Schizophrenia (SCZ) is characterized by widespread cognitive impairments, such as executive functions. Most of the available research indicate that executive impairment has a certain genetic predisposition. Shared neuropathological characteristics of patients with SCZ and their siblings may reveal intermediate behavioral phenotypes that can be used to further characterize the illness.

Even though positive relations between children's motor ability and their academic achievement are frequently reported, the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Executive function has indeed been proposed, but hardly tested as a potential mediator. The aim of the present study was therefore to examine the mediating role of executive function in the relationship between motor ability and academic achievement, also investigating the individual contribution of specific motor abilities to the hypothesized mediated linkage to academic achievement. At intervals of ten weeks, 236 children aged between 10 and 12 years were tested in terms of their motor ability (t1: cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, motor coordination), core executive functions (t2: updating, inhibition, shifting), and academic achievement (t3: mathematics, reading, spelling). Structural equation modelling revealed executive function to be a mediator in the relation between motor ability and academic achievement, represented by a significant indirect effect. In separate analyses, each of the three motor abilities were positively related to children's academic achievement. However, only in the case of children's motor coordination, the mediation by executive function accounted for a significance percentage of variance of academic achievement data. The results provide evidence in support of models that conceive executive function as a mechanism explaining the relationship that links children's physical activity-related outcomes to academic achievement and strengthen the advocacy for quality physical activity not merely focused on health-related physical fitness outcomes, but also on motor skill development and learning.

Evidence is increasing for involvement of the endocannabinoid system in cognitive functions including attention and executive function, as well as in psychiatric disorders characterized by cognitive deficits, such as schizophrenia. Executive function appears to be associated with both modulation of active networks and inhibition of activity in the default mode network. In the present study, we examined the role of the endocannabinoid system in executive function, focusing on both the associated brain network and the default mode network. A pharmacological functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was conducted with a placebo-controlled, cross-over design, investigating effects of the endocannabinoid agonist Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on executive function in 20 healthy volunteers, using a continuous performance task with identical pairs. Task performance was impaired after THC administration, reflected in both an increase in false alarms and a reduction in detected targets. This was associated with reduced deactivation in a set of brain regions linked to the default mode network, including posterior cingulate cortex and angular gyrus. Less deactivation was significantly correlated with lower performance after THC. Regions that were activated by the continuous performance task, notably bilateral prefrontal and parietal cortex, did not show effects of THC. These findings suggest an important role for the endocannabinoid system in both default mode modulation and executive function. This may be relevant for psychiatric disorders associated with executive function deficits, such as schizophrenia and ADHD.

The goal of this study was to investigate how cognitive factors influence performance in a multi-talker, "cocktail-party" like environment in musicians and non-musicians. This was achieved by relating performance in a spatial hearing task to cognitive processing abilities assessed using measures of executive function (EF) and visual attention in musicians and non-musicians. For the spatial hearing task, a speech target was presented simultaneously with two intelligible speech maskers that were either colocated with the target (0° azimuth) or were symmetrically separated from the target in azimuth (at ±15°). EF assessment included measures of cognitive flexibility, inhibition control and auditory working memory. Selective attention was assessed in the visual domain using a multiple object tracking task (MOT). For the MOT task, the observers were required to track target dots (n = 1,2,3,4,5) in the presence of interfering distractor dots. Musicians performed significantly better than non-musicians in the spatial hearing task. For the EF measures, musicians showed better performance on measures of auditory working memory compared to non-musicians. Furthermore, across all individuals, a significant correlation was observed between performance on the spatial hearing task and measures of auditory working memory. This result suggests that individual differences in performance in a cocktail party-like environment may depend in part on cognitive factors such as auditory working memory. Performance in the MOT task did not differ between groups. However, across all individuals, a significant correlation was found between performance in the MOT and spatial hearing tasks. A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that musicianship and performance on the MOT task significantly predicted performance on the spatial hearing task. Overall, these findings confirm the relationship between musicianship and cognitive factors including domain-general selective attention and working memory in solving the "cocktail party problem".

