Executive functions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

Not to be confused with Executive (government).

For similar terms, see Adaptive behavior and Self-control.

Neuropsychology

Topics

Brain functions

ArousalAttentionConsciousnessDecision makingExecutive functionsNatural

People

Tests

Psi2.svg Psychology portalSocrates.png Philosophy portalWHO Rod.svg Medicine portal

vte

Executive functions (collectively referred to as executive function and cognitive control) are a set
of cognitive processes that are necessary for the cognitive control of behavior: selecting and
successfully monitoring behaviors that facilitate the attainment of chosen goals. Executive
functions include basic cognitive processes such as attentional control, cognitive inhibition,
inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. Higher-order executive functions
require the simultaneous use of multiple basic executive functions and include planning and fluid
intelligence (e.g., reasoning and problem-solving).[1][2][3]

Executive functions gradually develop and change across the lifespan of an individual and can be
improved at any time over the course of a person's life.[2] Similarly, these cognitive processes can
be adversely affected by a variety of events which affect an individual.[2] Both neuropsychological
tests (e.g., the Stroop test) and rating scales (e.g., the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive
Function) are used to measure executive functions. They are usually performed as part of a more
comprehensive assessment to diagnose neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Cognitive control and stimulus control, which is associated with operant and classical conditioning,
represent opposite processes (internal vs external or environmental, respectively) that compete
over the control of an individual's elicited behaviors;[4] in particular, inhibitory control is necessary
for overriding stimulus-driven behavioral responses (stimulus control of behavior).[2] The
prefrontal cortex is necessary but not solely sufficient for executive functions;[2][5][6] for
example, the caudate nucleus and subthalamic nucleus also have a role in mediating inhibitory
control.[2][7]

Cognitive control is impaired in addiction,[7] attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,[2][7] autism,

Contents

1 Neuroanatomy

2 Hypothesized role

3 Historical perspective

4 Development

4.1 Early childhood

4.2 Preadolescence

4.3 Adolescence

4.4 Adulthood

5 Models

5.1 Top-down inhibitory control

5.2 Working memory model

5.3 Supervisory attentional system (SAS)

5.4 Self-regulatory model

5.5 Problem-solving model

5.6 Lezak's conceptual model

5.7 Miller and Cohen's model

5.8 Miyake and Friedman's model

5.9 Banich's "cascade of control" model

6 Assessment

7 Experimental evidence
7.1 Context-sensitivity of PFC neurons

7.2 Attentional biasing in sensory regions

7.3 Connectivity between the PFC and sensory regions

7.4 Bilingualism and executive functions

8 In disease or disorder

9 Future directions

10 See also

11 References

12 External links

Neuroanatomy

Historically, the executive functions have been seen as regulated by the prefrontal regions of the
frontal lobes,[9][10] but it is still a matter of ongoing debate if that really is the case.[5] Even
though articles on prefrontal lobe lesions commonly refer to disturbances of executive functions
and vice versa, a review found indications for the sensitivity but not for the specificity of executive
function measures to frontal lobe functioning. This means that both frontal and non-frontal brain
regions are necessary for intact executive functions. Probably the frontal lobes need to participate
in basically all of the executive functions, but they are not the only brain structure involved.[5]

Neuroimaging and lesion studies have identified the functions which are most often associated
with the particular regions of the prefrontal cortex and associated areas.[5]

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is involved with "on-line" processing of information
such as integrating different dimensions of cognition and behavior.[11] As such, this area has been
found to be associated with verbal and design fluency, ability to maintain and shift set, planning,
response inhibition, working memory, organisational skills, reasoning, problem-solving, and
abstract thinking.[5][12]

Side view of the brain, illustrating dorsolateral prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortex

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is involved in emotional drives, experience and integration.[11]
Associated cognitive functions include inhibition of inappropriate responses, decision making and
motivated behaviors. Lesions in this area can lead to low drive states such as apathy, abulia or
akinetic mutism and may also result in low drive states for such basic needs as food or drink and
possibly decreased interest in social or vocational activities and sex.[11][13]
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays a key role in impulse control, maintenance of set, monitoring
ongoing behavior and socially appropriate behaviors.[11] The orbitofrontal cortex also has roles in
representing the value of rewards based on sensory stimuli and evaluating subjective emotional
experiences.[14] Lesions can cause disinhibition, impulsivity, aggressive outbursts, sexual
promiscuity and antisocial behavior.[5]

