Venlafaxine treatment reduces the deficit of executive control of attention in patients with major depressive disorder

Attention plays an essential role in supporting other cognitive functions and behavior, and disturbance of attention is one of the most common symptoms in major depressive disorder (MDD). Although treatment with venlafaxine for MDD symptoms has been shown to reduce deficits in cognition and emotion regulation, it remains unclear whether venlafaxine improves specific attentional functions. We used the Attention Network Test to measure the attentional functions of alerting, orienting, and executive control before and after treatment with venlafaxine in patients with MDD compared to untreated healthy controls. Before treatment, the MDD group showed a selective impairment in alerting and executive control of attention, while there were no significant group differences in the orienting function. The interaction between group and session was significant for executive control, and after treatment with venlafaxine, the performance of the MDD group on executive control of attention was not significantly different from that of controls. Reported symptoms of MDD were also significantly reduced after treatment with venlafaxine. These results demonstrate that treatment with venlafaxine selectively normalizes the executive control function of attention in addition to improving clinical symptoms in MDD

Metacognition in adult ADHD:Subjective and objective perspectives on self-awareness of cognitive functioning

Although attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adulthood is associated with marked cognitive impairment, research on metacognition in adult ADHD is scarce. Deficits in metacognition may have a negative impact on treatment adherence, functional outcomes, and everyday life. This study explores metacognition, specifically self-awareness of cognitive performance, in adults with ADHD by combining objective and subjective assessments. Forty-seven patients with ADHD and 47 control individuals completed a neuropsychological assessment battery including tests for attention, executive functions and memory (objective assessment), as well as questionnaires for cognitive functioning and symptom severity (subjective assessment; self- and informant-report). Participants evaluated their test performance of the objective assessment after test completion by selecting a percentile rank which was subtracted from their normed test result, yielding a discrepancy score. Compared to controls, adults with ADHD showed impairments in attention (medium effects) and memory (small and medium effects), but not in executive functions. The discrepancy scores between self-evaluation and cognitive performance revealed deficits in self-awareness of attentional functions (small effects), but not in executive functions and memory in patients with ADHD compared to controls. Discrepancy scores between self- and informant-reports of cognitive functioning revealed no significant differences. Adults with ADHD show impairments in metacognition in attentional functions, but may have intact metacognitive abilities in other domains. Patients with ADHD tend to overestimate their abilities, especially in attentional functions. Subjective and objective measures of metacognition may not correspond, highlighting the need for clinicians to not solely rely on patients’ self-report in their assessment. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at (10.1007/s00702-020-02293-w)

Evaluation of neuropsychological characteristics and attention bias in juvenile offenders, juvenile victims, and juveniles who have not participated in the criminal justice system

IntroductionThe increasing inclusion of children in the criminal justice system as “juvenile offenders” and “juvenile victims” has recently emerged as a severe and multifaceted problem. This study evaluates whether juvenile offenders differ from juveniles who have not participated in the criminal justice system and juvenile victims regarding executive function skills and attentional bias.MethodThe participant group comprised 85 children aged 12–18, and the study setting was Turkey, utilizing one control group and two treatment groups with open criminal case files in Antalya Courthouse. The first treatment group consisted of 30 juvenile offenders; the second consisted of 30 juvenile victims. The control group consisted of 25 juveniles who were not juvenile offenders or victims. In this context, children’s executive functions were measured with the short-form Barratt Impulsivity Scale, the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices Test, the TBAG-form Stroop test, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and the Istanbul 5 Cube Planning Test. Attentional bias was measured using a dot-probe task. Illiteracy, intellectual or developmental disability, and being a non-native Turkish speaker were the exclusion criteria for all three groups.ResultsThe study found that the scores of the juvenile offender group on the Barratt Impulsivity Scale were significantly higher than the children in the juvenile victim group and the children in the control group. For other tests measuring executive functions, the control group’s scores were significantly higher than juvenile offenders and juvenile victims. Regarding attentional bias, the children in the control group exhibited less attentional bias to negative stimuli than the juvenile offenders and victims.DiscussionResearchers have generally addressed the reasons that push children to crime and become victims of crime through individual, familial, and environmental reasons. However, the number of studies investigating the neuropsychological characteristics of children dragged into crime is relatively limited in our country. In addition, there is no study comparing the executive functions and attentional bias of children who are dragged into crime, victimized children, and children without a history of being dragged into crime and victimization. In this context, this study can highlight important implications for the judicial system regarding juvenile delinquency interventions

