Supplemental Material for The Development of Inhibitory Control in Early Childhood: A Twin Study From 2–3 Years

Research into the earliest development of inhibitory control is limited by a lack of suitable tasks. In particular, commonly used inhibitory control tasks frequently have too high language and working memory demands for children under 3 years of age. Furthermore, researchers currently tend to shift to a new set of inhibitory control tasks between infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood, raising doubts about whether the same function is being measured. Tasks that are structurally equivalent across age could potentially help resolve this issue. In the current report, a new response inhibition task, the Early Childhood Inhibitory Touchscreen Task (ECITT), was developed. This task can be minimally modified to suit different ages, whilst remaining structurally equivalent. In the new task, participants have to overcome a tendency to respond to a frequently rewarded location on a touchscreen and instead make an alternative response. The ECITT was validated in three independent studies (with additional data, N = 166, reported in Supporting Information). In Study 1 (N = 81), cross-sectional data indicated that inhibitory performance on the task improved significantly between 24 and 30 months of age. In Study 2 (N = 38), longitudinal data indicated steady improvement in inhibitory control between 18, 21 and 24 months, with significant stability in individual performance differences between each consecutive age in terms of accuracy (but not in terms of reaction time). Finally, in Study 3 (N = 64), inhibitory performance on a faster-paced version of the same task showed a similar developmental course across the lifespan (4–84 years) to other response inhibition tasks and was significantly correlated with Stop-signal performance. The ECITT extends the assessment of response inhibition earlier than previous tasks–into early toddlerhood. Because the task is simple and structurally equivalent across age, future longitudinal studies should benefit from using the ECITT to investigate the development of inhibitory control in a consistent manner across the toddler years and beyond.

Download Full-text

0207 The Effect of Naps on Inhibitory Control and Sustained Attention in Early Childhood

SLEEP ◽

10.1093/sleep/zsaa056.205 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 43 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. A81-A81

Author(s):

C J Andre ◽

E Mendelevich ◽

A Santiago ◽

R M Spencer

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Sustained Attention ◽

Rem Sleep ◽

Slow Wave Sleep ◽

School Age Children ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Performance Accuracy ◽

Adults And Children ◽

Weak Negative Correlation

Abstract Introduction Sleep in adults and school-age children has been shown to improve regulatory behaviors. Specifically, slow wave sleep (SWS) disruptions have been positively associated with decreased levels of sustained attention and inhibitory control in adults, while REM sleep has been associated with inhibitory control in typically developing children. However, it is unknown whether midday naps confer a similar benefit in preschool-aged children, particularly since REM sleep is often lacking in their naps. In this study, we used a Go/No-Go task to determine whether SWS during early childhood naps benefits sustained attention and inhibitory control. We also explored nap habituality as a factor given that habitual and non-habitual nappers have different sleep architecture in adults and children. Methods Preschool children (N=22, 38–69 months) completed a Go/No-Go task, after which they either napped with polysomnography (nap condition) or stayed awake (wake condition) for an equivalent amount of time (within subject; order counterbalanced; ~1 week apart). After their nap and wake sessions, they completed the Go/No-Go task again. Results When controlling for nap frequency, participant performance (accuracy) post-session did not differ across conditions. However, by examining only the habitual nappers (5–7 days/week, N=9), we found a moderate positive correlation between percent of sleep spent in SWS and post-nap accuracy (r=0.335, p=0.037). Interestingly, we did not see the same relationship with non-habitual nappers (0–4 days/week, N=13) and found a weak negative correlation with SWS (r=0.007, p=0.031). Conclusion The findings suggest that habitually napping children show a benefit of nap SWS on regulatory behaviors while non-habitual nappers do not. Such results have important translational significance for early education settings. Support NIH R01 HL111695.

Download Full-text