Executive function in the first three years of life: Precursors, predictors and patterns

Abstract

Executive function (EF) underpins the ability to set goals and work towards those goals by co-ordinating thought and action. Its emergence during the first 3 years of life is understudied, largely due to the limitations that early social, motor and language skills place on performance on traditional EF tasks. Nevertheless, across the fields of cognitive psychology, neuroscience, social development and temperament research, evidence is amassing of meaningful precursors and predictors of EF. This review draws together the evidence, highlighting methodological considerations and areas of theoretical debate, and identifies 4 domains critical to the development of EF: control of attention, self-regulation, processing speed and cognitive flexibility. Individual differences within these domains have clinical significance both in terms of the identification of risk markers for later executive dysfunction and for the target or delivery of early intervention to ameliorate this risk. By the end of the third year, typically-developing infants are able to selectively employ impulse control and cognitive flexibility to achieve goal-directed responses to novel situations. KeywordsExecutive function, cognitive development, infancy, regulation, attention, effortful control EXECUTIVE FUNCTION IN THE FIRST 3 YEARS OF LIFE 3 What is Executive Function and Why is it Important?Executive function (EF) can be described as the cognitive toolkit of success. It underpins the ability to set goals and work towards those goals by co-ordinating thought and action, particularly in new situations. The precise nature of the 'tools' in the 'kit' is a matter of considerable debate, but they are largely considered to be higher-order self-regulatory processes, including the control of attention and motor responses, resistance to interference, and delay of gratification (Carlson, Mandell & Williams, 2004;Diamond, 2013;Jurado & Rosselli, 2007), or, as Barkley puts it "those self-directed actions needed to choose goals and to create, enact, and sustain actions toward those goals" (Barkley, 2012, p. 60).From its emergence in very early childhood through to its decline in late adulthood, EF supports and constrains an individual's ability to learn and thrive across their lifespan (Diamond, 2013). Not only does early EF have strong links to children's later social and academic functioning (Blair & Peters Razza, 2007; Eisenberg et al., 2009) but difficulties with some EFs are implicated in a range of disorders including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (Barkley, 1997;Ozonoff, Pennington & Rogers, 1991;Rommelse, Geurts, Franke, Buitelaar & Hartman, 2011). However, currently executive dysfunction is primarily detected during a child's school years. By developing our understanding of the developmental pathway(s) involved in EF we may be able to monitor and intervene in cases where emergent EF is delayed or disrupted, whilst the brain is most responsive to treatment (Johnson, 2012;Wass, 2015). Goals and ...

A longitudinal model of executive function development from birth through adolescence in children born very or extremely preterm

“…Rather, given the stability in function between ages 5.5 and 18 years they imply that any catch-up would occur before the age of 5. This is also in line with findings regarding typical executive function development during the first 5 years of life, in normative groups of children (Diamond, 2013;Garon et al, 2008;Hendry, Jones, & Charman, 2016). An implication of our results is that a wait-and-see approach will more likely lead to secondary effects of a deficit rather than a catch-up over time.…”

Longitudinal development of attention and inhibitory control during the first year of life

“…A similar idea has recently been put forward by several researchers in the field, but their hypothesis relates primarily to attention in late infancy in relation to toddler and early childhood EFs -there is good evidence for such a link (Garon et al, 2008;Hendry et al, 2016;Johansson et al, 2015). A similar idea has recently been put forward by several researchers in the field, but their hypothesis relates primarily to attention in late infancy in relation to toddler and early childhood EFs -there is good evidence for such a link (Garon et al, 2008;Hendry et al, 2016;Johansson et al, 2015).…”

“…More recently, there has been a renewed interest in the development of EFs and their precursors during infancy and toddlerhood (Hendry, Jones, & Charman, 2016;Johansson, Marciszko, Gredebäck, Nyström, & Bohlin, 2015). Once verbal instruction is possible (usually around 2-2.5 years of age), children can be asked to inhibit actions, maintain and manipulate information in WM, and switch between different tasks (e.g., Garon, Smith, & Bryson, 2014;Mulder, Hoofs, Verhagen, van der Veen, & Leseman, 2014;Zelazo, Frye, & Rapus, 1996).…”

The opinion of parents and teachers of students with learning disorders regarding executive function skills

“…Both cases require that students play attention and inhibit other stimuli to make the necessary selfcorrections. Other studies also show that students with learning disorders have impaired monitoring skills [33][34][35] .…”