The temporal dynamic of response inhibition in early childhood: An ERP study of partial and successful inhibition

Event-related potentials were recorded while five-year-old children completed a Go/No-Go task that distinguished between partial inhibition (i.e., response is initiated but cancelled before completion) and successful inhibition (i.e., response is inhibited before it is initiated). Partial inhibition trials were characterized by faster response initiation and later latency of the lateral frontal negativity (LFN) than successful Go and successful inhibition trials. The speed of response initiation was influenced by the response speed on previous trials and influenced the response speed on subsequent trials. Response initiation and action decision dynamically influenced each other, and their temporal interplay determined response inhibition success

Contribution of reactive and proactive control to children's working memory performance:Insight from item recall durations in response sequence planning

The present study addressed whether developmental improvement in working memory span task performance relies upon a growing ability to proactively plan response sequences during childhood. Two hundred thirteen children completed a working memory span task in which they used a touchscreen to reproduce orally presented sequences of animal names. Children were assessed longitudinally at 7 time points between 3 and 10 years of age. Twenty-one young adults also completed the same task. Proactive response sequence planning was assessed by comparing recall durations for the 1st item (preparatory interval) and subsequent items. At preschool age, the preparatory interval was generally shorter than subsequent item recall durations, whereas it was systematically longer during elementary school and in adults. Although children mostly approached the task reactively at preschool, they proactively planned response sequences with increasing efficiency from age 7 on, like adults. These findings clarify the nature of the changes in executive control that support working memory performance with age

Weight Status as a Mediator of the Association Between Preschool Extraversion and Adolescent Restrained Eating

Objectives To determine the longitudinal association between preschool extraversion and weight/dieting outcomes in adolescence. Methods Children (N = 180) were recruited as part of a longitudinal study, with child temperament assessed in preschool (age 5.25 years), weight assessed in 2nd grade and early adolescence, and eating outcomes assessed in early adolescence (mean age = 12.02 years). Results Preschoolers high in extraversion were significantly more likely to have higher body mass index z-scores (zBMI) and more restrained eating behaviors in adolescence. zBMI was found to mediate the relationship between extraversion and restrained eating, such that children with high levels of extraversion were more likely to have higher zBMI in adolescence and, owing to this higher weight status, to engage in more restrained eating. Conclusions Temperament is an important predictor of later maladaptive weight/dieting outcomes in adolescence, making it a potentially important early factor to consider in weight management interventions

Executive Control Goes to School: Implications of Preschool Executive Performance for Observed Elementary Classroom Learning Engagement

The transition to elementary school is accompanied by increasing demands for children to regulate their attention and behavior within the classroom setting. Executive control (EC) may be critical for meeting these demands; however, few studies have rigorously examined the association between EC and observed classroom behavior. This study examined EC in preschool (age 5 years, 3 months) as a predictor of classroom learning engagement behaviors in first grade, using a battery of performance-based EC tasks and live classroom observations in a longitudinal sample of 313 children. Multilevel modeling results indicated that stronger EC predicted more focused engagement and fewer task management and competing responses, controlling for socioeconomic status, child sex, and age at observations. Results suggest that early EC may support subsequent classroom engagement behaviors that are critical for successful transition to elementary school and long-term learning trajectories