Previous studies suggest theory of mind (ToM) ability declines with age. However, prior tasks not only required ToM competence but also imposed high executive function (EF) demands, so decline in ToM ability could be caused by deterioration in ToM competence, EF, or both. It was predicted that if the elderly have intact ToM competence but compromised EF, then they should perform similarly to younger adults when using ToM tasks that lower executive demands, such as spontaneous-response tasks. Results showed that on tasks with reduced demands, older adults tracked belief to the same extent as younger adults, despite their declining EF. The findings support a model in which age-related decline in ToM ability is primarily caused by compromised EF, not ToM competence, suggesting that underlying ToM mechanisms are still intact in the elderly. We discuss implications of this work for competence-performance issues in ToM processing and the underlying sources of age-related deterioration of ToM.

The use of 'explicitly metacognitive' learning strategies has been proposed as an explanation for uniquely human capacities for cumulative culture. Such strategies are proposed to rely on explicit, system-2 cognitive processes, to enable advantageous selective copying. To investigate the plausibility of this theory, we investigated participants' ability to make flexible learning decisions, and their metacognitive monitoring efficiency, under executive function (EF) load. Adult participants completed a simple win-stay lose-shift (WSLS) paradigm task, intended to model a situation where presented information can be used to inform response choice, by copying rewarded responses and avoiding those that are unrewarded. This was completed alongside a concurrent switching task. Participants were split into three conditions: those that needed to use a selective copying, WSLS strategy, those that should always copy observed information, and those that should always do the opposite (Expt 1). Participants also completed a metacognitive monitoring task alongside the concurrent switching task (Expt 2). Conditions demanding selective strategies were more challenging than those requiring the use of one rule consistently. In addition, consistently copying was less challenging than consistently avoiding observed stimuli. Differences between selectively copying and always copying were hypothesised to stem from working memory requirements rather than the concurrent EF load. No impact of EF load was found on participants' metacognitive monitoring ability. These results suggest that copying decisions are underpinned by the use of executive functions even at a very basic level, and that selective copying strategies are more challenging than a combination of their component parts. We found minimal evidence that selective copying strategies relied on executive functions any more than consistent copying or deviation. However, task experience effects suggested that ceiling effects could have been masking differences between conditions which might be apparent in other contexts, such as when observed information must be retained in memory.

Early treatment of Alzheimer's disease may reduce its devastating effects. By focusing research on asymptomatic individuals with Alzheimer's disease pathology (the preclinical stage), earlier indicators of disease may be discovered. Decreasing cerebrospinal fluid beta-amyloid42 is the first indicator of preclinical disorder, but it is not known which pathology causes the first clinical effects. Our hypothesis is that neuropsychological changes within the normal range will help to predict preclinical disease and locate early pathology.

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) affect over 5.7 million Americans and over 35 million people worldwide. Detection of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early ADRD is a challenge to clinicians and researchers. Brief assessment tools frequently emphasize memory impairment, however executive dysfunction may be one of the earliest signs of impairment. To address the need for a brief, easy-to-score, open-access test of executive function for use in clinical practice and research, we created the Number Symbol Coding Task (NSCT).

Physical activity has been demonstrated to promote cognitive performance. However, the relationship between physical activity and executive function (EF) in sedentary individuals is not fully understood. This meta-analysis examined the impact of physical activity on EF in sedentary individuals and evaluated potential moderators of the relationship between physical activity and EF. In accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, the electronic databases MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and Web of Science were searched. Included studies had to report sedentary individuals randomized to either a physical activity group or a control group. Subgroup analyses of EF sub-domains, exercise prescription and age were conducted alongside the overall meta-analysis. Thirteen RCT studies were included, with a total of 752 participants. Results showed a small to moderate beneficial effect of physical activity on EF (SMD = 0.24, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.40). In subgroup analysis by EF sub-domains, physical activity enhanced inhibitory control (SMD = 0.38, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.63) and working memory (SMD = 0.22, 95% CI -0.05 to 0.49), but not cognitive flexibility (SMD = 0.11, 95% CI -0.18 to 0.41). Interventions with an intervention length > 12 weeks improved overall EF (SMD = 0.26, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.46), but intervention length ≤ 12 weeks did not (SMD = 0.20, 95% CI -0.08 to 0.47). Interventions with session time ≥ 45 minutes improved overall EF (SMD = 0.47, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.77), but session time < 45 minutes did not (0.17, 95% CI -0.11 to 0.44). Physical activity improves EF for older adults (age ≥ 60 years) (SMD = 0.25, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.42), but not for younger individuals (age < 60 years) (SMD = 0.17, 95% CI -0.25 to 0.59). Overall, physical activity has a beneficial effect on EF in sedentary individuals, although the influence may be domain specific and influenced by exercise prescription and age. These findings have practical implications for those seeking to improve EF in sedentary individuals through physical activity.

