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COVID-19 is associated with increased risk for cognitive decline but very little is known regarding the neural mechanisms of this risk. We enrolled 49 adults (55% female, mean age = 30.7 ± 8.7), 25 with and 24 without a history of COVID-19 infection. We administered standardized tests of cognitive function and acquired brain connectivity data using MRI. The COVID-19 group demonstrated significantly lower cognitive function (W = 475, p

Developmental scientists have long described mid-adolescents emerging capacities to make deep meaning about the social world and self, here called transcendent thinking, as a hallmark developmental stage. In this 5-years longitudinal study, sixty-five 14-18 years-old youths proclivities to grapple psychologically with the ethical, systems-level and personal implications of social stories, predicted future increases in the coordination of two key brain networks: the default-mode network, involved in reflective, autobiographical and free-form thinking, and the executive control network, involved in effortful, focused thinking; findings were independent of IQ, ethnicity, and socioeconomic background. This neural development predicted late-adolescent identity development, which predicted young-adult self-liking and relationship satisfaction, in a developmental cascade. The findings reveal a novel predictor of mid-adolescents neural development, and suggest the importance of attending to adolescents proclivities to engage agentically with complex perspectives and emotions on the social and personal relevance of issues, such as through civically minded educational approaches.

Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder caused by a premutation of the FMR1 gene on the X chromosome. Despite the pervasive physical and cognitive effects of FXTAS, no studies have examined language in symptomatic males and females, limiting utility as an outcome measure in clinical trials of FXTAS. The goal of this work is to determine (a) the extent to which male and female FMR1 premutation carriers with FXTAS symptoms differ in their language use and (b) whether language production predicts FXTAS symptoms. Thirty-one individuals with the FMR1 premutation (21M, 10F), ages 58-85 years with some symptoms of FXTAS, were recruited from a larger cross-sectional study. Participants completed a five-minute monologic language sample. Language transcripts were assessed for rate of dysfluencies, lexical-semantics, syntax, and speech rate. Multivariable linear and ordinal regressions were used to predict FXTAS-associated symptoms, cognitive functioning, and executive functioning. Males and females did not differ in their language use. Language production predicted FXTAS symptom severity, cognitive functioning, and executive functioning. Language production difficulties may co-occur with FXTAS-associated symptoms and may be a viable outcome measure in future clinical trials, with future research needed.

