Effortful control, executive attention, and emotional regulation in 7–10-year-old children

Simonds, Jennifer; Kieras, Jessica E.; Rueda, M. Rosario; Rothbart, Mary K.

doi:10.1016/j.cogdev.2007.08.009

Cited by 205 publications

(174 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…However, the fact that parent-reported EC and executive attention were unrelated in our study was unexpected. Two studies have investigated the relationship between both constructs in TD children (7 -10 years old; Simonds et al, 2007) and adolescents (16 -17 years old; Ellis et al, 2004) using the ANT and both studies found a moderate, yet significant correlation (r = -.37 and r = -.31, respectively). Although it is difficult to account for these inconsistent findings, a possible explanation may lie in the fact that we included clinical 21 groups in our study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The theoretical link between EC and the executive attention network has brought forth several studies that investigated the relationship between EC reports and performance on executive attention tasks (e.g., Ellis, Rothbart, & Posner, 2004;Gerardi-Coulton, 2000;Simonds, Kieras, Rueda, & Rothbart, 2007). Overall, there is some evidence for a relationship between EC and executive attention, but especially when parent-reports are considered.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Attentional Networks in Boys With ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Relationship With Effortful Control

et al. 2016

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Objective: The present study investigated differences in attentional networks in typically developing (TD) boys and boys with ADHD or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In addition, we investigated the relationship between networks and the relationship with effortful control (EC). Method: An Attention Network Test was used to assess alerting, orienting, and executive attention in 25 TD boys, 25 boys with ADHD, and 25 boys with ASD. Results: In the absence of warning signals, boys with ADHD performed poorer than other children. In all groups, the orienting and executive control networks and the alerting and orienting networks interacted. Executive attention and EC were unrelated. Conclusion: Results provided evidence of impaired tonic alertness in ADHD and support the idea of functional integration of attentional networks. Finally, findings suggest that the link between EC reports and indices of neural systems involved in the effortful regulation of behavior may not be as unambiguous as previously thought.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Attentional Networks in Boys With ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Relationship With Effortful Control

et al. 2016

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“…Research has shown that EF capabilities can be improved with practice and gaming interventions (5)(6)(7)9). These results are particularly promising because EF are critical for educational success (10)(11)(12) and for mental and physical health (5,13); furthermore, early self-regulation is indicative of an individual's health and social behavior as an adult (14,15).…”

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confidence: 99%

Far transfer to language and math of a short software-based gaming intervention

Goldin

Hermida

Shalóm

et al. 2014

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

113

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Executive functions (EF) in children can be trained, but it remains unknown whether training-related benefits elicit far transfer to real-life situations. Here, we investigate whether a set of computerized games might yield near and far transfer on an experimental and an active control group of low-SES otherwise typically developing 6-y-olds in a 3-mo pretest-training-posttest design that was ecologically deployed (at school). The intervention elicits transfer to some (but not all) facets of executive function. These changes cascade to real-world measures of school performance. The intervention equalizes academic outcomes across children who regularly attend school and those who do not because of social and familiar circumstances.cognitive training intervention | school grades | Attention Network Test | school attendance | working memory T he efficacy of cognitive training is controversial and constitutes a current challenge for educational neuroscience research (1-4). Although it has been well documented that directed interventions in children can change specific cognitive functions (5-8), it is unknown whether those translate to broader contexts and real-world situations of educational pertinence. Cognitive training has largely focused on executive functions (EF) (6-8), a class of processes critical for purposeful, goal-directed behavior, including working memory (WM), planning, and cognitive control (6). Research has shown that EF capabilities can be improved with practice and gaming interventions (5-7, 9). These results are particularly promising because EF are critical for educational success (10-12) and for mental and physical health (5, 13); furthermore, early self-regulation is indicative of an individual's health and social behavior as an adult (14,15).Because the degree of self-regulation elicited by a child can predict real-life outcomes, it is presumed that an intervention that improves EF should affect a child educational success. However, this hypothesis has never been explicitly examined based on school grades as real-world measurements of educational achievement (16). Instead, current evidence (7, 9, 17, 18) derives from laboratory measures related to school performance (for instance, the time it takes for a child to read a word). Because school performance results from an intertwined process integrating EF with temperament, socioeconomic status (SES), and cognitive skills (19-22) among other environmental factors, examining the direct outcome of an intervention on school grades is necessary to assure its practical pertinence.Our main hypothesis is that a gaming intervention in schoolage children tuned to improve aspects of EF should transfer to real-world manifestations of school performance indexed by children's grades.In the educational system of the City of Buenos Aires, first graders devote an important amount of their school time to language and math. Grading for these subjects is largely based on objective tasks and they are examined extensively. Instead, other subjects (such as foreign la...