Strengthening Executive Function and Self-Regulation in Early Childhood Classroom

Executive function (EF) is an umbrella term used to describe the group of higher order thinking and regulatory processes. They are the brain functions that enable working memory, inhibitory control, and attentional or mental flexibility and there are many factors that impact the early development. Research confirms that EF skills are malleable and can be improved through preschool experiences. Early support and intervention are especially important for children who enter school with poorer executive function skills and are at risk because of social, economic, or other adverse childhood experiences. This project aims to provide a workshop and training handbook for the teachers at the Leelanau Children’s Center focused on executive function skills, why they are important for school and life success, and the strategies found in the research to improve young learners’ skills. The focal points are on improving teacher-child interactions, classroom climate, and using play as a central context for development. The ultimate purpose being that children gain the experiences that can strengthen executive function and improve self-regulation behavior to have a more successful entry into kindergarten

EXPLORING THE EFFICACY OF FACEBOOK- BASED TRAINING IN ENHANCING EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS FOR ACQUIRED BRAIN INJURY PATIENTS

openAcquired brain injury (ABI) is a prevalent disorder in the population, characterized by the presence of impairments in executive functions that can become greatly disabling, hence there is a need for highly effective treatments. The following intervention proposal aims to use tools and resources available on the Facebook platform to create a series of tasks that complement the process-based neuropsychological rehabilitation program for this type of patients. The general objective of this proposal is to design, implement and test the effectiveness of an intervention program based on cognitive training through the use of Facebook, in order to improve executive deficits present in patients with ABI. In addition, we will study the potential effects on memory functions and social skills. To achieve this, 24 patients will be recruited to participate in a 9-session treatment, and will be evenly divided into two groups, either the experimental or the control. Following the intervention, even though each group is expected to present enhancements in the assessed executive sub- processes (cognitive flexibility, attentional control, goal setting and information processing), we anticipate significant differences between them. In this way, the experimental group will show a significant improvement in executive functioning in addition to an increase in social skills and memory. This approach represents important and innovative implications for future research compared to other well-established procedures, as it offers numerous advantages, such as low cost, wide and easy accessibility, social support and motivation enhancement, flexibility in scheduling and location, diverse resources, possibility of receiving feedback, adaptability to different profiles and needs, continuity, and intervention monitoring, among others.Acquired brain injury (ABI) is a prevalent disorder in the population, characterized by the presence of impairments in executive functions that can become greatly disabling, hence there is a need for highly effective treatments. The following intervention proposal aims to use tools and resources available on the Facebook platform to create a series of tasks that complement the process-based neuropsychological rehabilitation program for this type of patients. The general objective of this proposal is to design, implement and test the effectiveness of an intervention program based on cognitive training through the use of Facebook, in order to improve executive deficits present in patients with ABI. In addition, we will study the potential effects on memory functions and social skills. To achieve this, 24 patients will be recruited to participate in a 9-session treatment, and will be evenly divided into two groups, either the experimental or the control. Following the intervention, even though each group is expected to present enhancements in the assessed executive sub- processes (cognitive flexibility, attentional control, goal setting and information processing), we anticipate significant differences between them. In this way, the experimental group will show a significant improvement in executive functioning in addition to an increase in social skills and memory. This approach represents important and innovative implications for future research compared to other well-established procedures, as it offers numerous advantages, such as low cost, wide and easy accessibility, social support and motivation enhancement, flexibility in scheduling and location, diverse resources, possibility of receiving feedback, adaptability to different profiles and needs, continuity, and intervention monitoring, among others

Cognitive control: componential or emergent?

