Poster #10 - Neurobehavioral Precursors of Executive Function in Early Development

• In Event: 2-055 - Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Section - Attention, Learning, Memory

Integrative Statement

Executive Function (EF) refers to an interrelated set of neurocognitive systems that underlie behavioral control and cognitive flexibility. EF has pervasive influences on cognition and later development. Many studies have explored the development of EF from early childhood to adulthood. A key challenge is to understand how EF develops early in development, before the age of 3, where early interventions might have the most impact.
Recent studies have investigated links between infant and toddler behavior and the emergence of EF. Early forms of attentional control, self-regulation, processing efficiency, and cognitive flexibility have been reported to show a predictive relationship with later EF (Hendry et al., 2016). Furthermore, evidence suggests that early emerging individual differences in attentional control and working memory may play a role in mediating later-developing differences in academic learning (Wass, et al., 2012).
The present project sought to explore potential early neurobehavioral precursors of EF and how they change over development. In study 1, we investigated how attentional control relates to EF. Participants aged 24-71mo (M=50.1mo, n=60) completed an executive attention task modeled after Johnson et al. (1991). This task measures the ability to disengage from one stimulus to attend to another and the ability to show anticipatory looking. Participants also completed the Minnesota Executive Function Scale (MEFS; Carlson & Zelazo, 2014). Finally, the Effortful Control temperament dimension was assessed using the very short forms of the Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (ECBQ; Putnam et al., 2010; and CBQ; Putnam & Rothbart, 2006). 
As expected, EF was highly correlated with age such that older children showed higher EF scores on the MEFS task, r = .77, p<.001. Interestingly, parent ratings of effortful control were not correlated with age, consistent with previous research suggesting that parent-reported effortful control is primarily related to ‘hot’ EF tasks and not ‘cold’ EF tasks like MEFS (Carlson et al., 2004). Importantly, results showed that anticipatory looks in the attention task significantly predicted EF score, β = 14.76, p < .05. Thus, our results suggest that rudimentary forms of attentional control may play a key role in the development of EF.
In a follow-up study, we investigated the neurobehavioral bases of attentional control and how it relates to EF. We recorded optical neuroimaging data from bilateral frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital cortex while 2.5-year-olds (M=29.8mo, n = 19) completed the attention task. Participants also completed MEFS outside the imaging session. Consistent with our behavioral study, results suggest that participants who produced more anticipatory looks, had higher EF score. We analyzed the fNIRS data using an image-based fNIRS approach and conducted task-specific ANOVA. Data suggests that when participants produced anticipatory looks they activated regions within the dorsal attention network. While when they did not anticipate, there was decreased activity within these regions.
In all, results from both studies suggest that early attentional processes are predictive of concurrent EF. Further, fNIRS results suggest that the dorsal attentional network may play a role in supporting performance within this task.

Authors

• Lourdes Marielle Delgado Reyes, School of Psychology, University of East Anglia
  Presenting Author

• John Spencer, University of East Anglia
  Non-Presenting Author