Poster #1 - An fNIRS Study of Applicability of The Unity-Diversity Model of Executive Functions in Preschoolers

• In Event: Poster Session 07

Abstract

Executive function (EF) comprises a set of higher-order abilities to control one’s actions and thoughts consciously (Griffin et al., 2016; Zelazo & Müller, 2010) and is mainly performed by the prefrontal cortex, a region important for top-down control (Wiebe & Karbach, 2018). In particular, Akira Miyake and his colleagues (Miyake et al., 2000; Miyake & Friedman, 2012) proposed the unity-diversity model, which emphasizes the unity and diversity of those executive processes. According to this model, there are some common executive processes (the unity of EF) and some unique to the specific EF components, including cognitive shifting, inhibitory control, and working memory (the diversity of EF). However, a recent meta-analysis of the existing studies could only confirm that in school-aged children (6 years or up), there were partially separable but partially overlapping executive processes at a neural level (McKenna et al., 2017). This conclusion indicated that the unity and diversity model of EF could only apply to school-aged children, leaving those preschoolers (ages 3-6) unexplored. To fill this gap, this study explored the unity and diversity nature of EF in the preschool years using both behavioral and neuroimaging evidence.
Altogether 58 Chinese preschoolers (34 boys, 24 girls, Mage = 5.86 years, SD = 0.53, Age range = 4.83-6.67 years) were administered the Dimensional Card Change Sort (DCCS), go/no-go, and missing scan task, and their brain activations in the prefrontal cortex during the tasks were examined. All the tasks were computerized using Psychophysics Toolbox extensions and displayed on a 55.35cm*31.13cm Dell monitor to collect the behavioral scores. Meanwhile, the concentration changes of oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (HbR) in the dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal activations were assessed using fNIRS. Specifically, this study set to examine the following hypotheses: (1) There would be non-significant correlations between the behavioral performances in the three EF tasks; (2) There would be non-significant correlations between the prefrontal activations in the three EF tasks; (3) There would be significant differences in the prefrontal activations between the three EF tasks.
The behavioral results indicated that the missing scan task scores (working memory) correlated with the DCCS (cognitive shifting) and go/no-go tasks (inhibitory control). But the latter two did not correlate with each other. The fNIRS results demonstrated that the prefrontal activations during the working memory task correlated with those during the same region's cognitive shifting and inhibitory control tasks. Still, the latter two did not correlate. The behavioral and neuroimaging evidence jointly indicates that there were both unity (working memory as the common process) and diversity (shifting and inhibitory are separate) in preschoolers’ EF, confirming that the unity-diversity model of EF (Miyake & Friedman, 2012) does apply to preschoolers.

Authors

• Dandan Wu, The Education University of Hong Kong
  Presenting Author

• Sha Xie, Shenzhen University

• Chaohui Gong

• Jiahao Lu, Shenzhen University

• Hao Zhang, Shenzhen University

• Xinli Chi

• Chunqi Chang, Shenzhen University

• Hui Li, Macquarie University