planning begin to develop. Nevertheless, preschool children do not have fully mature executive functions and continue to make errors related to these emerging abilities – often not due to the absence of the abilities, but rather because they lack the awareness to know when and how to use particular strategies in particular contexts.
Preadolescence Preadolescent children continue to exhibit certain growth spurts in executive functions, suggesting that this development does not necessarily occur in a linear manner, along with the preliminary maturing of particular functions as well. During preadolescence, children display major increases in verbal working memory; goal-directed behavior (with a potential spurt around 12 years of age); response inhibition and selective attention; and strategic planning and organizational skills. Additionally, between the ages of 8 to 10, in particular begins to match adult levels. However, similar to patterns in childhood development, executive functioning in preadolescents is limited because they do not reliably apply these executive functions across multiple contexts as a result of ongoing development of inhibitory control. Adolescence Many executive functions may begin in childhood and preadolescence, such as inhibitory control.
Yet, it is during adolescence when the different brain systems become better integrated. At this time, youth implement executive functions, such as inhibitory control, more efficiently and effectively and improve throughout this time period. Just as inhibitory control emerges in childhood and improves over time, planning and goal-directed behavior also demonstrate an extended time course with ongoing growth over adolescence. Likewise, functions such as attentional control, with a potential spurt at age 15, along with working memory, continue developing at this stage.Adulthood The major change that occurs in the brain in adulthood is the constant myelination of neurons in the prefrontal cortex. At age 20–29, executive functioning skills are at their peak, which allows people of this age to participate in some of the most challenging mental tasks.
These skills begin to decline in later adulthood. Working memory and spatial span are areas where decline is most readily noted.
Cognitive flexibility, however, has a late onset of impairment and does not usually start declining until around age 70 in normally functioning adults. Impaired executive functioning has been found to be the best predictor of functional decline in the elderly.Models Top-down inhibitory control Aside from facilitatory or amplificatory mechanisms of control, many authors have argued for in the domain of response control, memory, selective attention, emotion regulation, as well as social emotions such as empathy. A recent review on this topic argues that active inhibition is a valid concept in some domains of psychology/cognitive control. Working memory model One influential model is Baddeley's multicomponent model of working memory, which is composed of a central executive system that regulates three other subsystems: the phonological loop, which maintains verbal information; the visuospatial sketchpad, which maintains visual and spatial information; and the more recently developed episodic buffer that integrates short-term and long-term memory, holding and manipulating a limited amount of information from multiple domains in temporal and spatially sequenced episodes. Supervisory attentional system (SAS) Another conceptual model is the (SAS). In this model, contention scheduling is the process where an individual's well-established schemas automatically respond to routine situations while executive functions are used when faced with novel situations.
In these new situations, attentional control will be a crucial element to help generate new schema, implement these schema, and then assess their accuracy.Self-regulatory model proposed a widely known model of executive functioning that is based on. Primarily derived from work examining behavioral inhibition, it views executive functions as composed of four main abilities. One element is working memory that allows individuals to resist interfering information. A second component is the management of emotional responses in order to achieve goal-directed behaviors. Thirdly, internalization of self-directed speech is used to control and sustain rule-governed behavior and to generate plans for problem-solving.
Lastly, information is analyzed and synthesized into new behavioral responses to meet one's goals. Changing one's behavioral response to meet a new goal or modify an objective is a higher level skill that requires a fusion of executive functions including self-regulation, and accessing prior knowledge and experiences.According to this model, the executive system of the human brain provides for the cross-temporal organization of behavior towards goals and the future and coordinates actions and strategies for everyday goal-directed tasks. Essentially, this system permits humans to self-regulate their behavior so as to sustain action and problem solving toward goals specifically and the future more generally. Thus, executive function deficits pose serious problems for a person's ability to engage in self-regulation over time to attain their goals and anticipate and prepare for the future.
