title: Executive Function Skills of 6 to 8 Year Olds: Brain and Behavioral Evidence and Implications for School Achievement.
abstract: Academic and social success in school has been linked to children's self-regulation. This study investigated the assessment of the executive function (EF) component of self-regulation using a low-cost, easily administered measure to determine whether scores obtained from the behavioral task would agree with those obtained using a laboratory-based neuropsychological measure of EF skills. The sample included 74 children (37 females; M = 86.2 months) who participated in two assessments of working memory and inhibitory control: Knock-Tap (NEPSY: Korkman, Kirk, and Kemp, 1998), and participation in event-related potential (ERP) testing that included the Directional Stroop Test (Davidson, Cruess, Diamond, O'Craven, & Savoy, 1999). Three main findings emerged. First, children grouped as high versus low performing on the NEPSY Knock-Tap Task were found to performed differently on the more difficult conditions of the DST (the Incongruent and Mixed Conditions), suggesting that the Knock-Tap Task as a low-cost and easy to administer assessment of EF skills may be one way for teachers to identify students with poor inhibitory control skills. Second, children's performance on the DST was strongly related to their ERP responses, adding to evidence that differences in behavioral performance on the DST as a measure of EF skills reflect corresponding differences in brain processing. Finally, differences in brain processing on the DST task also were found when the children were grouped based on Knock-Tap performance. Simple screening procedures can enable teachers to identify children whose distractibility, inattentiveness, or poor attention spans may interfere with classroom learning.
authors.affiliation: University of Louisville.
authors.forename: Victoria J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Molfese
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Molfese
authors.forename: Dennis L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Molfese
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Rudasill
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.forename: Gillian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Starkey
references.citation: Brain Cogn. 1995 Apr;27(3):288-310
references.pmid: 7626278
references.citation: J Comp Neurol. 1997 Oct 20;387(2):167-78
references.pmid: 9336221
references.citation: Dyslexia. 2004 Aug;10(3):196-214
references.pmid: 15341198
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2005 Jun;26(2):471-9
references.pmid: 15907304
references.citation: Psychophysiology. 2000 Mar;37(2):127-52
references.pmid: 10731765
references.citation: Dev Psychol. 2008 Mar;44(2):575-87
references.pmid: 18331145
references.citation: Dev Psychobiol. 1996 May;29(4):315-34
references.pmid: 8732806
references.citation: Child Dev. 1999 Nov-Dec;70(6):1373-400
references.pmid: 10621962
references.citation: Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2005 Nov-Dec;27(6):797-813
references.pmid: 16111858
references.citation: Neuropsychologia. 2002;40(12):2144-55
references.pmid: 12208010
references.citation: Am J Dis Child. 1991 Mar;145(3):259-63
references.pmid: 1750869
references.citation: Neuropsychologia. 1999 Jun;37(7):771-85
references.pmid: 10408645
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2003 Jan;18(1):42-57
references.pmid: 12507442
references.citation: Dev Psychopathol. 2008 Summer;20(3):821-43
references.pmid: 18606033
references.citation: Science. 2007 Nov 30;318(5855):1387-8
references.pmid: 18048670
references.citation: Dev Neuropsychol. 2005;28(2):617-44
references.pmid: 16144430
references.citation: Dev Neuropsychol. 2003;24(1):479-97
references.pmid: 12850755
references.citation: Dev Neuropsychol. 2005;28(2):573-94
references.pmid: 16144428
references.citation: Am Psychol. 2002 Feb;57(2):111-27
references.pmid: 11899554
references.citation: J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1996 Feb;37(2):229-36
references.pmid: 8682904
references.citation: Child Dev. 2007 Mar-Apr;78(2):647-63
references.pmid: 17381795
references.citation: Child Dev. 1996 Apr;67(2):490-507
references.pmid: 8625724
references.citation: J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2002 Jun;31(2):242-51
references.pmid: 12056107
references.citation: Brain Cogn. 2002 Mar-Apr;48(2-3):505-12
references.pmid: 12030497
references.citation: Clin Neurophysiol. 2001 Dec;112(12):2224-32
references.pmid: 11738192
references.citation: Child Dev. 1993 Jun;64(3):801-14
references.pmid: 8339696
references.citation: J Neurosci Methods. 2003 Mar 30;124(1):103-12
references.pmid: 12648769
references.citation: Dev Psychopathol. 2008 Summer;20(3):899-911
references.pmid: 18606037
references.citation: J Consult Clin Psychol. 1993 Apr;61(2):235-47
references.pmid: 8473577
references.citation: Monogr Soc Res Child Dev. 1997;62(4):i-v, 1-208
references.pmid: 9421921
references.citation: J Cogn Neurosci. 2002 Jan 1;14(1):1-10
references.pmid: 11798382
references.citation: Dev Psychobiol. 2000 Mar;36(2):161-74
references.pmid: 10689286
references.citation: J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2002 Dec;31(4):513-24
references.pmid: 12402570