Cognitive control goes to school: The impact of executive functions on academic performance

AbstractThe general aim of the present study was to investigate EF in relation to academic performance. We chose tasks evaluating three EF dimensions: working memory (WM), inhibition (resistance to interference and negative priming), and set-shifting. Subjects (N = 70) were school-aged children in the 5th and the 8th Grades. Regression models supported the contribution of individual differences in EF performance to explaining over half of total variance in school performance, revealing the main role of WM in predicting Mathematics performance. Results are discussed in terms of relevance of meaningful assessment practices and for educational interventions. © 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Masterprof tea

Executive function in Williams and Down syndromes

Williams (WS) and Down (DS) syndromes are characterised by roughly opposing ability profiles. Relative verbal strengths and visuospatial difficulties have been reported in those with WS, while expressive language difficulties have been observed in individuals with DS. Few investigations into the executive function (EF) skills of these groups have examined the effect of verbal/visuospatial task type on performance. Analogous verbal and visuospatial measures were administered to these populations within four EF domains: executive-loaded working memory (ELWM), inhibition, fluency and set-shifting. Performance in both groups was compared to that of typically developing (TD) children using regression techniques controlling for potentially influential cognitive/developmental factors. Individuals with WS showed the expected relative visuospatial difficulties, as indicated by poorer performance than TD individuals, on tests of ELWM and fluency. Individuals with DS displayed the expected relative verbal difficulty in the domain of set-shifting. In addition, each population showed pervasive deficits across modality in one domain; ELWM for individuals with DS, and inhibition for individuals with WS. Individuals with WS and DS showed EF difficulties in comparison to a TD group, but, their executive performance was affected by EF task type (verbal/visuospatial) and EF domain in different ways. While the findings indicated that EF in these populations is characterised by a range of specific strengths and weaknesses, it was also suggested that the relative verbal/visuospatial strengths associated with each population do not consistently manifest across EF domains. Lastly, syndrome specificity was indicated by the differences in groups’ performance patterns

Using developmental trajectories to examine verbal and visuospatial short-term memory development in children and adolescents with Williams and Down syndromes

Williams (WS) and Down (DS) syndromes have been associated with specifically compromised short-term memory (STM) subsystems. Individuals with WS have shown impairments in visuospatial STM, while individuals with DS have often shown problems with the recall of verbal material. However, studies have not usually compared the development of STM skills in these domains, in these populations. The present study employed a cross sectional developmental trajectories approach, plotting verbal and visuospatial STM performance against more general cognitive and chronological development, to investigate how the domain-specific skills of individuals with WS and DS may change as development progresses, as well as whether the difference between STM skill domains increases, in either group, as development progresses. Typically developing children, of broadly similar cognitive ability to the clinical groups, were also included. Planned between- and within group comparisons were carried out. Individuals with WS and DS both showed the domain specific STM weaknesses in overall performance that were expected based on the respective cognitive profiles. However, skills in both groups developed, according to general cognitive development, at similar rates to those of the TD group. In addition, no significant developmental divergence between STM domains was observed in either clinical group according to mental age or chronological age, although the general pattern of findings indicated that the influence of the latter variable across STM domains, particularly in WS, might merit further investigation

Assessing Specific Cognitive Deficits Associated with Dementia in Older Adults with Down Syndrome: Use and Validity of the Arizona Cognitive Test Battery (ACTB)

BACKGROUND: Down syndrome is associated with specific cognitive deficits. Alongside this, older adults with Down syndrome are a high risk group for dementia. The Arizona Cognitive Test Battery (ACTB), a cognitive assessment battery specifically developed for use with individuals with Down syndrome, has been proposed for use as outcome measures for clinical trials in this population. It has not been validated in older adults with Down syndrome. This study aims to assess the use and validity of the ACTB in older adults with Down syndrome. METHODS: Participants with Down syndrome aged 45 and over were assessed using the ACTB, standard tabletop tests and informant ratings. RESULTS: Assessment outcomes of 49 participants were analysed. Of these, 19 (39%) had a diagnosis of dementia or possible dementia. Most participants were able to attempt most of the tasks, although some tasks had high floor effects (including CANTAB Intra-Extra Dimensional shift stages completed and Modified Dots Task). Of the ACTB tasks, statistically significant differences were observed between the dementia and no dementia groups on CANTAB Simple Reaction Time median latency, NEPSY Visuomotor Precision-Car and Motorbike and CANTAB Paired Associates Learning stages completed. No significant differences were observed for CANTAB Intra-Extra Dimensional Shift, Modified Dots Task, Finger Sequencing, NEPSY Visuomotor precision-Train and Car and CANTAB Paired Associates Learning first trial memory score. Several of the tasks in the ACTB can be used in older adults with Down syndrome and have mild to moderate concurrent validity when compared to tabletop tests and informant ratings, although this varies on a test by test basis. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, scores for a number of tests in the ACTB were similar when comparing dementia and no dementia groups of older adults with Down syndrome, suggesting that it would not be an appropriate outcome measure of cognitive function for clinical trials of dementia treatments without further modification and validation

Development and validation of the Arizona Cognitive Test Battery for Down syndrome

