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Executive functions facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Executive Functions are a set of mental abilities in the human brain that are responsible and necessary for someone to be able to control their behavior. Executive Functions include:

  • Attentional Control - the ability to choose what to pay attention to
  • Cognitive Inhibition - the ability to tune out distractions
  • Inhibitory Control - the ability to practice restraint
  • Working Memory - the ability to store information temporarily in order to effectively perform complex tasks
  • Cognitive Flexibility - the ability to think about multiple things at the same time, and to switch between tasks

Higher-order executive functions require the use of several basic executive functions and include planning and fluid intelligence (for example reasoning and problem-solving).

Executive functions develop over time. They change during lifespan of an individual and can be improved at any time. Similarly, these cognitive processes can be adversely affected by different events.

Tests have been developed to assess the level of these functions. Rating scales can be used. These tests are usually performed as a part of a larger series of tests, which ain to find neurological and psychiatric disorders. An example of such a test is the Stroop test. An example of a scale is call Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive functions.

A counterexample of this is operant and classical conditioning: With these processes, individuals are "taught" to react in a certain way to a given stimulus. In such a situation, the individual must override the response to a stimulus using executive functions. This is called inhibitory control. The prefrontal cortex is necessary but not solely sufficient for executive functions; other parts of the brain also have a role in mediating inhibitory control.

Certain conditions affect cognitive control. These include addiction, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, and other central nervous system disorders. Stimulus-driven behavioral responses that are associated with a particular rewarding stimulus tend to dominate one's behavior in an addiction.

Images for kids

  • Prefrontal cortex

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

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Función ejecutiva (neuropsicología) para niños

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