With limited evidence from intervention studies, causal relationships between motor competence and cognitive and social development have yet to be clearly established. In this research, we investigated whether a targeted training programme to improve fundamental movement skills (i.e., object control, locomotor) in young children would also lead to improvements in the cognitive (i.e., executive function) and social (i.e., socioemotional competence) domains. Using a two-arm group randomised intervention design, 185 children aged 36 to 60 months (mean 47.51, SD 8.11 months) were allocated to a motor skill intervention group or an active control group. The intervention was implemented over one school year, and outcomes were monitored across five time points. Longitudinal analysis was performed using hierarchical linear mixed-effects and latent growth curve models. Participation in the motor skill intervention led to higher rates of development of object control skills (p < 0.001) and executive function (p < 0.001). A dose‒response relationship was found in which those children who displayed greater development of object control skills over time also displayed greater development of executive function (p = 0.001). We found no significant effects of the intervention on locomotor skills, social behaviours, or socioemotional competence. These findings provide evidence of a causal relationship between motor and cognitive development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a novel approach, this study explores feasibility and relevance of an inhibition task for studying age-related differences in motor inhibition during gait initiation. When presented with a go-signal, young adults (YA, n = 24) and older adults (OA, n = 55) were required to promptly initiate gait. Participants completed 3 blocks of 12 gait trials. Each block contained 3 stop trials in which the go-signal was followed by a stop-signal that required the person to block gait initiation and remain standing. Stop-signals were presented randomly and with different delays. Data analyses focused on changes in the centre of pressure (COP) and success of motor inhibition. Compared to go-trials, stop trials resulted in a marked decrease of timing and amplitude of COP displacement. Overall success rate of motor inhibition was low (29% in YA vs. 19% in OA) and decreased with increasing COP displacement. Inhibitory success was associated with two strategies: a pro-active cautious COP displacement; and the inhibition of further COP displacement after a stop-signal. Results demonstrate age-related differences in adaptive behavior as well as boundaries beyond which neither old nor young persons were successful. This study yields important insights into motor inhibition during gait and essential input nto further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A positive association between pubertal maturity as assessed by skeletal development, and specific cognitive abilities has recently been demonstrated in a cohort of adolescent girls. The current study explores the impact of chronological age and relative pubertal maturity on executive function within the same cohort. Relative maturity, determined by the difference between chronological age and skeletal age, establishes the criteria for enrolling participants into average, advanced, or delayed relative maturity subgroups. Performance is assessed using the Numerical Stroop test and analyzed across four conditions, each with varying task requirements related to inhibition and task switching. The effects of chronological age and relative maturity on executive functions are tested by a linear mixed model. Within the examined age-range (12–15 y), a more protracted development was found for inhibition as compared to switching. In line with the previous findings, the results reveal significant development in executive performance as a function of chronological age, and relative maturity also demonstrated significant effect on the development of executing functioning. The significant interaction effect between Chronological Age and Relative Maturity suggests that the degree of interplay between these factors varies across the examined age range. Specifically, relative maturity may have a more noticeable impact on EF functioning in middle adolescence compared to early adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of prolonged infrasound (IS) exposure on brain function and behavior are largely unknown, with only one prior study investigating functional connectivity (FC) changes. In a long-term randomized-controlled trial, 38 participants were exposed to inaudible airborne IS (6 Hz, 80–90 dB) or sham devices for four weeks (8 h/night). We assessed FC changes in resting-state networks (auditory, default mode (DMN), sensorimotor (SMN), and executive control (ECN)), and explored IS 'sensitivity' as a predictor of identified significant FC changes. We also examined correlations between somatic symptoms and FC. IS exposure led to decreased FC in the right precuneus (DMN) and increased FC in the Vermis IV and V (SMN). In the ECN, we observed increased FC in the right frontal middle gyrus (BA8) and the right inferior parietal lobe, and decreased FC in another region of the right frontal middle gyrus. Changes in the ECN (right inferior parietal lobe) were negatively associated with self-reported annoyance from IS/low-frequency noise. A significant negative association was found between FC changes in the DMN (right precuneus) and somatic symptoms. Our study is the first to investigate prolonged IS exposure effects on brain FC, revealing changes in the vDMN, SMN, and ECN, but not in the auditory network. Future studies should assess annoyance and sensitivity markers, fine-grained measures of somatic symptoms, and stratify samples by sensitivity to uncover individual differences in response to IS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A clinically useful characterization of the cognitive aging process requires the development of valid and robust behavioral tests, with an emphasis on explaining and understanding typical inter-individual variability in cognition. Here, using a dataset that includes behavioral scores collected with the National Institute of Health Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) and other auxiliary tests, we examined (1) the differences between young and old adults across different cognitive domains, (2) the strength of across-subject correlations in behavioral test scores, (3) the consistency of low-dimensional behavioral representations across age using factor analysis, and (4) the accuracy of behavioral scores in predicting participants' age. Our results revealed that (1) elderly females had better verbal episodic memory scores than elderly males, (2) across-subject correlations between behavioral tests varied with age group, (3) although a three-factor model explained the behavioral data in both age groups, some tasks loaded to different factors between the two groups, and (4) age-performance relationship (i.e. a regression model linking age to cognitive scores) in one group cannot be extrapolated to predict age in the other group, indicating an inconsistency in age-performance relationships across groups. These findings suggest that executive function tests might tap into different cognitive processes in different age groups, which might ultimately suggest that a statistically significant between-group difference in test performance might not always reflect differences in the same underlying cognitive processes. Overall, this study calls for more caution when interpreting age-related differences and similarities between age groups with different cognitive abilities even when the same tests are used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of a structured coordinative exercise intervention based on motor skill elements on physical fitness (PF), motor competence (MC) and inhibitory control (IC) in preschool children. A total of 41 kindergarten children (27 boys and 17 girls) aged between 5 and 6 years participated and were divided into exercise (EG; n = 18) and control (CG; n = 23) groups. The exercise group participated in a structured coordinative exercise programme focusing on locomotor and balance skills such as side-stepping, galloping, jumping and running for 30 min, 2 days a week for 8 weeks. The control group followed the normal curriculum. Children participated in measurements before and after 8 weeks, respectively; motor competence was assessed using the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK3+) test battery, which includes eye-hand coordination and other coordinative skills. Physical fitness was measured by balance, agility and vertical jump tests. Inhibitory control was assessed using the Go/NoGo test in the Early Years Toolbox. As a result of the two-factor analysis of variance for mixed measures to determine whether being in the exercising group had a significant effect on the test scores, group by time interaction effect showed that the increase in the scores of the exercise group was significantly higher than that of the control group in the parameters of static balance, KTK sideways jump and KTK eye-hand coordination [respectively: F(1−39) = 6.993, p = 0.012; 6.443, p = 0.015; 8.180, p = 0.007). The results show that structured coordinative exercises improve PF and MC but have no significant effect on IC. This study targets the development of motor and cognitive skills considered to be important in preschool children and is one of the few studies to evaluate these parameters simultaneously. It also provides a comprehensive perspective on interventions aimed to positively affect health and development in early childhood. Trial Registration: NCT06631248. Registered on October 07, 2024.

