Erratum to: Behavioral Inhibition and Anxiety: The Moderating Roles of Inhibitory Control and Attention Shifting

AbstractThe present study utilized a multilevel approach to examine developmental trajectories in risk-taking propensity. We examined the moderating role of specific executive function components, attention shifting and inhibitory control, on the link between exuberant temperament in infancy and propensity for risk taking in childhood. Risk taking was assessed using a task previously associated with sensation seeking and antisocial behaviors. Two hundred ninety-one infants were brought into the lab and behaviors reflecting exuberance were observed at 4, 9, 24, and 36 months of age. Executive function was assessed at 48 months of age. Risk-taking propensity was measured when children were 60 months of age. The results indicated that exuberance and attention shifting, but not inhibitory control, significantly interacted to predict propensity for risk taking. Exuberance was positively associated with risk-taking propensity among children who were relatively low in attention shifting but unrelated for children high in attention shifting. These findings illustrated the multifinality of developmental outcomes for temperamentally exuberant young children and pointed to the distinct regulatory influences of different executive functions for children of differing temperaments. Attention shifting likely affords a child the ability to consider both positive and negative consequences and moderates the relation between early exuberance and risk-taking propensity.

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Autism interest intensity in early childhood associates with executive functioning but not reward sensitivity or anxiety symptoms

Autism ◽

10.1177/13623613211064372 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 136236132110643

Author(s):

Kate J Godfrey ◽

Svenja Espenhahn ◽

Mehak Stokoe ◽

Carly McMorris ◽

Kara Murias ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Executive Functioning ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Anxiety Symptoms ◽

Reward Sensitivity ◽

Autistic Children ◽

Attention Shifting ◽

The Many ◽

Executive Functioning Skills ◽

Personal Interests

Several theories have been proposed to explain the presentation of intense interests in autism, including theories based on altered executive functioning, imbalanced reward sensitivity, and mitigating anxiety. These theories have yet to be examined in early childhood, yet knowledge of how intense interests emerge could provide insight into how best to manage intensity and support the many benefits of personal interests. Parents of 33 autistic and 42 non-autistic comparison children aged 3–6 years completed questionnaires to assess attention shifting and inhibitory control, responsiveness to rewards, and anxiety symptoms. Each behavior domain was examined for associations with parent-reported interest intensity. In autistic and comparison children, attention shifting was associated with interest intensity, where children with more difficulties showed more intense interests. In autistic children only, inhibitory control of attention also associated with interest intensity, where children with greater difficulties showed more intense interests. Reward and anxiety symptoms did not associate with interest intensity in either group, or across the sample. These findings suggest that, in early childhood, the presentation of intense interests is related to executive functioning regardless of diagnostic group. Helping children develop executive functioning skills may therefore be useful to assist with managing interest intensity in early childhood. Lay abstract Personal interests in autism are a source of joy, pride, and assist with the formation of social relationships. However, highly intense engagement can also interfere with other activities including activities of daily living. Theories have suggested that intense interests relate to executive functioning, reward sensitivity, and anxiety symptoms; but none of these theories have been tested in early childhood. Understanding which behavioral traits relate to intense interests in early childhood could help understand how intense interests may emerge, while also providing clues for how to manage interest intensity and best promote the many benefits of personal interests. We recruited families with autistic and non-autistic children aged 3–6 years. Parents completed questionnaires to assess children’s interest diversity and intensity, executive functioning, reward sensitivity, and anxiety symptoms. We found that for autistic and non-autistic children, greater difficulty shifting attention between activities related to more intense interests. In autistic children only, difficulty with inhibitory control of attention also related to more intense interests. However, reward sensitivity and anxiety symptoms did not relate to interest intensity. Based on these observations, assisting young children with developing executive functioning skills could help with mediating the interference of interests in daily life to ultimately promote the many benefits of personal interests.

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The Validity of the Higher‐Order Structure of Effortful Control as Defined by Inhibitory Control, Attention Shifting, and Focusing: A Longitudinal and Multi‐Informant Study

Journal of Personality ◽

10.1111/jopy.12696 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Guido Alessandri ◽

Enrico Perinelli ◽

Lorenzo Filosa ◽

Nancy Eisenberg ◽

Carlos Valiente

Keyword(s):

Inhibitory Control ◽

Effortful Control ◽

Higher Order ◽

Order Structure ◽

Attention Shifting

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Stopping and changing in adults with ADHD

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291704003459 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 35 (6) ◽

pp. 807-816 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

E. M. BEKKER ◽

C. C. OVERTOOM ◽

J. L. KENEMANS ◽

J. J. KOOIJ ◽

I. DE NOORD ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reaction Time ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Behavioral Inhibition ◽