Neurocognitive assessment in individuals with intellectual disabilities requires a well-validated test battery. To meet this need, the Arizona Cognitive Test Battery (ACTB) has been developed specifically to assess the cognitive phenotype in Down syndrome (DS). The ACTB includes neuropsychological assessments chosen to 1) assess a range of skills, 2) be non-verbal so as to not confound the neuropsychological assessment with language demands, 3) have distributional properties appropriate for research studies to identify genetic modifiers of variation, 4) show sensitivity to within and between sample differences, 5) have specific correlates with brain function, and 6) be applicable to a wide age range and across contexts. The ACTB includes tests of general cognitive ability and prefrontal, hippocampal and cerebellar function. These tasks were drawn from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Testing Automated Battery (CANTAB) and other established paradigms. Alongside the cognitive testing battery we administered benchmark and parent-report assessments of cognition and behavior. Individuals with DS (n = 74, ages 7–38 years) and mental age (MA) matched controls (n = 50, ages 3–8 years) were tested across 3 sites. A subsample of these groups were used for between-group comparisons, including 55 individuals with DS and 36 mental age matched controls. The ACTB allows for low floor performance levels and participant loss. Floor effects were greater in younger children. Individuals with DS were impaired on a number ACTB tests in comparison to a MA-matched sample, with some areas of spared ability, particularly on tests requiring extensive motor coordination. Battery measures correlated with parent report of behavior and development. The ACTB provided consistent results across contexts, including home vs. lab visits, cross-site, and among individuals with a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds and differences in ethnicity. The ACTB will be useful in a range of outcome studies, including clinical trials and the identification of important genetic components of cognitive disability

High Visual Working Memory Capacity in Trait Social Anxiety

Working memory capacity is one of the most important cognitive functions influencing individual traits, such as attentional control, fluid intelligence, and also psychopathological traits. Previous research suggests that anxiety is associated with impaired cognitive function, and studies have shown low verbal working memory capacity in individuals with high trait anxiety. However, the relationship between trait anxiety and visual working memory capacity is still unclear. Considering that people allocate visual attention more widely to detect danger under threat, visual working memory capacity might be higher in anxious people. In the present study, we show that visual working memory capacity increases as trait social anxiety increases by using a change detection task. When the demand to inhibit distractors increased, however, high visual working memory capacity diminished in individuals with social anxiety, and instead, impaired filtering of distractors was predicted by trait social anxiety. State anxiety was not correlated with visual working memory capacity. These results indicate that socially anxious people could potentially hold a large amount of information in working memory. However, because of an impaired cognitive function, they could not inhibit goal-irrelevant distractors and their performance decreased under highly demanding conditions

The genetic and environmental aetiology of spatial, mathematics and general anxiety

Individuals differ in their level of general anxiety as well as in their level of anxiety towards specific activities, such as mathematics and spatial tasks. Both specific anxieties correlate moderately with general anxiety, but the aetiology of their association remains unexplored. Moreover, the factor structure of spatial anxiety is to date unknown. The present study investigated the factor structure of spatial anxiety, its aetiology, and the origins of its association with general and mathematics anxiety in a sample of 1,464 19-21-year-old twin pairs from the UK representative Twins Early Development Study. Participants reported their general, mathematics and spatial anxiety as part of an online battery of tests. We found that spatial anxiety is a multifactorial construct, including two components: navigation anxiety and rotation/visualization anxiety. All anxiety measures were moderately heritable (30% to 41%), and non-shared environmental factors explained the remaining variance. Multivariate genetic analysis showed that, although some genetic and environmental factors contributed to all anxiety measures, a substantial portion of genetic and non-shared environmental influences were specific to each anxiety construct. This suggests that anxiety is a multifactorial construct phenotypically and aetiologically, highlighting the importance of studying anxiety within specific contexts

The “Good Cop, Bad Cop” Effect in the RT-Based Concealed Information Test: Exploring the Effect of Emotional Expressions Displayed by a Virtual Investigator

<div><p>Concealing the possession of relevant information represents a complex cognitive process, shaped by contextual demands and individual differences in cognitive and socio-emotional functioning. The Reaction Time-based Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT) is used to detect concealed knowledge based on the difference in RTs between denying recognition of critical (<i>probes</i>) and newly encountered (<i>irrelevant</i>) information. Several research questions were addressed in this scenario implemented after a mock crime. First, we were interested whether the introduction of a social stimulus (facial identity) simulating a virtual investigator would facilitate the process of deception detection. Next, we explored whether his emotional displays (friendly, hostile or neutral) would have a differential impact on speed of responses to probe versus irrelevant items. We also compared the impact of introducing similar stimuli in a working memory (WM) updating context without requirements to conceal information. Finally, we explored the association between deceptive behavior and individual differences in WM updating proficiency or in internalizing problems (state / trait anxiety and depression). Results indicated that the mere presence of a neutral virtual investigator slowed down participants' responses, but not the appended lie-specific time (difference between probes and irrelevants). Emotional expression was shown to differentially affect speed of responses to critical items, with positive displays from the virtual examiner enhancing lie-specific time, compared to negative facial expressions, which had an opposite impact. This valence-specific effect was not visible in the WM updating context. Higher levels of trait / state anxiety were related to faster responses to probes in the negative condition (hostile facial expression) of the RT-CIT. These preliminary findings further emphasize the need to take into account motivational and emotional factors when considering the transfer of deception detection techniques from the laboratory to real-life settings.</p></div

Anxiety disorders in children and adults: A cognitive, neurophysiological and genetic characterization

An information-processing perspective has been explicitly adopted by several researchers in order to organize the extensive (and often controversial) evidence supporting anxious children‟s cognitive biases in processing emotional information (Daleiden & Vasey, 1997; Pine, 2007). Such integrative approaches are essential in order to investigate vulnerability markers that contribute to the development and maintenance of child and adolescent psychopathology