Abstract A positive association between pubertal maturity as assessed by skeletal development, and specific cognitive abilities has recently been demonstrated in a cohort of adolescent girls. The current study explores the impact of chronological age and relative pubertal maturity on executive function within the same cohort. Relative maturity, determined by the difference between chronological age and skeletal age, establishes the criteria for enrolling participants into average, advanced, or delayed relative maturity subgroups. Performance is assessed using the Numerical Stroop test and analyzed across four conditions, each with varying task requirements related to inhibition and task switching. The effects of chronological age and relative maturity on executive functions are tested by a linear mixed model. Within the examined age-range (12–15 y), a more protracted development was found for inhibition as compared to switching. In line with the previous findings, the results reveal significant development in executive performance as a function of chronological age, and relative maturity also demonstrated significant effect on the development of executing functioning. The significant interaction effect between Chronological Age and Relative Maturity suggests that the degree of interplay between these factors varies across the examined age range. Specifically, relative maturity may have a more noticeable impact on EF functioning in middle adolescence compared to early adolescence.

Abstract With limited evidence from intervention studies, causal relationships between motor competence and cognitive and social development have yet to be clearly established. In this research, we investigated whether a targeted training programme to improve fundamental movement skills (i.e., object control, locomotor) in young children would also lead to improvements in the cognitive (i.e., executive function) and social (i.e., socioemotional competence) domains. Using a two-arm group randomised intervention design, 185 children aged 36 to 60 months (mean 47.51, SD 8.11 months) were allocated to a motor skill intervention group or an active control group. The intervention was implemented over one school year, and outcomes were monitored across five time points. Longitudinal analysis was performed using hierarchical linear mixed-effects and latent growth curve models. Participation in the motor skill intervention led to higher rates of development of object control skills (p

Abstract A clinically useful characterization of the cognitive aging process requires the development of valid and robust behavioral tests, with an emphasis on explaining and understanding typical inter-individual variability in cognition. Here, using a dataset that includes behavioral scores collected with the National Institute of Health Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) and other auxiliary tests, we examined (1) the differences between young and old adults across different cognitive domains, (2) the strength of across-subject correlations in behavioral test scores, (3) the consistency of low-dimensional behavioral representations across age using factor analysis, and (4) the accuracy of behavioral scores in predicting participants’ age. Our results revealed that (1) elderly females had better verbal episodic memory scores than elderly males, (2) across-subject correlations between behavioral tests varied with age group, (3) although a three-factor model explained the behavioral data in both age groups, some tasks loaded to different factors between the two groups, and (4) age-performance relationship (i.e. a regression model linking age to cognitive scores) in one group cannot be extrapolated to predict age in the other group, indicating an inconsistency in age-performance relationships across groups. These findings suggest that executive function tests might tap into different cognitive processes in different age groups, which might ultimately suggest that a statistically significant between-group difference in test performance might not always reflect differences in the same underlying cognitive processes. Overall, this study calls for more caution when interpreting age-related differences and similarities between age groups with different cognitive abilities even when the same tests are used.

