Development of the updating executive function: From 7-year-olds to young adults.

To assess the risks predicting reoffense, 223 Rapists ( M age = 14.2 yr., SD = 1.5; 25 girls, 198 boys) were matched with 223 Nonviolent Delinquents; risks were analyzed using logistic regression. The one predictor was prior court contacts ( OR = 1.55e+12; AUC = .99, 95%CI = .98−.99). 223 Molesters were similarly matched with 223 Nonviolent Delinquents; this comparison yielded three predictors: previous court contacts ( OR = 4.55e+23), poorer executive function ( OR = 2.01), and lower social maturity ( OR = .97; AUC = .98, 95% CI = .97−.99). Records for all cases (now M age = 24.2 yr., SD = 1.4) were reviewed forward 10 years and youth were classified into groups: Sexual Homicidal (1%, n = 7), Delinquent Rapists Later Adult Rapists (11%, n = 73), Delinquent Rapists (21%, n = 144), Delinquent Molesters Later Adult Molesters (10%, n = 69), Delinquent Molesters (23%, n = 153), Nonviolent Delinquent Later Nonviolent Adult Criminals (7%, n = 45), and Nonviolent Delinquents (27%, n = 178). Comparison of Sexual Homicidal cases ( n = 7) with their matched Controls ( n = 7) yielded one predictor, poorer executive function ( AUC = .89, 95 % CI = .71−.93). When Sexual Homicidal cases were matched with Nonviolent Delinquents, predictors were low social maturity and prior court contacts ( AUC = .81, 95%CI= .64−.93).

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Bilingualism and cognition: A focus on mechanisms

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s1366728914000698 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 47-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

VIRGINIA VALIAN

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Executive Function ◽

Executive Functions ◽

List Type ◽

Type Number ◽

Old People ◽

Daily Lives ◽

Different Types ◽

Children And Young Adults ◽

Underlying Mechanisms

The goal of my keynote article, “Bilingualism and Cognition” (Valian, 2014), was to resolve the inconsistencies in effects of bilingualism on executive functions, whether the individuals were children, young adults, or old people. To summarize (and sharpen) my argument: 1.Especially in children and young adults, benefits of bilingualism for executive functions are not reliable. In old people, there are benefits for executive functions but contradictory results on delay of cognitive impairment, depending on whether studies are retrospective or prospective.2.All experiences that have benefits for executive functions and aging – and there are many – yield inconsistent effects. Bilingualism is not alone.3.Three reasons for inconsistencies in bilingualism and other experiences are: a.Executive function and cognitive reserve are broad cover terms for a variety of mechanisms, most of which are ill-understood. Because we mean different things by ‘executive function’ from one experiment to the next, we can both think we don't have an effect when we do and think we have an effect when we don’t.b.Tasks are impure: apparently similar tasks measure different aspects of executive function and measure other aspects of cognition as well. Because we lack a good analysis of tasks, we too often do not know what we are measuring. I encourage readers to examine the demos in the supplementary materials of the keynote article to see for themselves what the tasks are like.c.Individuals engage in many different activities that may be on a par with bilingualism in their benefits.4.Different types of bilingual experience are unlikely to explain the variability of findings, given the inconsistencies in extant data on varieties of bilingualism.5.There is a benefit of bilingualism, but bilingualism competes with other sources of benefits. Especially for children and young adults, whose daily lives are full of cognitively enriching and challenging experiences, we should expect variability in effects of being bilingual.6.The way forward is to focus on underlying mechanisms.

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Association Between Weight Status and Executive Function in Young Adults

Medicina ◽

10.3390/medicina55070363 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 55 (7) ◽

pp. 363 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mohammad Narimani ◽

Samad Esmaeilzadeh ◽

Liane B. Azevedo ◽

Akbar Moradi ◽

Behrouz Heidari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Young Adults ◽

Body Composition ◽

Executive Function ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Weight Status ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Neuropsychological Test ◽

Normal Weight ◽

Analysis Of Covariance

Background and objectives: To explore the association between weight status and executive function in young adults. Materials and Methods: Ninety-seven young males (age 17–26 years) underwent adiposity and body composition measurements using body composition analyzer. Inhibitory control and working memory were measured using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Battery (CANTAB). Results: Multiple linear regression using both unadjusted and adjusted analyses revealed no association between adiposity and body composition variables with executive tasks, apart from a significant association between skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and mean reaction time on go trial (standardized B = -0.28; p = 0.02). Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) revealed that underweight participants presented inferior working memory compared to their normal weight (p = 0.001) or overweight peers (p = 0.008). However, according to the percentage fat quartiles (Q) participants with the highest quartile (Q4) were inferior in inhibitory control than their peers with Q2 (p = 0.04), and participants with the lowest quartile (Q1) were inferior in working memory compared with their peers with Q2 (p = 0.01) or Q3 (p = 0.02). A worse inhibitory control was observed for participants with the highest fat/SMM (Q4) compared to participants in Q3 (p = 0.03), and in contrast worse working memory was observed for participants with the lowest fat/SMM (Q1) compared to participants in Q2 (p = 0.04) or Q3 (p = 0.009). Conclusions: Low adiposity is associated with worse working memory, whereas high adiposity is associated with worse inhibitory control. Therefore, our findings show that normal adiposity, but greater SMM may have a positive impact on executive function in young adults.

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Effects of acute prolonged sitting on cerebral perfusion and executive function in young adults: A randomized cross‐over trial

Psychophysiology ◽

10.1111/psyp.13457 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 56 (12) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Lee Stoner ◽

Quentin Willey ◽

William S. Evans ◽

Kathryn Burnet ◽

Daniel P. Credeur ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Executive Function ◽

Cerebral Perfusion ◽

Prolonged Sitting

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Executive Functions in Very-Low-Birth-Weight Young Adults: A Comparison between Self-report and Neuropsychological Test Results

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617714000332 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 20 (5) ◽

pp. 506-515 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Anne Elisabeth Sølsnes ◽

Jon Skranes ◽

Ann-Mari Brubakk ◽

Gro C.C. Løhaugen

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Executive Function ◽

Birth Weight ◽

Low Birth Weight ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Very Low Birth Weight ◽

Neuropsychological Test ◽

Self Report ◽

Test Results ◽

Adult Intelligence Scale

AbstractExecutive functions are goal-directed control mechanisms that modulate the operation of other cognitive processes. Preterm born very-low-birth-weight (VLBW: birth weight<1500 grams) children have more problems with attention/executive function than their term born peers. The objective of this study is to examine if VLBW young adults had more self-reported attention/ executive problems and lower neuropsychological test results than controls. Furthermore, to investigate the relationship between self-reported attention/executive problems, general cognitive ability (IQ) and test results. Forty-two VLBW [mean birth weight 1237 (219) grams, and gestational age 29.3 (2.4) weeks] and 63 term born controls at age 19 years completed The BRIEF-A self-report of attention/executive functions in everyday life. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale III was used to obtain IQ scores; subtests from Delis-Kaplan were used to assess attention/executive function. There were no differences between the VLBW young adults and controls on any of the BRIEF-A measures, but the VLBW subjects had lower scores on 8 of the 18 neuropsychological subtests (p<.01). Some correlations between BRIEF-A and the Stroop and TMT tests were found in the VLBW group. VLBW young adults do not report more problems regarding attention/executive function in daily life than controls despite lower results on several neuropsychological tests. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–10)

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