scholarly journals Exploration of Attentional and Executive Abilities in French-Speaking Children Immersed in Dutch Since 1, 2, 3, and 6 Years

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Gillet ◽  
Cristina Anca Barbu ◽  
Martine Poncelet
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
The Other ◽  
School Program ◽  
Immersion Program ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
Primary Schooling ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
Cognitive Benefits

Advantages in diverse aspects of cognitive functioning have been reported in early bilinguals (Bialystok, 2011) as well as in children frequenting an early bilingual immersion school program (Nicolay and Poncelet, 2015). However, during the last decade, some studies failed to replicate these advantages. Currently, the presence of cognitive benefits in children frequenting an immersion program remains debated. The lack of consistency between the studies could come from the fact that time spent by children within the immersion program is variable from one study to the other and that studies used different tasks to assess the same cognitive function. The main aim of the present study was to determine how time spent in immersion affects the emergence of cognitive advantages along the primary schooling. We compared 196 immersed Dutch-speaking children since they were 5 years old and 195 non-immersed French-speaking children, from different grades of the primary schooling (i.e., at 6, 7, 8, and 12 years old) by using the same attentional and executive tasks as those used in previous studies having shown a bilingual advantage. Furthermore, these groups were matched on a set of variables known to influence cognitive functioning. After 1, 2, and 3 years of enrolment in this program, performances of immersed compared to non-immersed children did not differ for any task. However, after 6 years, immersed children outperformed non-immersed children on the cognitive flexibility and the working memory tasks. These results show that, in French-speaking children immersed in Dutch, cognitive advantages could depend on the length of time spent in immersion since they are not present at the beginning (after 1, 2, and 3 years) but seem to emerge at the end of it (after 6 years). In contrast, in previous studies conducted in English immersion, advantages appear at the beginning of the primary schooling but are absent at the end of it. Furthermore, these results suggest that the emergence of cognitive advantages may vary depending on the second language learned. The results are discussed in terms of linguistic characteristics and status of the languages at stake.

scholarly journals Attentional Fluctuations, Cognitive Flexibility, and Bilingualism in Kindergarteners

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie L. Haft ◽  
Olga Kepinska ◽  
Jocelyn N. Caballero ◽  
Manuel Carreiras ◽  
Fumiko Hoeft
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Attentional Control ◽  
Kindergarten Children ◽  
Prior Work ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
Memory And Attention ◽  
Confounding Variables ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
The Relationship

The idea of a bilingual advantage in aspects of cognitive control—including cognitive flexibility, inhibition, working memory, and attention—is disputed. Using a sample of kindergarten children, the present study investigated associations between bilingualism and cognitive flexibility—a relationship that has shown mixed findings in prior literature. We also extend prior work by exploring relationships between bilingualism and attentional fluctuations, which represent consistency in attentional control and contribute to cognitive performance. To our knowledge, no previous study has explored this association. Theoretically, attentional fluctuations might mediate or moderate the relationship between bilingualism and cognitive flexibility. However, given evidence of null findings from extant literature when confounding variables are adequately controlled and tasks are standardized, we did not expect to find a bilingual advantage in either cognitive flexibility or attentional fluctuations. Our results supported this hypothesis when considering bilingualism both continuously and categorically. The importance of expanding upon mechanistic accounts connecting bilingualism to cognitive improvements is discussed.

scholarly journals Early bilingual immersion school program and cognitive development in French-speaking children: Effect of the second language learned (English vs. Dutch) and exposition duration (2 vs. 5 years)

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258458
Author(s):  
Sophie Gillet ◽  
Cristina Barbu ◽  
Martine Poncelet
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
Second Grade ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Executive Skills ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
The Impact

The results of studies targeting cognitive and academic advantages in children frequenting early bilingual immersion school programs (CLIL) have been contradictory. While the impact of the amount of CLIL experience has already been studied, the role of the second language learned has been little studied to account for differences among study findings. The link between executive skills (EF) and scholar abilities (e.g., mathematics) in the CLIL context has also been little investigated. The purpose of the present study was to determine if the impact of CLIL on EF and academic performances varies depending on the immersion language and the duration of CLIL experience. The sample included a total of 230 French-speaking children attending second (141) and fifth (89) grade classes. Within each grade, there were three matched language groups composed of children respectively immersed in English, immersed in Dutch, and non-immersed controls. The children were administered tasks assessing executive functions [alerting, cognitive flexibility, and working memory], as well as arithmetic abilities. In second grade, we detected no difference in EF between the language groups. On the other hand, in fifth grade, the two immersed groups outperformed the non-immersed group on the cognitive flexibility task but did not differ between them. Moreover, only the Dutch immersed group outperformed the control group on the working memory task. Arithmetic performances also differed depending on the language learned; in second grade, Dutch learners performed better than the monolingual group. In fifth grade, Dutch learners outperformed the two other groups. These results suggest that the impact of CLIL on executive skills and arithmetic performances might be modulated by the amount of CLIL experience and the second language learned in immersion.

