The differentiation of executive functions in middle and late childhood: A longitudinal latent-variable analysis

Brydges, Christopher; Fox, Allison M.; Reid, Corinne; Anderson, Mike

doi:10.1016/j.intell.2014.08.010

Cited by 146 publications

(138 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Since any higher-order type of learning is by definition a complex process that requires dealing with novelty, there is an inherent need for a system of regulatory processes, frequently labeled as EF. Because the structure of interrelationships between individual EF is highly developmentally specific (Brydges, Fox, Reid, & Anderson, 2014), the first objective was to test whether the proposed theoretical structure matched the empirical relations observed in the data. Based on the testing of a structural equation model, we found that a four-factor structure fitted the data.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining the Ability to Learn Analogies: The Role of Executive Functions and Fluid Intelligence

Ropovik

Bobaková²,

Ferjenčík³

et al. 2016

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It is well established that analogical reasoning can be explained by the efficiency of working memory (WM) but it remains unclear what processes are involved when the child learns to reason analogically. The present study examined the relationship of executive functions (EF) and fluid intelligence (gF) and the ability to learn analogies in a sample of 210 10-year-old children. First, with regard to the structure of EF, a four-factor model fitted the data well, however, shifting and fluency were indistinguishable from attentional control. At the same time, attentional control fully accounted for the interrelationships between other EF. Second, only WM proved to have a direct effect on the ability to learn and on gF, while mediating the effect of attentional control. Third, despite a decent explanatory power of WM, it did not explain the relationship between the ability to learn and gF, indicating the presence of another factor distinct from WM.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining the Ability to Learn Analogies: The Role of Executive Functions and Fluid Intelligence

Ropovik

Bobaková²,

Ferjenčík³

et al. 2016

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“…On the contrary, the results of Brydges et al. (2014) suggest that during childhood development, executive functions seem to shift from a unitary control process toward a more differentiated function. They studied the performance of 135 children (mean age ca.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, it may be that the cognitive architecture of executive functions changes with age, thus resulting in differences in neural recruitment patterns. For example, it has been suggested that executive functions may shift from a unitary control process toward a more differentiated function during childhood development (Brydges, Fox, Reid, & Anderson, 2014). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural activity patterns between different executive tasks are more similar in adulthood than in adolescence

et al. 2018

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BackgroundAdolescence is a time of ongoing neural maturation and cognitive development, especially regarding executive functions. In the current study, age‐related differences in the neural correlates of different executive functions were tracked by comparing three age groups consisting of adolescents and young adults.MethodsBrain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) from 167 human participants (13‐ to 14‐year‐old middle adolescents, 16‐ to 17‐year‐old late adolescents and 20‐ to 24‐year‐old young adults; 80 female, 87 male) while they performed attention and working memory tasks. The tasks were designed to tap into four putative sub‐processes of executive function: division of attention, inhibition of distractors, working memory, and attention switching.ResultsBehaviorally, our results demonstrated superior task performance in older participants across all task types. When brain activity was examined, young adult participants demonstrated a greater degree of overlap between brain regions recruited by the different executive tasks than adolescent participants. Similarly, functional connectivity between frontoparietal cortical regions was less task specific in the young adult participants than in adolescent participants.ConclusionsTogether, these results demonstrate that the similarity between different executive processes in terms of both neural recruitment and functional connectivity increases with age from middle adolescence to early adulthood, possibly contributing to age‐related behavioral improvements in executive functioning. These developmental changes in brain recruitment may reflect a more homogenous morphological organization between process‐specific neural networks, increased reliance on a more domain‐general network involved in executive processing, or developmental changes in cognitive strategy.

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“…These findings highlight the differential nature of cognitive abilities (Brydges et al, 2012;Garrett, 1946), whereby these abilities become more distinguishable and stable with age (Brydges et al, 2014), especially in individuals with average and higher "general ability" levels, which allows for the variation and specialization among those general abilities of verbal and nonverbal intelligence indicative of Gc and Gf (Tucker-Drob, 2009). In other words, individuals with higher general ability have more room for the specialized cognitive abilities to differentiate and vary compared to individuals with lower levels of general cognitive ability whose cognitive resources are restricted.…”

Section: Differentiation Of Cognitive Abilitiesmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Support for the three-factor structure comes mostly from studies with youth and young adults (e.g. ; Benedek et al, 2014;Friedman et al, 2008) and with children above the age of 10 (Brydges, Fox, Reid, & Anderson, 2014) and 12 (Xu et al, 2013). It was also reported with children as young as 7 and 9…”

Section: Executive Functions and Intelligence: Function And Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing relations among cognitive abilities across development: implications for measurement and research

Rizeq

Flora

Toplak

2017

The Clinical Neuropsychologist

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The constructs of intelligence and executive function are critical concepts of ability in neuropsychological research, cognitive research, developmental research, and clinical assessment. Yet, we have limited understanding of the changing age-related associations among these cognitive constructs. To better understand the development of these abilities, we compared a child sample and a young-adult sample on several measures of intelligence and executive functions. We used confirmatory factor analysis to estimate models for each developmental period. In addition, the association with ratings of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, a dispositional measure of cognitive and behavioural regulation, was examined. The results indicated that cognitive abilities are more dependent on age in children than in young adults and that these abilities are more highly associated with ratings of cognitive and behavioural regulation in children than in young adults. The results support the integral relationship between intelligence and executive function throughout development, but especially in children.iii

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The differentiation of executive functions in middle and late childhood: A longitudinal latent-variable analysis

Cited by 146 publications

References 41 publications

Explaining the Ability to Learn Analogies: The Role of Executive Functions and Fluid Intelligence

Explaining the Ability to Learn Analogies: The Role of Executive Functions and Fluid Intelligence

Neural activity patterns between different executive tasks are more similar in adulthood than in adolescence

Changing relations among cognitive abilities across development: implications for measurement and research

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