The delay period as an opportunity to think about future intentions : Effects of delay length and delay task difficulty on young adult’s prospective memory performance

Acknowledgements Preparation of the manuscript was partially funded by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada Discovery Grant (RGPIN-2015-03774) and Swiss Government Scholarship to CEVM. MK acknowledges funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The authors wish to thank Chirine Ajram, Joelle Barthassat, Katelyn Brausewetter, Riley Brennan, Malik Djela, Alison O’Connor, and Delphine Paumier for their assistance with data collection. Funding This study was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (Grant Number: RGPIN-2015-03774 to Caitlin Mahy).Peer reviewedPostprin

Children's Planning Performance in the Zoo Map Task (BADS-C) : Is It Driven by General Cognitive Ability, Executive Functioning, or Prospection?

Preparation of this article was partially funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF; 100014_152841) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC; RGPIN-2015-03774).Peer reviewedPostprin

Neurophysiological Correlates of Executive Function: A Comparison of European-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian 5-Year-Old Children

This study explored the neurophysiological correlates of executive function (EF) in young children from two different cultural backgrounds. Twenty European-Canadian and 17 Chinese-Canadian 5-year-olds participated in a go/no-go task, during which high-density electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded. No cultural group differences were observed in children's behavioral performance on the task, but marked differences were revealed by ERP analyses, which focused on the amplitude and latency of the N2 waveform. Chinese-Canadian children showed larger (i.e., more negative) N2 amplitudes than European-Canadian children on the right side of the scalp on no-go trials, as well as on the left side of the scalp on go trials, and for all children, larger N2 amplitudes were associated with faster median reaction times. Source analyses of the N2 were consistent with the hypothesis that compared to European-Canadian children, Chinese-Canadian children showed more activation in dorsomedial, ventromedial, and (bilateral) ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. These findings reveal that EEG can provide a measure of cultural differences in neurocognitive function that is more sensitive than behavioral data alone; that Chinese-Canadian children show a pattern of hemispheric differentiation in the context of this task than that is more pronounced than that of age-matched European-Canadian children; that the asymmetrically lateralized N2 may be a reliable marker of both effortful inhibition (on the right) and effortful approach (on the left); and that the neural correlates of EF may vary across samples of healthy participants, even in children

Transitions in Executive Function: Insights From Developmental Parallels Between Prospective Memory and Cognitive Flexibility Most theories of prospective memory, cognitive flexibility, and their development point to a central role for executive functions

ABSTRACT-As children develop, they need to remember to carry out their intentions and overcome habits to switch flexibly to new ways of behaving. Developments in these domains-prospective memory and cognitive flexibilityare essential for children to function and predict important outcomes. Prospective memory and cognitive flexibility are similar in the psychological processes proposed to support them (particularly executive functions), in how they are measured, and in the behavioral transitions observed (e.g., dissociations between actions and intentions, and nonlinear developmental trajectories). In this article, we highlight how such parallels can inform debates about the specific executive functions and types of developments that support prospective memory, cognitive flexibility, and related future-oriented abilities, and can deepen understanding of executive function development more generally. KEYWORDS-cognitive flexibility; prospective memory; executive control Children often need to remember to carry out tasks, such as returning a homework assignment. They also need to overcome habitual or prepotent behavior, like blurting out what they are thinking, to switch flexibly to new ways of thinking or behaving, such as waiting for their turn. These examples of prospective memory and cognitive flexibility, respectively, highlight fundamental aspects of cognitive development in academic and social contexts that predict important short-and long-term outcomes (1). Prospective memory and cognitive flexibility overlap in many ways, but few studies have attempted to draw parallels between these two areas. In this article, we highlight parallels in developmental transitions that may advance understanding within each domain and of executive function, the goal-directed control of thought and action, more generally. First, we describe parallels in the psychological processes proposed to support prospective memory and cognitive flexibility (particularly executive functions), and parallels in the way they are measured. Then, we discuss debates and questions about which executive functions are critical, whether developmental changes in those executive functions contribute to developmental changes in behavior, and what form those changes in executive functions take. Next, we consider how some of these questions might be answered by considering behavioral parallels between prospective memory and cognitive flexibility. We focus on two transitions that occur as children age in both prospective memory and cognitive flexibility: a decrease in dissociations between actions and intentions, and a nonlinear pattern in the influence of distracting information on performance. Finally, we discuss implications for other futureoriented processes