scholarly journals Contributions of working memory and inhibition to cognitive flexibility in Nigerian adolescents

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tochukwu Nweze ◽  
Wisdom Nwani
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Switch Cost ◽  
The Other ◽  
Negatively Associated ◽  
Memory Processes ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
Current Rule

This study used a novel approach that combined the latency and accuracy scores to examine the relative involvement of inhibition and working memory in two measures of cognitive flexibility - mixing cost and switch cost in 110 Nigerian adolescents. Results showed that inhibition was significantly associated with switch cost. On the other hand, working memory was negatively associated with mixing cost. These findings support the assumptions that cognitive flexibility skills are dependent on inputs from inhibition and working memory processes. Inhibition is involved in the deactivation of irrelevant stimuli during switching trials while working memory is essential to maintain the current rule in sets that require no shifting.

Executive control in fluent and lapsed bilinguals

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 561-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
CARI ANNE BOGULSKI ◽  
MICHAEL RAKOCZY ◽  
MICHELLE GOODMAN ◽  
ELLEN BIALYSTOK
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
The Other ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
Accurate Performance ◽  
High Level

Previous research showing a bilingual advantage on a variety of executive control tasks has typically compared monolinguals and fluent bilinguals. No study to date, however, has examined whether these effects endure for bilingual individuals who revert to monolingualism (‘lapsed bilinguals’). We investigated this question by testing monolinguals, full bilinguals, and lapsed bilinguals on a flanker task and a working memory task. Fully fluent bilinguals exhibited significantly more accurate performance than monolinguals on the working memory task, with lapsed bilinguals performing between the other two groups. Thus, continued bilingual experience appears necessary to maintain these cognitive advantages at a high level.

scholarly journals Self-Reported Sleep and Executive Function in Early Primary School Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulu Chen ◽  
Yiji Wang ◽  
Si Wang ◽  
Ming Zhang ◽  
Nan Wu
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
The Other ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Card Sorting

The study investigated the associations between children’s self-reported habitual sleep disturbance and multidimensional executive function (EF). Two hundred and four 7–9-year-old typically developing children completed the Sleep Self-Report and finished the Red-Blue Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Backward Digit Span Test, indexing different EF components including inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. Results revealed that all the three EF components were significantly correlated with sleep. However, cognitive flexibility was no longer significantly related to sleep when the other EF components – inhibitory control and working memory – were controlled for. Meanwhile, inhibitory control, as well as working memory, was still significantly related to sleep after controlling for the other EF components. Results suggest that children’s self-reported sleep might be associated directly with inhibitory control and working memory, but indirectly with cognitive flexibility.

scholarly journals How Sequentially Changing Reward Prospect Modulates Meta-control: Increasing Reward Prospect Promotes Cognitive Flexibility

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin Fröber ◽  
Gesine Dreisbach
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Control Signal ◽  
The Other ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Cognitive Stability ◽  
High Reward ◽  
Nonsignificant Difference ◽  
Switch Rate

Abstract Meta-control is necessary to regulate the balance between cognitive stability and flexibility. Evidence from (voluntary) task switching studies suggests performance-contingent reward as one modulating factor. Depending on the immediate reward history, reward prospect seems to promote either cognitive stability or flexibility: Increasing reward prospect reduced switch costs and increased the voluntary switch rate, suggesting increased cognitive flexibility. In contrast, remaining high reward prospect increased switch costs and reduced the voluntary switch rate, suggesting increased cognitive stability. Recently we suggested that increasing reward prospect serves as a meta-control signal toward cognitive flexibility by lowering the updating threshold in working memory. However, in task switching paradigms with two tasks only, this could alternatively be explained by facilitated switching to the other of two tasks. To address this issue, a series of task switching experiments with uncued task switching between three univalent tasks was conducted. Results showed a reduction in reaction time (RT) switch costs to a nonsignificant difference and a high voluntary switch rate when reward prospect increased, whereas repetition RTs were faster, switch RTs slower, and voluntary switch rate was reduced when reward prospect remained high. That is, increasing reward prospect put participants in a state of equal readiness to respond to any target stimulus—be it a task repetition or a switch to one of the other two tasks. The study thus provides further evidence for the assumption that increasing reward prospect serves as a meta-control signal to increase cognitive flexibility, presumably by lowering the updating threshold in working memory.