Abstract COVID-19 is associated with increased risk for cognitive decline but very little is known regarding the neural mechanisms of this risk. We enrolled 49 adults (55% female, mean age = 30.7 ± 8.7), 25 with and 24 without a history of COVID-19 infection. We administered standardized tests of cognitive function and acquired brain connectivity data using MRI. The COVID-19 group demonstrated significantly lower cognitive function (W = 475, p

Abstract Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder caused by a premutation of the FMR1 gene on the X chromosome. Despite the pervasive physical and cognitive effects of FXTAS, no studies have examined language in symptomatic males and females, limiting utility as an outcome measure in clinical trials of FXTAS. The goal of this work is to determine (a) the extent to which male and female FMR1 premutation carriers with FXTAS symptoms differ in their language use and (b) whether language production predicts FXTAS symptoms. Thirty-one individuals with the FMR1 premutation (21M, 10F), ages 58–85 years with some symptoms of FXTAS, were recruited from a larger cross-sectional study. Participants completed a five-minute monologic language sample. Language transcripts were assessed for rate of dysfluencies, lexical-semantics, syntax, and speech rate. Multivariable linear and ordinal regressions were used to predict FXTAS-associated symptoms, cognitive functioning, and executive functioning. Males and females did not differ in their language use. Language production predicted FXTAS symptom severity, cognitive functioning, and executive functioning. Language production difficulties may co-occur with FXTAS-associated symptoms and may be a viable outcome measure in future clinical trials, with future research needed.

Abstract Patients with mental illnesses, particularly psychosis and obsessive‒compulsive disorder (OCD), frequently exhibit deficits in executive function and visuospatial memory. Traditional assessments, such as the Rey‒Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT), performed in clinical settings require time and effort. This study aimed to develop a deep learning model using the RCFT and based on eye tracking to detect impaired executive function during visuospatial memory encoding in patients with mental illnesses. In 96 patients with first-episode psychosis, 49 with clinical high risk for psychosis, 104 with OCD, and 159 healthy controls, eye movements were recorded during a 3-min RCFT figure memorization task, and organization and immediate recall scores were obtained. These scores, along with the fixation points indicating eye-focused locations in the figure, were used to train a Long Short-Term Memory + Attention model for detecting impaired executive function and visuospatial memory. The model distinguished between normal and impaired executive function, with an F 1 score of 83.5%, and identified visuospatial memory deficits, with an F 1 score of 80.7%, regardless of psychiatric diagnosis. These findings suggest that this eye tracking-based deep learning model can directly and rapidly identify impaired executive function during visuospatial memory encoding, with potential applications in various psychiatric and neurological disorders.

