Executive control of emotional conflict

Attentional networks and their interactions have been extensively studied through the Attentional Network Test for Interaction (ANTI). This task combines a spatial cueing paradigm with a flanker procedure and examines the efficiency and the interactions among the attentional networks (Alerting, Orienting and Executive control). However, the ANTI did not consider the effect of emotions on the attentional systems, although many studies have shown a relationship between emotion and Executive system. This study aims to analyze the executive system in an emotional context. We used a version of ANTI with arrows (ANTI-A) and an ANTI-Emotion (ANTI-E), where the arrows in the flanker task were replaced with neutral and threatening faces. One hundred and thirty- four university students performed both an ANTI-A and an ANTI-E. Results confirmed all the main effects and interactions for both the types of ANTI. Furthermore, the ANTI-E showed that the executive control of the conflict was harder when the target was neutral rather than when it was threatening. This difficulty in solving the flanker task could be due to the effect of distractors with a threatening valence. The ANTI-E could be allowed to verify how much attentional bias that characterizes people with emotional disorders (e.g., anxiety) may depend on altered executive control of the emotional conflict

The executive functions in overweight and obesity: a systematic review of neuropsychological cross-sectional and longitudinal studies

Background: The increasing incidence of people affected by overweight or obesity is a significant health problem. The knowledge of the factors which influences the inappropriate eating behaviors causing excessive body fat is an essential goal for the research. Overweight and obesity are significant risk factors for many health diseases, such as cardiovascular problems, diabetes. Recently, many studies have focused on the relationship between body weight and cognitive processes. Objectives: This systematic review is aimed to investigate the existence and the nature of the relationship between excessive body weight (overweight/obesity) and executive functions, analyzing cross-sectional, and longitudinal studies in order to verify the evidence of a possible causality between these variables. Methods: The review was carried out according to the PRISMA-Statement, through systematic searches in the scientific databases PubMed, Medline, PsychInfo, and PsycArticles. The studies selected examined performance on executive tasks by participants with overweight or obesity, aged between 5 and 70 years. Studies examining eating disorders or obesity resulting from other medical problems were excluded. Furthermore, the results of studies using a cross-sectional design and those using a longitudinal one were separately investigated. Results: Sixty-three cross-sectional studies and twenty-eight longitudinal studies that met our inclusion and exclusion criteria were analyzed. The results confirmed the presence of a relation between executive functions and overweight/obesity, although the directionality of this relation was not clear; nor did any single executive function emerge as being more involved than others in this relation. Despite this, there was evidence of a reciprocal influence between executive functions and overweight/obesity. Conclusions: This systematic review underlines the presence of a relationship between executive functions and overweight/obesity. Moreover, it seems to suggest a bidirectional trend in this relationship that could be the cause of the failure of interventions for weight reduction. The results of this review highlight the importance of a theoretical model able to consider all the main variables of interest, with the aim to structuring integrated approaches to solve the overweight/obesity problems

Graduate programs in a talent management perspective, a comparative analysis of scope and structure

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Bayesian analysis of ages, masses, and distances to cool stars with non-LTE spectroscopic parameters

For studies of Galactic evolution, the accurate characterization of stars in terms of their evolutionary stage and population membership is of fundamental importance. A standard approach relies on extracting this information from stellar evolution models but requires the effective temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity of a star obtained by independent means. In previous work, we determined accurate effective temperatures and non-LTE logg and [Fe/H] (NLTE-Opt) for a large sample of metal-poor stars, -3<[Fe/H]<-0.5, selected from the RAVE survey. As a continuation of that work, we derive here their masses, ages, and distances using a Bayesian scheme and GARSTEC stellar tracks. For comparison, we also use stellar parameters determined from the widely-used 1D LTE excitation-ionization balance of Fe (LTE-Fe). We find that the latter leads to systematically underestimated stellar ages, by 10-30%, but overestimated masses and distances. Metal-poor giants suffer from the largest fractional distance biases of 70%. Furthermore, we compare our results with those released by the RAVE collaboration for the stars in common (DR3, Zwitter et al. 2010, Seibert et al. 2011). This reveals -400 to +400 K offsets in effective temperature, -0.5 to 1.0 dex offsets in surface gravity, and 10 to 70% in distances. The systematic trends strongly resemble the correlation we find between the NLTE-Opt and LTE-Fe parameters, indicating that the RAVE DR3 data may be affected by the physical limitations of the 1D LTE synthetic spectra. Our results bear on any study, where spectrophotometric distances underlie stellar kinematics. In particular, they shed new light on the debated controversy about the Galactic halo origin raised by the SDSS/SEGUE observations.Comment: 13 pages and 15 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Executive functions in the elderly with Mild Cognitive Impairment: a systematic review on motor and cognitive inhibition, conflict control and cognitive flexibility