Executive functions as predictors of syntactic awareness in English monolingual and English–Spanish bilingual language brokers and nonbrokers

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 963-995 ◽  
Author(s):  
VANESSA R. RAINEY ◽  
DENISE DAVIDSON ◽  
CHRISTINE LI-GRINING
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
The Other ◽  
Language Group ◽  
Syntactic Awareness ◽  
Language Brokers ◽  
English Monolingual

ABSTRACTExecutive function (EF) skills (cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory) and syntactic awareness of monolingual (English) and bilingual (English–Spanish) language brokers and nonbrokers were examined. EF skills may be salient for brokers, who must not only inhibit interference from another language but also exhibit EF skills when translating. The brokers displayed better cognitive flexibility when compared to the other groups. For the bilingual groups, cognitive flexibility was also a predictor of English syntactic awareness when accuracy was taken into account. Cognitive flexibility and inhibition were important factors on a Spanish syntactic awareness measure. These results are discussed in terms of how linkages between EF skills and syntactic awareness may be moderated by language group.

Cognitive Functioning and Other Discriminatory Variables in Anorexic Patients

2005 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen García-Alba
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Developmental Period ◽  
The Other ◽  
Model Synthesis ◽  
Consistent Function ◽  
Current Article ◽  
Rorschach Variables ◽  
Underlying Pathology

This study is part of a larger research study (doctoral dissertation), in which a comparative study with adolescent samples is done: 50 anorexic restricting patients (ANP), 50 patients diagnosed with depression (DP) and 50 non patients (NP). The proposed objective is two-fold: 1) To try to clarify the existing relationship between Anorexia (AN) and Depression (D), investigated from diverse disciplines but without conclusive results. 2) To detect in the ANP personality different traits from those of other groups, which should, if possible, allow to detect them at an early stage for an adequate prognosis. The current article presents the Rorschach findings in relation to the cognitive functioning of the ANP. In them, the following has been detected: (1) An information processing similar to that of the other groups, even with a more complete (L ≤ .99), more complex (DQ+↑) and better discriminated (Zd↑) grasp of the stimulus; (2) Mediating processes very similar to those of the other groups, sharing with them the perceptive maladjustments (X–%↑) and an excessive individualism (Xu%↑); (3) A clearly differentiating ideation disorder. Definitely, the ANP use predominantly ideation (M↑), but their thought, usually well-adjusted (MQo↑), presents eventual operations of delusional type (MQnone↑). Above that, their thinking is marked by a great passivity (Mp↑), which makes them more vulnerable to accept ideas without criticizing them and it results in a very inefficient thinking, which spins around these concepts without finding solutions, entering into a sort of ruminating which is completely unproductive. The differences toward the obsessive pathology are established. The discriminant analysis conducted with all the Rorschach variables that resulted as significant throughout the research, provides quite a consistent function which discriminates the ANP: MQnone↑, Mp↑, FD↓, Ma↑, MQo↑, AdjD↑, Sum H↑, (H)↑. Based on this we can understand that these adolescents, being in a developmental period of big changes and disorientations in relation with their own image, confronted with life events, and possibly starting off with some biologic vulnerability: (1) Due to the alterations of their ideation, accept without criticism (Mp) irrational ideas dominating in our culture, in which slimness appears as the only model, synthesis of intelligence, beauty and success; remaining captured in this type of mental activity (MQnone), which they cannot escape nor criticize (Mp), despite they reason adequately on other topics (MQo); (2) Their alterations of self-perception [(H)] make them hide themselves in a fantasized image, which is the axis of their interests and the only thing that really matters to them; (3) The resources they have to decide on behaviors and to finish these deliberately (AdjD), and their scarce tendency to the introspection (FD) lead to their decision of not eating, based on distorted and passively accepted thinking, which has great power and thus, so difficult to modify. Finally, based on the Rorschach data obtained, the hypothesis of a personality disorder as underlying pathology is pointed out.

scholarly journals Effects of Caffeine and Acute Aerobic Exercise on Working Memory and Caffeine Withdrawal

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anisa Morava ◽  
Matthew James Fagan ◽  
Harry Prapavessis
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Phase I ◽  
Aerobic Exercise ◽  
Acute Exercise ◽  
Withdrawal Symptoms ◽  
Moderate Intensity ◽  
Psychoactive Substances ◽  
Caffeine Withdrawal ◽  
Single Bout ◽  
Cognitive Benefits

AbstractStudies show that a single bout of exercise confers cognitive benefits. However, many individuals use psychoactive substances such as caffeine to enhance cognitive performance. The effects of acute exercise in comparison to caffeine on cognition remain unknown. Furthermore, caffeine use is associated with withdrawal symptoms upon cessation. Whether acute exercise can reduce withdrawal symptoms also remains unknown. The objectives of this study were to compare the effects of acute moderate intensity aerobic exercise to caffeine on working memory (WM) and caffeine withdrawal symptoms (CWS). In Phase I, non-caffeine (n = 29) and caffeine consumers (n = 30) completed a WM assessment, followed by acute exercise and caffeine. In Phase II, caffeine consumers (n = 25) from Phase I underwent the WM assessment and reported CWS following a 12-hour deprivation period. Acute moderate intensity aerobic exercise and caffeine (1.2 mg/kg) significantly improved WM accuracy and reduced CWS comparably. WM performance was not reduced following caffeine deprivation.

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