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Executive functions

Cognitive processes supporting goal-directed behavior through cognitive control.

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Executive functions are cognitive processes that regulate thoughts and actions to support goal-directed behavior.[1] Attentional control, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility are considered fundamental cognitive processes within the executive function framework.[1] Planning and fluid intelligence are classified as higher-order executive functions because they depend on the simultaneous engagement of multiple basic processes.[1]

Quick Facts

Field
Cognitive science and neuropsychology
Known for
Regulating goal-directed behavior through cognitive control
Key components
  • Attentional control
  • inhibitory control
  • working memory
  • cognitive flexibility
Associated brain regions
Prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, subcortical structures
Measurement tools
Neuropsychological tests (e.g., Stroop test) and rating scales (e.g., Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function)

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

Subcortical structures interact dynamically with the prefrontal cortex to support cognitive control.[2] In the 1940s, Donald Broadbent distinguished between automatic and controlled processes.[3] Michael Posner used the term "cognitive control" in 1975.[4] Alan Baddeley proposed a "central executive" component in his working memory model.[5]

These skills begin to decline in later adulthood, with working memory and spatial span showing the earliest decline.[6] An individual's executive functions can be enhanced at any point during their life, as these abilities evolve and shift throughout the entire lifespan.[7] According to current neuroscience, executive functions are supported by widespread neural networks, not by a solitary brain area.[2] Because the prefrontal cortex's myelination is delayed, executive functions are among the last cognitive abilities to fully mature.[8]

The highest level of executive functioning skills is observed in individuals between 20 and 29 years of age.[8]

What the research sources say

Alvarez and Emory's 2006 meta-analytic review found indications for sensitivity but not specificity of executive function measures to frontal lobe functioning.[9][10] Luna and colleagues' 2004 study indicated that the onset of many executive functions, such as inhibitory control, can occur during childhood and preadolescence.[11][12] Takács and Kassai's 2019 meta-analyses demonstrated that biofeedback-enhanced relaxation has a significant positive effect on children's memory and inhibition.[13][14]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Executive functions" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Malenka, "Molecular Neuropharmacology: A Foundation for Clinical Neuroscience", McGraw-Hill Medical, 2009, p. 155–157; Diamond, "Executive functions", Annual Review of Psychology, 2013, p. 135–168; "Assessment of executive functions: review of instruments and identification of critical issues", Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, March 2008, p. 201–216; Miyake, "The Nature and Organization of Individual Differences in Executive Functions: Four General Conclusions", Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2012-01-31, p. 8–14 ( en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Executive functions" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750; Diamond, "Executive functions", Annual Review of Psychology, 2013, p. 135–168; Alvarez, "Executive function and the frontal lobes: A meta-analytic review", Neuropsychology Review, 2006, p. 17–42; Malenka, "Molecular Neuropharmacology: A Foundation for Clinical Neuroscience", McGraw-Hill Medical, 2009, p. 315; Diamond, "Executive functions", Annual Review of Psychology, 2013, p. 135–168; Malenka, "Molecular Neuropharmacolog en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Executive functions" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Shiffrin, "Controlled and automatic human information processing: II: Perceptual learning, automatic attending, and a general theory", Psychological Review, March 1977, p. 127–90 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Executive functions" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Posner, "Information processing and cognition: the Loyola symposium", L. Erlbaum Associates, 1975 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Executive functions" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Baddeley, "Working memory", Clarendon Press, 1986 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Executive functions" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: De Luca, "Executive functions and the frontal lobes: a lifespan perspective", Taylor & Francis, 2008, p. 24–47; Mansbach, "Predicting Functional Dependence in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Differential Contributions of Memory and Executive Functions", The Gerontologist, 2019, p. 925–935 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Executive functions" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Diamond, "Executive functions", Annual Review of Psychology, 2013, p. 135–168; Diamond, "Executive functions", Annual Review of Psychology, 2013, p. 135–168 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Executive functions" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: De Luca, "Executive functions and the frontal lobes: a lifespan perspective", Taylor & Francis, 2008, p. 24–47 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Julie A. Alvarez, "Executive Function and the Frontal Lobes: A Meta-Analytic Review", Neuropsychology Review (2006), doi:10.1007/s11065-006-9002-x. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Executive functions" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stuss, "Executive functions and the frontal lobes: A conceptual view", Psychological Research, 2000, p. 289–298; Burgess, "Fifty Years of Prefrontal Cortex Research: Impact on Assessment", Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 2017, p. 755–767; Alvarez, "Executive function and the frontal lobes: A meta-analytic review", Neuropsychology Review, 2006, p. 17–42 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Beatríz Luna, "Maturation of Cognitive Processes From Late Childhood to Adulthood", Child Development (2004), doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00745.x. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Executive functions" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Luna, "Maturation of cognitive processes from late childhood to adulthood", Child Development, 2004, p. 1357–1372; Leon-Carrion, "Development of the inhibitory component of the executive functions in children and adolescents", International Journal of Neuroscience, 2004, p. 1291–1311; Best, "Executive functions after age 5: Changes and correlates", Developmental Review, 2009, p. 180–200; Anderson, "Development of executive functions through late childhood and adolescence in an Australian sample", Developmental Neuropsychology, 2001, en.wikipedia.org
  13. Zsófia K. Takács, "The efficacy of different interventions to foster children’s executive function skills: A series of meta-analyses.", Psychological Bulletin (2019), doi:10.1037/bul0000195. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  14. Wikipedia, "Executive functions" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Takacs, "The Efficacy of Different Interventions to Foster Children's Executive Function Skills: A Series of Meta-Analyses", Psychological Bulletin, 2019, p. 653–697 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Executive functions (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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