What supports the development of children’s prospective memory? Examining the relation between children’s prospective memory, memory strategy use, and parent scaffolding

Remembering to carry out intended actions in the future, known as prospective memory (PM), is an important cognitive ability. In daily life, individuals remember to perform future tasks that might rely on effortful processes (monitoring) but also habitual tasks that might rely on more automatic processes. The development of PM across childhood in laboratory contexts is well understood, but little is known about the social context in which children develop their PM skills in everyday life. In the current study, three hundred and one parents reported on their 3-to 11-year-old child’s PM, child’s strategy use, and on their own scaffolding of their child’s PM using the Children’s Everyday Memory Questionnaire (CEMQ; adapted from the Prospective Memory Questionnaire). Preliminary analyses showed that the PM items on the CEMQ were reliable and composed of two components (a PM and a PM strategy use subscale). Our results showed that children’s PM and use of memory strategies, as reported by their parents, increased with age. Further, more frequent parent scaffolding was related to better PM in children. These relations were also explored separately for older and younger children. Notably, parents of younger, 3-to 6-year-olds reported scaffolding them more frequently with age, while parents of older, 7-to 11-year-olds reported scaffolding them less frequently with age. Open-ended responses revealed that parents used verbal reminders and children used external aids most frequently. Overall, parent scaffolding appears to impact children’s PM, but future research is needed to identify the causal direction of these relations

The development of prospective memory in children: An executive framework

A B S T R A C T Prospective memory (PM), the ability to remember to carry out one's intentions in the future, is critical for children's daily functioning and their ability to become independent from caregivers. This review assesses the current state of research on children's prospective memory. Using an executive functioning framework the literature can be organized into studies examining four factors that influence PM. We discuss studies that have manipulated the nature of the intention, the content or length of the retention interval, the nature of the ongoing task, and the nature of the PM cue. Further, we propose a model that attempts to account for the development of PM across childhood based on advances in executive control. Finally, we suggest promising future directions for research

Neural systems for reflected and direct self-appraisals in Chinese young adults: Exploring the role of the temporal-parietal junction.

OBJECTIVES: Although cortical midline structures (CMS) are the most commonly identified neural foundations of self-appraisals, research is beginning to implicate the temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) in more interdependent self-construals. The goal of this study was to extend this research in an understudied population by (a) examining both direct (first-person) and reflected (third-person) self-appraisals across 2 domains (social and academics), and (b) exploring individual differences in recruitment of the TPJ during reflected self-appraisals. METHOD: The neural correlates of direct and reflected self-appraisals in social and academic domains were examined in 16 Chinese young adults (8 males, 8 females; aged 18-23 years) using functional MRI. RESULTS: As expected, when making reflected self-appraisals (i.e., reporting what they believed others thought about them, regardless of domain), Chinese participants recruited both CMSs and the TPJ. Similar to previous research in East Asian and interdependent samples, CMSs and the TPJ were relatively more active during direct self-appraisals in the social than in the academic domain. We additionally found that, to the extent participants reported that reflected academic self-appraisals differed from direct academic self-appraisals, they demonstrated greater engagement of the TPJ during reflected academic self-appraisals. Exploratory cross-national comparisons with previously published data from American participants revealed that Chinese young adults engaged the TPJ relatively more during reflected self-appraisals made from peer perspectives. CONCLUSIONS: In combination with previous research, these findings increase support for a role of the TPJ in self-appraisal processes, particularly when Chinese young adults consider peer perspectives. The possible functional contributions provided by the TPJ are explored and discussed. (PsycINFO Database Recor

Upper limb cerebellar motor function in children with spina bifida

Abstract Purpose To investigate upper limb cerebellar motor function in children with spina bifida myelomeningocele (SBM) and in typically developing controls. Methods Participants with SBM, who had either upper level spinal lesions (n=23) or lower level spinal lesions (n=65), and controls (n=37) completed four upper limb motor function tasks (posture, rebound, limb dysmetria, and diadochokinesis) under four different physical and cognitive challenge conditions. Functional independence was assessed by parental questionnaire. Results Fewer SBM participants were able to complete the posture task, and they were less likely than controls to obtain a perfect rebound score. Participants with SBM showed impaired performance in either time, accuracy, or both, on the limb dysmetria and diadochokinesis tasks but responded like controls to physical and cognitive challenges. Conclusions Because upper limb motor performance predicted aspects of functional independence, we conclude that upper limb impairments in children with SBM are significant and have direct implications for the level of independent functioning in children with SBM