Background: Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a syndrome characterised by mild cognitive decline, on one or more domains, but which does not compromise daily functions. Several studies have investigated the relationship between MCI and deficit in executive functions (EFs) but, unlike robust evidence in the mnestic domain, the nature of executive deficits in the MCI population remains uncertain. Objectives: This systematic review aims to evaluate EFs in patients with MCI, considering inhibition (motor and cognitive), conflict control and cognitive flexibility. Method: The databases used for the search were PUBMED, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES and MEDLINE. Eligibility criteria: use of specific paradigms for EFs assessment ("Wisconsin Card Sorting Test", "Stroop Task", "Go/No-Go Task", "Flanker Task"); age over 65, studies published in English. Exclusion criteria: presence of dementia; psychiatric disorders; stroke; cranial trauma; inclusion of participants with MCI in groups with healthy elderly or those with dementia. Results: Fifty-five studies were selected, namely: Stroop Task (N=30), WCST (N=14), Go/No-Go (N=9), Flanker Task (N=2). Results have shown in people with MCI deficits in all the EFs considered. Conclusions: The results of this review support the applicability of the four experimental tasks examined for the study of EFs in people with MCI. These paradigms are useful in research, diagnosis and therapeutic purposes, allowing obtaining an articulated EFs profile that can compromise the daily life in elderly. These EFs are not generally evaluated by standard assessment of MCI, but their evaluation can lead to a better knowledge of MCI and help in the diagnosis and treatment

Assessing the three attentional networks in children from three to six years: A child-friendly version of the Attentional Network Test for Interaction

Open access funding provided by Universita degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza within the CRUI-CARE Agreement.We want to thank all children, parents, teachers, and headmasters who made this study possible. In particular, we thank the following schools: the Istituto Comprensivo M.T. Cicerone in Arpino (Scuola Infanzia Arpino Cap. (Panaccio), Scuola Infanzia San Sosio, Scuola Infanzia Pagnanelli, Scuola Infanzia Fontana Liri, Scuola Infanzia Santopadre) and the Istituto Comprensivo Vito Fabiano in Latina. We also thank Valentina Valli and Alfredo Spagna for the test drawings.Attention involves three functionally and neuroanatomically distinct neural networks: alerting, orienting, and executive control. This study aimed to analyze the development of attentional networks in children aged between 3 and 6 years using a child-friendly version of the Attentional Network Test for Interaction (ANTI), the ANTI-Birds. The sample included 88 children divided into four age groups: 3-year-old, 4-year-old, 5-year-old, 6-year-old children. The results of this study would seem to indicate that between 4 and 6 years, there are no significant changes in attentional networks. Instead, between 3 and 4 years of age, children significantly improve all their attentional skills.Universita degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza within the CRUI-CARE Agreemen

Executive functions in Alzheimer disease. A systematic review

Alzheimer's disease is a severe irreversible syndrome, characterized by a slow and progressive cognitive decline that interferes with the standard instrumental and essential functions of daily life. Promptly identifying the impairment of particular cognitive functions could be a fundamental condition to limit, through preventive or therapeutic interventions, the functional damages found in this degenerative dementia. This study aims to analyse, through a systematic review of the studies, the sensitivity of four experimental paradigms (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Stroop Task, Go/No-Go Task, and Flanker Task) considered as golden standard instruments for executive functions assessment in elderly subjects affected by Alzheimer dementia. This review was carried out according to the PRISMA method. Forty-five studies comparing the executive performance of patients with Alzheimer's dementia (diagnosed according to different classification criteria for dementia) and healthy elderly patients both over the age of sixty, were selected. For the research, PubMed, PsycINFO, PsycArticles databases were used. The study highlighted the importance of using standard protocols to evaluate executive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease. The Stroop task allows discriminating better between healthy and pathological agin