Furthermore, in their review, Alvarez and Emory state that: "The frontal lobes have multiple
connections to cortical, subcortical and brain stem sites. The basis of 'higher-level' cognitive
functions such as inhibition, flexibility of thinking, problem solving, planning, impulse control,
concept formation, abstract thinking, and creativity often arise from much simpler, 'lower-level'
forms of cognition and behavior. Thus, the concept of executive function must be broad enough to
include anatomical structures that represent a diverse and diffuse portion of the central nervous
system."[5]

The cerebellum also appears to be involved in mediating certain executive functions.[15][16]

Hypothesized role

The executive system is thought to be heavily involved in handling novel situations outside the
domain of some of our 'automatic' psychological processes that could be explained by the
reproduction of learned schemas or set behaviors. Psychologists Don Norman and Tim Shallice
have outlined five types of situations in which routine activation of behavior would not be
sufficient for optimal performance:[17][page needed]

Those that involve planning or decision-making

Those that involve error correction or troubleshooting

Situations where responses are not well-rehearsed or contain novel sequences of actions

Dangerous or technically difficult situations

Situations that require the overcoming of a strong habitual response or resisting temptation.

A prepotent response is a response for which immediate reinforcement (positive or negative) is

Executive functions are often invoked when it is necessary to override prepotent responses that
might otherwise be automatically elicited by stimuli in the external environment. For example, on
being presented with a potentially rewarding stimulus, such as a tasty piece of chocolate cake, a
person might have the automatic response to take a bite. However, where such behavior conflicts
with internal plans (such as having decided not to eat chocolate cake while on a diet), the
executive functions might be engaged to inhibit that response.
Although suppression of these prepotent responses is ordinarily considered adaptive, problems for
the development of the individual and the culture arise when feelings of right and wrong are
overridden by cultural expectations or when creative impulses are overridden by executive
inhibitions.[19][page needed]

Historical perspective

Although research into the executive functions and their neural basis has increased markedly over
recent years, the theoretical framework in which it is situated is not new. In the 1940s, the British
psychologist Donald Broadbent drew a distinction between "automatic" and "controlled"
processes (a distinction characterized more fully by Shiffrin and Schneider in 1977),[20] and
introduced the notion of selective attention, to which executive functions are closely allied. In
1975, the US psychologist Michael Posner used the term "cognitive control" in his book chapter
entitled "Attention and cognitive control".[21]

The work of influential researchers such as Michael Posner, Joaquin Fuster, Tim Shallice, and their
colleagues in the 1980s (and later Trevor Robbins, Bob Knight, Don Stuss, and others) laid much of
the groundwork for recent research into executive functions. For example, Posner proposed that
there is a separate "executive" branch of the attentional system, which is responsible for focusing
attention on selected aspects of the environment.[22] The British neuropsychologist Tim Shallice
similarly suggested that attention is regulated by a "supervisory system", which can override
automatic responses in favour of scheduling behaviour on the basis of plans or intentions.[23]
Throughout this period, a consensus emerged that this control system is housed in the most
anterior portion of the brain, the prefrontal cortex (PFC).

Psychologist Alan Baddeley had proposed a similar system as part of his model of working
memory[24] and argued that there must be a component (which he named the "central
executive") that allows information to be manipulated in short-term memory (for example, when
doing mental arithmetic).

Development

Further information: Neurobiological effects of physical exercise § Cognitive control and memory

The executive functions are among the last mental functions to reach maturity. This is due to the
delayed maturation of the prefrontal cortex, which is not completely myelinated until well into a
person's third decade of life. Development of executive functions tends to occur in spurts, when
new skills, strategies, and forms of awareness emerge. These spurts are thought to reflect
maturational events in the frontal areas of the brain.[25] Attentional control appears to emerge in
infancy and develop rapidly in early childhood. Cognitive flexibility, goal setting, and information
processing usually develop rapidly during ages 7–9 and mature by age 12. Executive control
typically emerges shortly after a transition period at the beginning of adolescence.[26] It is not yet
clear whether there is a single sequence of stages in which executive functions appear, or whether
different environments and early life experiences can lead people to develop them in different
sequences.[25]