Executive function is a core deficit in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study systematically reviewed the evidence for the effects of physical activity (PA) interventions on executive function in children and adolescents with ADHD and explored the moderating effects of key variables of PA on executive function.

Although low executive functioning is a risk factor for vehicle crashes among elderly drivers, the neural basis of individual differences in this cognitive ability remains largely unknown. Here we aimed to examine regional frontal gray matter volume associated with executive functioning in normal aging individuals, using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). To this end, 39 community-dwelling elderly volunteers who drove a car on a daily basis participated in structural magnetic resonance imaging, and completed two questionnaires concerning executive functioning and risky driving tendencies in daily living. Consequently, we found that participants with low executive function capacity were prone to risky driving. Furthermore, VBM analysis revealed that lower executive function capacity was associated with smaller gray matter volume in the supplementary motor area (SMA). Thus, the current data suggest that SMA volume is a reliable predictor of individual differences in executive function capacity as a risk factor for vehicle crashes among elderly persons. The implication of our results is that regional frontal gray matter volume might underlie the variation in driving tendencies among elderly drivers. Therefore, detailed driving behavior assessments might be able to detect early neurodegenerative changes in the frontal lobe in normal aging adults.

An increasing prevalence of mental health problems has been partly ascribed to abnormal brain development that is induced upon exposure to environmental chemicals. However, it has been extremely difficult to detect and assess such causality particularly at low exposure levels. To address this question, we here investigated higher brain function in mice exposed to dioxin in utero and via lactation by using our recently developed automated behavioral flexibility test and immunohistochemistry of neuronal activation markers Arc, at the 14 brain areas. Pregnant C57BL/6 mice were given orally a low dose of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) at a dose of either 0, 0.6 or 3.0 µg/kg on gestation day 12.5. When the pups reached adulthood, they were group-housed in IntelliCage to assess their behavior. As a result, the offspring born to dams exposed to 0.6 µg TCDD/kg were shown to have behavioral inflexibility, compulsive repetitive behavior, and dramatically lowered competitive dominance. In these mice, immunohistochemistry of Arc exhibited the signs of hypoactivation of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hyperactivation of the amygdala. Intriguingly, mice exposed to 3.0 µg/kg were hardly affected in both the behavioral and neuronal activation indices, indicating that the robust, non-monotonic dose-response relationship. In conclusion, this study showed for the first time that perinatal exposure to a low dose of TCDD in mice develops executive function deficits and social behavioral abnormality accompanied with the signs of imbalanced mPFC-amygdala activation.

Several studies have assessed the effects of computer-based cognitive programs (CCP) in the management of age-related cognitive decline, but the role of CCP remains controversial. Therefore, this systematic review evaluated the evidence on the efficacy of CCP for age-related cognitive decline in healthy older adults.