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“…Executive attention and effortful control have been related to academic outcome, aspects of social adjustment (16), and inhibitory control to early arithmetic competency (17). More specifically, lower performance on the flanker task (see below) has been related to poorer social behavior, increased rates of peer rejection and more disturbing behavior in the classroom (18), dimensions of school competence (19), and parent-reported temperamental effortful control (20). This finding makes it possible to study the neural foundation of self-regulation by using validated cognitive tasks with a high degree of experimental control.…”

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confidence: 99%

Multimodal imaging of the self-regulating developing brain

Fjell

Walhovd

Brown

et al. 2012

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

203

185

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Self-regulation refers to the ability to control behavior, cognition, and emotions, and self-regulation failure is related to a range of neuropsychiatric problems. It is poorly understood how structural maturation of the brain brings about the gradual improvement in self-regulation during childhood. In a large-scale multicenter effort, 735 children (4-21 y) underwent structural MRI for quantification of cortical thickness and surface area and diffusion tensor imaging for quantification of the quality of major fiber connections. Brain development was related to a standardized measure of cognitive control (the flanker task from the National Institutes of Health Toolbox), a critical component of self-regulation. Ability to inhibit responses and impose cognitive control increased rapidly during preteen years. Surface area of the anterior cingulate cortex accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in cognitive performance. This finding is intriguing, because characteristics of the anterior cingulum are shown to be related to impulse, attention, and executive problems in neurodevelopmental disorders, indicating a neural foundation for self-regulation abilities along a continuum from normality to pathology. The relationship was strongest in the younger children. Properties of large-fiber connections added to the picture by explaining additional variance in cognitive control. Although cognitive control was related to surface area of the anterior cingulate independently of basic processes of mental speed, the relationship between white matter quality and cognitive control could be fully accounted for by speed. The results underscore the need for integration of different aspects of brain maturation to understand the foundations of cognitive development.executive function | cognitive conflict | inhibition | morphometry S elf-regulation enables people to make plans, choose from alternatives, control impulses, inhibit thoughts, and regulate social behavior (updated reviews in refs. 1 and 2). Several neuropsychiatric conditions and problems have been related to deficiencies in self-regulation [e.g., Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (3), addiction (4), risk behavior (5), conduct problems (6), and poor school and academic performance (7, 8)]. Although development of self-regulation in children is the result of a dynamic interaction between maturation and learning, we have scarce knowledge about the role played by structural brain characteristics in this process. Recent reports indicate that adjustment problems in childhood psychopathology are related to structural brain characteristics (9-13), but the brain basis for development of self-regulation in normal children is less well-understood. Thus, the purpose of the present paper was to use multimodal neuroimaging to map the structural brain characteristics related to self-regulation and cognitive control in a large sample of 735 children between 4 and 21 y of age.Self-regulation is closely tied to the concepts of cognitive control, attention, and executive f...

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Effortful control, executive attention, and emotional regulation in 7–10-year-old children

Cited by 205 publications

References 17 publications

Attentional Networks in Boys With ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Relationship With Effortful Control

Attentional Networks in Boys With ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Relationship With Effortful Control

Far transfer to language and math of a short software-based gaming intervention

Multimodal imaging of the self-regulating developing brain

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