Executive function (EF) has a significant impact on career achievement in adolescence and later adulthood, and there are many factors that influence EF. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is an important factor in the physical fitness of adolescents and is of great significance to healthy development. However, the current association between CRF and EF in Chinese adolescents is still unclear. For this reason, this study analysed the association between CRF and EF. A three-stage stratified cluster sampling method was used to investigate the demographic information, CRF, EF and multiple covariates of 1245 adolescents in China. One-way analysis of variance and chi-square test were used to compare the EF status of different CRFs. The association between CRF and EF was analysed using multiple linear regression analysis and logistic regression analysis. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that, after adjusting for relevant confounding factors, compared with Chinese adolescents with VO2max < P25, the inhibition function reaction time, 1back reaction time, 2back reaction time, and cognitive flexibility response time of adolescents with VO2max > P75 decreased by 1.41 ms, 238.73 ms, 273.09 ms, 74.14 ms. Logistic regression analysis showed that compared with Chinese adolescents with VO2max > P75, Chinese adolescents with VO2max < P25 developed inhibitory function dysfunction (OR 2.03, 95% CI: 1.29, 3.20), 1back dysfunction (OR 6.26, 95% CI 3.94, 9.97), 2back dysfunction (OR 8.94, 95% CI 5.40, 14.82), cognitive flexibility dysfunction (OR 2.26, 95% CI 1.44, 3.57) The risk was higher (P < 0.01). There is a positive association between CRF and EF in Chinese adolescents. High-grade CRF adolescents have higher EF levels, that is, shorter response times. This study provides reference and lessons for better promoting adolescents' executive function development in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive deficits are prevalent in individuals with psychosis and are associated with neurobiological changes, potentially serving as an endophenotype for psychosis. Using the HCP-Early-Psychosis-dataset (n = 226), we aimed to investigate cognitive subtypes (deficit/intermediate/spared) through data-driven clustering in affective (AP) and non-affective psychosis patients (NAP) and controls (HC). We explored differences between three clusters in symptoms, cognition, medication, and grey matter volume. Applying principal component analysis, we selected features for clustering. Features that explained most variance were scores for intelligence, verbal recognition and comprehension, auditory attention, working memory, reasoning and executive functioning. Fuzzy K-Means clustering on those features revealed that the subgroups significantly varied in cognitive impairment, clinical symptoms, and, importantly, also in medication and grey matter volume in fronto-parietal and subcortical networks. The spared cluster (86%HC, 37%AP, 17%NAP) exhibited unimpaired cognition, lowest symptoms/medication, and grey matter comparable to controls. The deficit cluster (4%HC, 10%AP, 47%NAP) had impairments across all domains, highest symptoms scores/medication dosage, and pronounced grey matter alterations. The intermediate deficit cluster (11%HC, 54%AP, 36%NAP) showed fewer deficits than the second cluster, but similar symptoms/medication/grey matter to the spared cluster. Controlling for medication, cognitive scores correlated with grey matter changes and negative symptoms across all patients. Our findings generally emphasize the interplay between cognition, brain structure, symptoms, and medication in AP and NAP, and specifically suggest a possible mediating role of cognition, highlighting the potential of screening cognitive changes to aid tailoring treatments and interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study explored the relationship between parenting stress, parenting style, parenting quality, and young children's executive function. In total, 243 firstborns aged 2–9 years old (SD = 3.82) and their parents from two-child families in Beijing participated in the study, which used executive function tasks and parenting questionnaires. The results found that (1) parenting stress negatively predicted parenting quality; (2) parenting style partially mediated the relationship between parenting stress and parenting quality; (3) children's executive function partially mediated the relationship between parenting stress and parenting quality; and (4) the spoiled, democratic, permissive, and authoritarian parenting styles each play a chain mediating role with young children's executive function between parenting stress and parenting quality. Taken together, these findings provide implications for scientific parenting of children with different psychological characteristics (such as executive function) in multiple-child families under Parenting stress.

Abstract Advancing age is associated with declines in cognitive function. Although physical activity is thought to protect against this decline, it is unclear how a short-term uptake in daily steps or a decline in day-to-day step variability may contribute to cognition among older adults. We tested associations between changes in step counts, day-to-day step variability and executive cognitive functions among older adults taking part in a physical activity intervention. Thirty-seven older adults (33 females; 71.4 ± 6.3 years) completed a 10-week personalized physical activity intervention. Participants wore a Fitbit to measure daily step counts throughout the study. They also completed a computerized Stroop task before and after the intervention. Average step counts and step count variability via average-real-variability (ARV) were determined. Compared to pre-intervention, step counts increased (p