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is associated with significant mortality rates, and most survivors experience significant cognitive deficits across multiple domains, including executive function. It is critical to determine the neural basis for executive deficits in aSAH, in order to better understand and improve patient outcomes. This study is the first examination of resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging in a group of aSAH patients, used to characterize changes in functional connectivity of the frontoparietal network. We scanned 14 aSAH patients and 14 healthy controls, and divided patients into "impaired" and "unimpaired" groups based on a composite executive function score. Impaired patients exhibited significantly lower quality of life and neuropsychological impairment relative to controls, across multiple domains. Seed-based functional connectivity analysis demonstrated that unimpaired patients were not significantly different from controls, but impaired patients had increased frontoparietal connectivity. Patients evidenced increased frontoparietal connectivity as a function of decreased executive function and decreased mood (i.e. quality of life). In addition, T1 morphometric analysis demonstrated that these changes are not attributable to local cortical atrophy among aSAH patients. These results establish significant, reliable changes in the endogenous brain dynamics of aSAH patients, that are related to cognitive and mood outcomes.

Rehabilitation methods for executive dysfunction were focused on cognitive rehabilitation in patients with stroke and traumatic brain injury. However, no reviews have focused on the various rehabilitation methods and assessment of executive function in patients with only stroke and included various study designs. This study aimed to identify various interventions and assessments in patients with stroke and executive dysfunction via a scoping review. We searched for articles using the PubMed, Web of Science, and CINAHL databases. Two reviewers independently screened the articles based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria using the title, abstract, and full text. We subsequently determined the study design, sample size, time since stroke, intervention, and assessment. We extracted 1131 articles, of which 27 articles were selected. The study designs were randomized controlled trials (81.5%), pilot studies (11.1%), and feasibility studies (7.4%), with a total of 599 participants. Interventions varied from cognitive training (22.2%), virtual reality (22.2%), noninvasive brain stimulation (14.8%), and dual-task training (11.1%), with consistent results. The assessments used were the Trail Making Test Part B (70.4%), Stroop Color and Word Test (44.4%), Digit Symbol Test, Frontal Assessment Battery, and Tower of London test (11.1%). In conclusion, this scoping review provided various interventions and assessments in patients with stroke with executive dysfunction.

Physical capacity and coordination cannot alone predict success in team sports such as soccer. Instead, more focus has been directed towards the importance of cognitive abilities, and it has been suggested that executive functions (EF) are fundamentally important for success in soccer. However, executive functions are going through a steep development from adolescence to adulthood. Moreover, more complex EF involving manipulation of information (higher level EF) develop later than simple executive functions such as those linked to simple working memory capacity (Core EF). The link between EF and success in young soccer players is therefore not obvious. In the present study we investigated whether EF are associated with success in soccer in young elite soccer players. We performed tests measuring core EF (a demanding working memory task involving a variable n-back task; dWM) and higher level EF (Design Fluency test; DF). Color-Word Interference Test and Trail Making Test were performed on an exploratory level as they contain a linguistic element. The lower level EF test (dWM) was taken from CogStateSport computerized concussion testing and the higher level EF test (DF) was from Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System test battery (D-KEFS). In a group of young elite soccer players (n = 30; aged 12-19 years) we show that they perform better than the norm in both the dWM (+0.49 SD) and DF (+0.86 SD). Moreover, we could show that both dWM and DF correlate with the number of goals the players perform during the season. The effect was more prominent for dWM (r = 0.437) than for DF (r = 0.349), but strongest for a combined measurement (r = 0.550). The effect was still present when we controlled for intelligence, length and age in a partial correlation analysis. Thus, our study suggests that both core and higher level EF may predict success in soccer also in young players.

A bilingual advantage in a form of a better performance of bilinguals in tasks tapping into executive function abilities has been reported repeatedly in the literature. However, recent research defends that this advantage does not stem from bilingualism, but from uncontrolled factors or imperfectly matched samples. In this study we explored the potential impact of bilingualism on executive functioning abilities by testing large groups of young adult bilinguals and monolinguals in the tasks that were most extensively used when the advantages were reported. Importantly, the recently identified factors that could be disrupting the between groups comparisons were controlled for, and both groups were matched. We found no differences between groups in their performance. Additional bootstrapping analyses indicated that, when the bilingual advantage appeared, it very often co-occurred with unmatched socio-demographic factors. The evidence presented here indicates that the bilingual advantage might indeed be caused by spurious uncontrolled factors rather than bilingualism per se. Secondly, bilingualism has been argued to potentially affect working memory also. Therefore, we tested the same participants in both a forward and a backward version of a visual and an auditory working memory task. We found no differences between groups in either of the forward versions of the tasks, but bilinguals systematically outperformed monolinguals in the backward conditions. The results are analysed and interpreted taking into consideration different perspectives in the domain-specificity of the executive functions and working memory.