Problem-solving model Yet another model of executive functions is a problem-solving framework where executive functions is considered a macroconstruct composed of subfunctions working in different phases to (a) represent a problem, (b) plan for a solution by selecting and ordering strategies, (c) maintain the strategies in short-term memory in order to perform them by certain rules, and then (d) evaluate the results with error detection and error correction. Lezak's conceptual model One of the most widespread conceptual models on executive functions is Lezak's model. This framework proposes four broad domains of volition, planning, purposive action, and effective performance as working together to accomplish global executive functioning needs. While this model may broadly appeal to clinicians and researchers to help identify and assess certain executive functioning components, it lacks a distinct theoretical basis and relatively few attempts at validation. Miller and Cohen's model In 2001, Earl Miller and Jonathan Cohen published their article 'An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function', in which they argue that cognitive control is the primary function of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and that control is implemented by increasing the of sensory or motor that are engaged by task- or goal-relevant elements of the external environment. In a key paragraph, they argue:We assume that the PFC serves a specific function in cognitive control: the active maintenance of patterns of activity that represent goals and the means to achieve them. They provide bias signals throughout much of the rest of the brain, affecting not only visual processes but also other sensory modalities, as well as systems responsible for response execution, memory retrieval, emotional evaluation, etc.
What Is Executive Function Disorder
The aggregate effect of these bias signals is to guide the flow of neural activity along pathways that establish the proper mappings between inputs, internal states, and outputs needed to perform a given task.Miller and Cohen draw explicitly upon an earlier theory of visual attention that conceptualises perception of visual scenes in terms of competition among multiple representations – such as colors, individuals, or objects. Acts to 'bias' this competition in favour of certain selected features or representations.
For example, imagine that you are waiting at a busy train station for a friend who is wearing a red coat. You are able to selectively narrow the focus of your attention to search for red objects, in the hope of identifying your friend. Desimone and Duncan argue that the brain achieves this by selectively increasing the gain of neurons responsive to the color red, such that output from these neurons is more likely to reach a downstream, and, as a consequence, to guide. According to Miller and Cohen, this mechanism is in fact just a special case of cognitive control – one in which the biasing occurs in the sensory domain. According to Miller and Cohen's model, the PFC can exert control over input (sensory) or output (response), as well as over assemblies involved in,. Cognitive control is mediated by reciprocal PFC with the and, and with the. Within their approach, thus, the term 'cognitive control' is applied to any situation where a biasing signal is used to promote task-appropriate responding, and control thus becomes a crucial component of a wide range of psychological constructs such as, error monitoring, and response inhibition.Miyake and Friedman's model Miyake and Friedman's theory of executive functions proposes that there are three aspects of executive functions: updating, inhibition, and shifting.
A cornerstone of this theoretical framework is the understanding that individual differences in executive functions reflect both unity (i.e., common EF skills) and diversity of each component (e.g., shifting-specific). In other words, aspects of updating, inhibition, and shifting are related, yet each remains a distinct entity. First, updating is defined as the continuous monitoring and quick addition or deletion of contents within one's working memory. Second, inhibition is one's capacity to supersede responses that are prepotent in a given situation. Third, shifting is one's cognitive flexibility to switch between different tasks or mental states.Miyake and Friedman also suggest that the current body of research in executive functions suggest four general conclusions about these skills. The first conclusion is the unity and diversity aspects of executive functions. Second, recent studies suggest that much of one's EF skills are inherited genetically, as demonstrated in twin studies.
Third, clean measures of executive functions can differentiate between normal and clinical or regulatory behaviors, such as ADHD. Last, longitudinal studies demonstrate that EF skills are relatively stable throughout development. Banich's 'cascade of control' model This model from 2009 integrates theories from other models, and involves a sequential cascade of brain regions involved in maintaining attentional sets in order to arrive at a goal. In sequence, the model assumes the involvement of the posterior (DLPFC), the mid-DLPFC, and the posterior and anterior dorsal (ACC).The cognitive task used in the article is selecting a response in the, among conflicting color and word responses, specifically a stimulus where the word 'green' is printed in red ink. The posterior DLPFC creates an appropriate attentional set, or rules for the brain to accomplish the current goal. For the Stroop task, this involves activating the areas of the brain involved in color perception, and not those involved in word comprehension. It counteracts biases and irrelevant information, like the fact that the semantic perception of the word is more salient to most people than the color in which it is printed.Next, the mid-DLPFC selects the representation that will fulfill the goal.