Adult Adhd ◽

Critical Role ◽

Stop Signal ◽

Stop Signal Task ◽

Inhibitory System ◽

Core Deficit ◽

Change Task

Background. A lack of inhibitory control has been suggested to be the core deficit in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This means that a primary deficit in behavioral inhibition mediates a cascade of secondary deficits in other executive functions, such as arousal regulation. Clinical observations have revealed that with increasing age symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity decline at a higher rate than those of inattention. This might imply that a deficit in attention rather than a lack of inhibitory control is the major feature in adult ADHD.Method. To study whether an attentional or inhibitory deficit predominates, the stop-signal task and the stop-change task were presented to 24 adults with ADHD combined subtype and 24 controls.Results. Relative to controls, the stop-signal reaction time (SSRT) was significantly more prolonged than the go-stimulus reaction time (RT) in patients with ADHD. This disproportionate elongation of the SSRT was comparable across tasks, even though the stop-change task exerted more complex (or at least different) demands on the inhibitory system than the stop-signal task. ADHD patients had a higher proportion of choice errors, possibly reflecting more premature responses. Specifically in the stop-change task, patients had more variable choice responses and made more inappropriate change responses, which may also reflect enhanced impulsivity.Conclusions. The results support a core deficit in behavioral inhibition in adults with ADHD. We further suggest that there is more evidence for a critical role of deficient inhibitory control in adults than in children with ADHD.

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Roles of Attention Shifting and Inhibitory Control in Fourth-Grade Reading Comprehension

Reading Research Quarterly ◽

10.1002/rrq.54 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 48 (4) ◽

pp. 333-348 ◽

Cited By ~ 76

Author(s):

Michael J. Kieffer ◽

Rose K. Vukovic ◽

Daniel Berry

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Fourth Grade ◽

Attention Shifting

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Inhibitory control and set shifting describe different pathways from behavioral inhibition to socially anxious behavior

Developmental Science ◽

10.1111/desc.13040 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

Author(s):

George A. Buzzell ◽

Santiago Morales ◽

Maureen E. Bowers ◽

Sonya V. Troller‐Renfree ◽

Andrea Chronis‐Tuscano ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Inhibitory Control ◽

Behavioral Inhibition ◽

Set Shifting ◽

Socially Anxious ◽

Anxious Behavior

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Components of effortful control and their relations to children’s shyness

International Journal of Behavioral Development ◽

10.1177/0165025415597792 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 40 (6) ◽

pp. 544-554 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Natalie D Eggum-Wilkens ◽

Ray E Reichenberg ◽

Nancy Eisenberg ◽

Tracy L Spinrad

Keyword(s):

Inhibitory Control ◽

Effortful Control ◽

Growth Models ◽

Attention Shifting ◽

The Future ◽

Low Levels

Relations between children’s ( n = 213) mother-reported effortful control components (attention focusing, attention shifting, inhibitory control at 42 months; activational control at 72 months) and mother-reported shyness trajectories across 42, 54, 72, and 84 months of age were examined. In growth models, shyness decreased. Inhibitory control and attention shifting predicted higher levels and lower levels of shyness at 42 months (the intercept), respectively. Inhibitory control negatively, and attention shifting positively, predicted the shyness slope. Children with higher inhibitory control had relatively more rapid decreases in shyness. Children with higher attention shifting had relatively slower decreases in shyness. Activational control was negatively correlated with the shyness intercept. Effortful control components should be examined separately, rather than in combination, in relation to shyness in the future. If results are replicated, it may suggest that fostering attention shifting and activational control development helps prevent, or maintain low levels of, shyness during childhood.

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Comparison of Functional Connectivity in the Prefrontal Cortex during a Simple and an Emotional Go/No-Go Task in Female versus Male Groups: An fNIRS Study

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11070909 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 909

Author(s):

Thien Nguyen ◽

Emma E. Condy ◽

Soongho Park ◽

Bruce H. Friedman ◽

Amir Gandjbakhche

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Functional Connectivity ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Behavioral Inhibition ◽

Cognitive Process ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Behavioral Responses ◽

Strong Connectivity ◽

The Right

Inhibitory control is a cognitive process to suppress prepotent behavioral responses to stimuli. This study aimed to investigate prefrontal functional connectivity during a behavioral inhibition task and its correlation with the subject’s performance. Additionally, we identified connections that are specific to the Go/No-Go task. The experiment was performed on 42 normal, healthy adults who underwent a vanilla baseline and a simple and emotional Go/No-Go task. Cerebral hemodynamic responses were measured in the prefrontal cortex using a 16-channel near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) device. Functional connectivity was calculated from NIRS signals and correlated to the Go/No-Go performance. Strong connectivity was found in both the tasks in the right hemisphere, inter-hemispherically, and the left medial prefrontal cortex. Better performance (fewer errors, faster response) is associated with stronger prefrontal connectivity during the simple Go/No-Go in both sexes and the emotional Go/No-Go connectivity in males. However, females express a lower emotional Go/No-Go connectivity while performing better on the task. This study reports a complete prefrontal network during a simple and emotional Go/No-Go and its correlation with the subject’s performance in females and males. The results can be applied to examine behavioral inhibitory control deficits in population with neurodevelopmental disorders.

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