Verbal and non-verbal praxic abilities in stutterers

PURPOSE: to characterize the verbal and non-verbal praxic abilities in adult stutterers. METHODS: for this research, 40 over 18-year old men and women were selected: 20 stuttering adults and 20 without communication complaints. For the praxis evaluation, they were submitted to Protocolo de Avaliação da Apraxia Verbal e Não-verbal (Martins and Ortiz, 2004). RESULTS: regarding the abilities of verbal praxis, there was a statistically significant difference of number of typical and atypical disfluencies showed by the two studied groups. Phrase repetition was the only type of typical disfluency which showed a statistically significant difference between the groups. Blocking, syllable repetition and prolonging were the atypical disfluencies which showed a statistically significant difference between the groups. Regarding the non-verbal praxic abilities, a statistically significant difference was not found between the groups in the performance of lip, tongue and jaw movements, isolated and in sequence. CONCLUSION: the adult stutterers showed a significantly higher number of typical and atypical disfluencies than non-stutterers (verbal praxis). Stutterers do not differ from non-stutterers in their non-verbal praxic abilities. This finding contradicts those who believe that early stuttering affects non-verbal praxis.OBJETIVO: caracterizar as habilidades de praxias verbal e não-verbal em indivíduos gagos. MÉTODOS: participaram do estudo 40 indivíduos, com idade igual ou superior a 18 anos, do sexo masculino e feminino: 20 gagos adultos e 20 sem queixas de comunicação. Para a avaliação das praxias verbal e não-verbal, os indivíduos foram submetidos à aplicação do Protocolo de Avaliação da Apraxia Verbal e Não-verbal (Martins e Ortiz, 2004). RESULTADOS: com relação às habilidades de praxia verbal houve diferença estatisticamente significante no número de disfluências típicas e atípicas apresentadas pelos grupos estudados. Quanto à tipologia das disfluências observou-se que nas típicas houve diferença estatisticamente significante entre os grupos estudados apenas na repetição de frase, e nas atípicas, houve diferença estatisticamente significante, tanto no bloqueio quanto na repetição de sílaba e no prolongamento. Com relação às habilidades de praxia não-verbal, não foram observadas diferenças estatisticamente significantes entre os indivíduos estudados na realização dos movimentos de lábios, língua e mandíbula, isolados e em sequência. CONCLUSÃO: com relação às habilidades de praxia verbal, os gagos apresentaram frequência maior de rupturas da fala, tanto de disfluências típicas quanto de atípicas, quando comparado ao grupo controle. Já na realização de movimentos práxicos isolados e em sequência, ou seja, nas habilidades de praxia não-verbal, os indivíduos gagos não se diferenciaram dos fluentes não confirmando a hipótese de que o início precoce da gagueira poderia comprometer as habilidades de praxia não-verbal.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de FonoaudiologiaUNIFESP, Depto. de FonoaudiologiaSciEL

Assessing the three attentional networks and vigilance in the adolescence stages

Attention involves three functionally and neuroanatomically distinct neural networks: alerting, orienting, and executive control. This study aimed to assess the attentional networks and vigilance in adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years using the attentional network test for interaction and vigilance (ANTI-V). One hundred and eighty-two adolescents divided into three groups (early adolescents, middle adolescents, late adolescents) participated in the study. The results indicate that after age 15, adolescents adopt a more conservative response strategy and increase the monitoring of self-errors. All the attentional networks seem to continue to develop during the age range considered in this study (10–19 y). Performance improved from early adolescence to middle adolescence and began to stabilize in late adolescence. Moreover, a low level of vigilance seems to harm alerting and orienting abilities

Emotional regulation and overeating behaviors in children and adolescents: a systematic review

The worldwide prevalence of obesity has dramatically increased, mostly in children and adolescents. The Emotional Eating theoretical model has proposed that the failure in emotional regulation could represent a risk factor for establishing maladaptive overeating behavior that represents an inadequate response to negative emotions and allows increasing body-weight. This systematic review investigates the relationship between overeating and both emotional regulation and emotional intelligence in childhood and adolescence, considering both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Moreover, another goal of the review is evaluating whether emotional regulation and emotional intelligence can cause overeating behaviors. The systematic search was conducted according to the PRISMA-statement in the databases Medline, PsychArtcles, PsychInfo, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Sciences, and allows 484 records to be extracted. Twenty-six studies were selected according to inclusion (e.g., studies focused on children and adolescents without clinical conditions; groups of participants overweight or with obesity) and exclusion (e.g., studies that adopted qualitative assessment or cognitive-affective tasks to measure emotional variables; reviews, commentary, or brief reports) criteria detailed in the methods. Cross-sectional studies showed a negative association between emotional regulation and overeating behavior that was confirmed by longitudinal studies. These findings highlighted the role of maladaptive emotion regulation on overeating and being overweight. The relationship between these constructs in children and adolescents was consistent. The results indicated the complexity of this association, which would be influenced by many physiological, psychological, and social factors. These findings underline the need for further studies focused on emotion regulation in the development of overeating. They should analyze the mediation role of other variables (e.g., attachment style, peer pressure) and identify interventions to prevent and reduce worldwide overweight prevalence