The task-relevant information must be separated from other sources of information in the task. In the example, this means focusing on the ink color and not the word.The posterior dorsal (ACC) is next in the cascade, and it is responsible for response selection. This is where the decision is made whether the Stroop task participant will say 'green' (the written word and the incorrect answer) or 'red' (the font color and correct answer).Following the response, the anterior dorsal ACC is involved in response evaluation, deciding whether one's response were correct or incorrect. Activity in this region increases when the probability of an error is higher.The activity of any of the areas involved in this model depends on the efficiency of the areas that came before it. If the DLPFC imposes a lot of control on the response, the ACC will require less activity.Recent work using individual differences in cognitive style has shown exciting support for this model.
Researchers had participants complete an auditory version of the Stroop task, in which either the location or semantic meaning of a directional word had to be attended to. Participants that either had a strong bias toward spatial or semantic information (different cognitive styles) were then recruited to participate in the task. As predicted, participants that had a strong bias toward spatial information had more difficulty paying attention to the semantic information and elicited increased electrophysiological activity from the ACC. A similar activity pattern was also found for participants that had a strong bias toward verbal information when they tried to attend to spatial information. Assessment Assessment of executive functions involves gathering data from several sources and synthesizing the information to look for trends and patterns across time and settings. Apart from standardized, other measures can and should be used, such as,.
From these, conclusions may be drawn on the use of executive functions.There are several different kinds of instruments (e.g., performance based, self-report) that measure executive functions across development. These assessments can serve a diagnostic purpose for a number of clinical populations. Behavioural Assessment of Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS). (BRIEF).
Ages 2-90 covered by different versions of the scale.
Executive function is a set of skills that enable you to do things such as:. pay attention. remember information.
multitaskThe skills are used in:. planning. organization. strategizing. paying attention to little details.
time managementThese skills start developing around 2 years old and are fully formed by the age of 30.Executive dysfunction can describe difficulties in any of these abilities or behaviors. It can be a symptom of another condition or result from an event such as a traumatic brain injury.Sometimes executive dysfunction is called executive function disorder (EFD). EFD is not clinically recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) used by mental health clinicians. Examples of executive functionExecutive functions (EFs) are a group of mental processes. It is that there are three core executive functions:.
inhibition, which includes self-control and selective attention. working memory.
cognitive flexibilityThese make up the roots from which the other functions stem. Other executive functions include:. reasoning. problem-solving. planningThese functions are necessary for healthy development. They’re especially important in your job or school performance.In everyday life, EFs show up in things like:. the ability to “go with the flow” if plans change.
doing homework when you really want to go outside and play. remembering to take all of your books and homework home. recalling what you need to pick up at the store.
following complex or detailed requests or instructions. being able to plan and execute a project. Symptoms of executive dysfunction can vary. Not everyone with this condition will have the same exact signs. Symptoms can include:.
misplacing papers, homework, or work or school materials. difficulty with time management. difficulty organizing schedules. trouble keeping your office or bedroom organized. constantly losing personal items.
difficulty dealing with frustration or setbacks. trouble with memory recall or following multistep directions.
inability to self-monitor emotions or behavior. There are no specific diagnostic criteria for executive dysfunction, since it’s not a specific condition listed in the DSM. Rather, executive dysfunction is a common aspect in the disorders mentioned earlier.If you suspect that you have executive dysfunction, talk with your doctor.
They will examine you to see if any physical condition might be causing your symptoms. They might also refer you to a neurologist, psychologist, or audiologist for further testing.There’s no single test that identifies executive dysfunction. But there are a variety of screening tools and methods like interviews to discern whether you have any executive dysfunction, and whether it is associated with an existing condition.If you’re concerned about your child’s executive function, you and their teachers can fill out the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. This will provide more information about behaviors.Other tests that might be used include:. Conners 3, a rating scale often used with ADD and EFD.
Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale for Adults. Comprehensive Executive Function Inventory. Treating executive dysfunction is an ongoing process and is often lifelong. Treatment can depend on the conditions and the specific types of executive dysfunctions that are present. It can vary over time and depends on the specific EFs that are challenging.For children, treatment typically includes working with various kinds of therapists, including:. speech therapists. tutors.
psychologists. occupational therapistsCognitive-behavioral therapy and medication can be helpful for individuals with executive dysfunction. Treatments that focus on developing strategies to address the particular dysfunction are also helpful.
This could include using:. sticky notes. organizational apps. timersMedications have been helpful in some individuals with EF disorders. According to, the parts of your brain that play roles in EFs use dopamine as the main neurotransmitter. So, dopamine agonists and antagonists have been effective.