The past twenty-five years have witnessed an increasing awareness of the importance of cognitive control in the regulation of complex behavior. It now sits alongside attention, memory, language and thinking as a distinct domain within cognitive psychology. At the same time it permeates each of these sibling domains. This paper reviews recent work on cognitive control in an attempt to provide a context for the fundamental question addressed within this Topic: is cognitive control to be understood as resulting from the interaction of multiple distinct control processes or are the phenomena of cognitive control emergent

Estrés percibido y quejas subjetivas de memoria en adultos jóvenes: papel mediador de las funciones ejecutivas

Introduction. Previous studies have shown that executive functions can be mediators between perceived stress and subjective memory complaints. However, it has not been evaluated which executive functions are those that most mediate this relationship. Aim. To determine if executive functions have a mediating role in the relationship between perceived stress and subjective memory complaints, and which ones have the greatest explanatory power. Patients and methods. The sample consisted of 743 university students (76.4% women), with an average age of 22.24 ± 3.64 years. The subjective memory complaints were evaluated with the Memory Failure of Everyday Questionnaire, the stress with the Perceived Stress Scale, and the executive functions with the Prefrontal Symptoms Inventory. Results. The executive functions and the perceived stress explained altogether 57% of the subjective memory complaints, being the attentional problems and the executive control problems the two variables with a greater weight in the model. On the other hand, the executive control problems, attentional problems and social behaviour problems showed a mediating effect between perceived stress and subjective memory complaints. Conclusions. The executive control problems and the attentional problems could be factors of choice for clinical intervention, since they act on their own as generators of subjective memory complaints and, moreover, are involved in mediation processes of perceived stress.IntroducciónEn estudios previos se ha señalado que las funciones ejecutivas pueden actuar como mediadoras entre el estrés percibido y las quejas subjetivas de memoria. Sin embargo, no se ha evaluado qué funciones ejecutivas son las que median en mayor medida dicha relación. ObjetivoDeterminar si las funciones ejecutivas tienen un papel mediador en la relación entre el estrés percibido y las quejas subjetivas de memoria, y cuáles son las que tienen un mayor poder explicativo. Pacientes y métodosLa muestra estuvo compuesta por 743 universitarios (76,4% mujeres), con una edad media de 22,24 ± 3,64 años. Las quejas subjetivas de memoria se evaluaron con el cuestionario de fallos de memoria de la vida cotidiana; el estrés, con la escala de estrés percibido; y las funciones ejecutivas, con el inventario de síntomas prefrontales. ResultadosLas funciones ejecutivas y el estrés percibido explicaron en conjunto un 57% de las quejas subjetivas de memoria, y los problemas atencionales y los problemas del control ejecutivo fueron las dos variables con un mayor peso en el modelo. Por otro lado, los problemas del control ejecutivo, los problemas atencionales y los problemas de la conducta social mostraron un efecto mediador entre el estrés percibido y las quejas subjetivas de memoria. Conclusiones Los problemas del control ejecutivo y los problemas atencionales podrían ser factores de elección para la intervención clínica, puesto que actúan por sí solos como generadores de quejas subjetivas de memoria y además se encuentran implicados en procesos de mediación del estrés percibido

An asymmetric inhibition model of hemispheric differences in emotional processing

Two relatively independent lines of research have addressed the role of the prefrontal cortex in emotional processing. The first examines hemispheric asymmetries in frontal function; the second focuses on prefrontal interactions between cognition and emotion. We briefly review each perspective and highlight inconsistencies between them. We go on to describe an alternative model that integrates approaches by focusing on hemispheric asymmetry in inhibitory executive control processes. The Asymmetric Inhibition Model proposes that right lateralized executive control inhibits processing of positive or approach-related distractors, and left-lateralized control inhibits negative or withdrawal-related distractors. These complementary processes allow us to maintain and achieve current goals in the face of emotional distraction. We conclude with a research agenda that uses the model to generate novel experiments that will advance our understanding of both hemispheric asymmetries and cognition-emotion interactions