We typically observe a decrement in vigilance with time-on-task, which favors the propensity for mind-wandering, i.e., the shifting of attention from the task at hand to task-unrelated thoughts. Here, we examined participants' mind-wandering, either intentional or unintentional, while performing vigilance tasks that tap different components of vigilance. Intentional mind-wandering is expected mainly when the arousal component is involved, whereas unintentional mind-wandering is expected mainly in tasks involving the executive component. The Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) assessed the arousal component, whereas the Sustained Attention to Response task (SART) assessed the executive component of vigilance. The two types of mind-wandering were probed throughout task execution. The results showed that the overall rate of mind-wandering was higher in the PVT than in the SART. Intentional mind-wandering was higher with the PVT than with the SART, whereas unintentional mind-wandering was higher with the SART than with the PVT. Regarding mind-wandering as a function of vigilance decrement with time-on-task, unintentional mind-wandering in the PVT increased between blocks 1 and 2 and then stabilized, whereas a progressive increase was observed in the SART. Regarding intentional mind-wandering, a progressive increase was only observed in the SART. The differential patterns of intentional and unintentional mind-wandering in both tasks suggest that, intentional mind wandering occurs mainly in arousal tasks in which propensity to mind-wander has little impact on task performance. However, unintentional mind-wandering occurs mainly in executive tasks as a result of a failure of cognitive control, which promotes attentional resources to be diverted toward mind-wandering. These results are discussed in the context of the resource-control model of mind-wandering.

Cognitive flexibility (CF) enables individuals to readily shift from one concept or mode of practice/thoughts to another in response to changes in the environment and feedback, making CF vital to optimise success in obtaining goals. However, how CF relates to other executive functions (e.g., working memory, response inhibition), mental abilities (e.g., creativity, literacy, numeracy, intelligence, structure learning), and social factors (e.g., multilingualism, tolerance of uncertainty, perceived social support, social decision-making) is less well understood. The current study aims to (1) establish the construct validity of CF in relation to other executive function skills and intelligence, and (2) elucidate specific relationships between CF, structure learning, creativity, career decision making and planning, and other life skills.

It is increasingly agreed upon that cognitive and audiological factors are associated with self-perceived hearing handicap in old adults. This study aimed to compare self-perceived hearing handicap among mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subgroups and a cognitively normal elderly (CNE) group and determine which factors (i.e., demographic, audiometric, or neuropsychological factors) are correlated with self-perceived hearing handicap in each group. A total of 46 MCI patients and 39 hearing threshold-matched CNE subjects participated in this study, and their age ranged from 55 to 80 years. The MCI patients were reclassified into two groups: 16 with frontal-executive dysfunction (FED) and 30 without FED. All subjects underwent audiometric, neuropsychological, and self-perceived hearing handicap assessments. The Korean version of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (K-HHIE) was administered to obtain the hearing handicap scores for each subject. After controlling for age, years of education, and depression levels, we found no significant differences in the K-HHIE scores between the MCI and the CNE groups. However, after we classified the MCI patients into the MCI with FED and MCI without FED groups, the MCI with FED group scored significantly higher than did both the MCI without FED and the CNE groups. In addition, after controlling for depression levels, significant partial correlations of hearing handicap scores with frontal-executive function scores and speech-in-noise perception performance were found in the MCI groups. In the CNE group, the hearing handicap scores were related to peripheral hearing sensitivity and years of education. In summary, MCI patients with FED are more likely to experience everyday hearing handicap than those without FED and cognitively normal old adults. Although educational level and peripheral hearing function are related to self-perceived hearing handicap in cognitively normal old adults, speech-in-noise perception and frontal-executive function are mainly associated with hearing handicap in patients with MCI.