Specifying Associations Between Conscientiousness and Executive Functioning: Mental Set Shifting, Not Prepotent Response Inhibition or Working Memory Updating

AbstractAs the world’s population is aging rapidly, cognitive training is an extensively used approach to attempt improvement of age-related cognitive functioning. With increasing numbers of older adults required to remain in the workforce, it is important to be able to reliably predict future functional decline, as well as the individual advantages of cognitive training. Given the correlation between age-related decline and striatal dopaminergic function, we investigated whether eye blink rate (EBR), a non-invasive, indirect indicator of dopaminergic activity, could predict executive functioning (response inhibition, switching and working memory updating) as well as trainability of executive functioning in older adults. EBR was collected before and after a cognitive flexibility training, cognitive training without flexibility, or a mock training. EBR predicted working memory updating performance on two measures of updating, as well as trainability of working memory updating, whereas performance and trainability in inhibition and switching tasks could not be predicted by EBR. Our findings tentatively indicate that EBR permits prediction of working memory performance in older adults. To fully interpret the relationship with executive functioning, we suggest future research should assess both EBR and dopamine receptor availability among seniors.

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Set-Shifting Ability Is Associated with Gray Matter Volume in Older People with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra ◽

10.1159/000438721 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 395-403 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kota Tsutsumimoto ◽

Hyuma Makizako ◽

Hiroyuki Shimada ◽

Takehiko Doi ◽

Takao Suzuki

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Executive Functioning ◽

Older People ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Response Inhibition ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Set Shifting ◽

Matter Volume

Background/Aims: An understanding of the association between gray matter volume and executive functioning could provide strategies to reduce dementia risk in older people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: In a cross-sectional analysis, we assessed executive functioning in 83 older people with MCI using three standard neuropsychological tests: set shifting (difference between Trail Making Test Parts B and A), working memory (difference between Digit Span forward and backward from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV), and selective attention/response inhibition (difference between the second and third conditions of the color- and picture-word Stroop test). Gray matter volume was computed from brain MRIs and SIENAX from FSL software. Results: Gray matter volume was significantly associated with set-shifting performance after accounting for age, gender, body mass index, education, and global cognition (standardized β = -0.376, p = 0.001), but not with working memory or selective attention/response inhibition. Conclusion: The executive function of set-shifting ability was correlated with gray matter volume in older people with MCI.

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Executive Function Intervention in Autism: A Case Study Approach

International Journal of Indian Psychology ◽

10.25215/0501.041 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Srabasti Dey ◽

Mallika Banerjee

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Executive Functioning ◽

Transfer Of Training ◽

Daily Activities ◽

Set Shifting ◽

Case Study Approach ◽

Mental Set ◽

Study Approach ◽

Executive Skills

Executive Functioning is a repertoire of a number of complex brain (frontal lobe) abilities that helps to perform goal-directed daily activities with ease. In most of the time this function remains discretely unnoticed because it becomes so typical with human daily activities like planning, working memory functions, set shifting, sequencing etc. unless there is a difficulty in performing such task requiring executive skills. Research has demonstrated that deficits in executive functions are a robust correlate of autism. The present study aims to bring out the efficacy of executive skills, ways of intervening such skills in autism and to figure out the effect of such intervention in their daily life activities. Case study approach has been selected as the methodology. Two cases have been selected and the sessions were conducted on individual basis. Apart from this, case history and observation in both home setting and in formal session has been considered to analyse the data. Sessions were conducted in one to one interaction to determine intellectual impairment of the cases by performance box of Colored Progressive Matrices and to determine baseline measure of executive functioning, Tower of London is used. Intervening sessions were conducted by using several equipment and other daily tasks requiring such skills are enquired and observed. Also post intervening sessions were conducted to see the transfer of training. The result showed progress in carrying out activities requiring executive skills involving planning, mental set shifting and working memory and transfer of training is remarkable in mental set shifting task. The present study left a further chance of investigating the scope of trainability of executive functioning in autism considering large number of participants.

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