The evaluation of cognitive functions interactions has become increasingly implemented in the cognition exploration. In the present study, we propose to examine the organization of the cognitive network in healthy participants through the analysis of behavioral performances in several cognitive domains. Specifically, we aim to explore cognitive interactions profiles, in terms of cognitive network, and as a function of participants' handedness. To this end, we proposed several behavioral tasks evaluating language, memory, executive functions, and social cognition performances in 175 young healthy right-handed and left-handed participants and we analyzed cognitive scores, from a network perspective, using graph theory. Our results highlight the existence of intricate interactions between cognitive functions both within and beyond the same cognitive domain. Language functions are interrelated with executive functions and memory in healthy cognitive functioning and assume a central role in the cognitive network. Interestingly, for similar high performance, our findings unveiled differential organizations within the cognitive network between right-handed and left-handed participants, with variations observed both at a global and nodal level. This original integrative network approach to the study of cognition provides new insights into cognitive interactions and modulations. It allows a more global understanding and consideration of cognitive functioning, from which complex behaviors emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although most adults experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, a smaller proportion will go on to be clinically diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Persons diagnosed with PTSD have a greater likelihood of developing gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. However, the extent to which subclinical levels of post-traumatic stress (PTS) correspond with the incidence of GI issues in a normative sample is unclear. Resting state fMRI, medical history, psychological survey, and anthropometric data were acquired from the Enhanced Nathan Kline Institute-Rockland Sample (n = 378; age range 18–85.6 years). The primary aim of this study was to test the main effect of subclinical PTS symptom severity on the number of endorsed GI issues. The secondary aim was to test the moderating effect of high versus low resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the central executive network (CEN) on the relationship between PTS symptom severity and GI issues. Trauma Symptom Checklist-40 (TSC-40) scores were positively associated with the number of endorsed GI issues (b = −0.038, SE =.009, p <.001). The interaction between TSC-40 scores and rsFC within the CEN was significant on GI issues after controlling for sociodemographic and cardiometabolic variables (b = −0.031, SE =.016, p <.05), such that above average rsFC within the CEN buffered the effect of TSC-40 scores on GI issues. Our findings of higher rsFC within the CEN moderating the magnitude of coincidence in PTS and GI symptom severity may reflect the mitigating role of executive control processes in the putative stress signaling mechanisms that contribute to gut dysbiosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Belonging to multiple groups is an important feature of our social lives. However, it is largely unknown if it is related to individual differences in cognitive performance. Given that changing self-identities linked to each group requires cognitive operations on knowledge bases associated with each group, the extent to which people belong to multiple groups may be related to individual differences in cognitive performance. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to test if multiple group membership is related to executive function task performance. A socioeconomically diverse sample of 395 individuals in Indonesia participated in this study. Our results show that multiple group membership was positively related to the 3-back working memory performance. However, we also found that this relationship was significant only among participants with high (not median or low) SES. We also observed that Contact diversity was negatively related to working memory performance among participants with low SES. Our results show that the complexity of our social lives is related to individual differences in executive function performance, although this seems to be constrained by SES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the relationship between parenting stress, parenting style, parenting quality, and young children's executive function. In total, 243 firstborns aged 2–9 years old (SD = 3.82) and their parents from two-child families in Beijing participated in the study, which used executive function tasks and parenting questionnaires. The results found that (1) parenting stress negatively predicted parenting quality; (2) parenting style partially mediated the relationship between parenting stress and parenting quality; (3) children's executive function partially mediated the relationship between parenting stress and parenting quality; and (4) the spoiled, democratic, permissive, and authoritarian parenting styles each play a chain mediating role with young children's executive function between parenting stress and parenting quality. Taken together, these findings provide implications for scientific parenting of children with different psychological characteristics (such as executive function) in multiple-child families under Parenting stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood adversity and adulthood adversity affect cognition later in life. However, the mechanism through which adversity exerts these effects on cognition remains under-researched. We aimed to investigate if the effect of adversity on cognition was mediated by distress or neuroticism. The UK Biobank is a large, population-based, cohort study designed to investigate risk factors of cognitive health. Here, data were analysed using a cross-sectional design. Structural equation models were fitted to the data with childhood adversity or adulthood adversity as independent variables, distress and neuroticism as mediators and executive function and processing speed as latent dependent variables that were derived from the cognitive scores in the UK Biobank. Complete data were available for 64,051 participants in the childhood adversity model and 63,360 participants in the adulthood adversity model. Childhood adversity did not show a direct effect on processing speed. The effect of childhood adversity on executive function was partially mediated by distress and neuroticism. The effects of adulthood adversity on executive function and processing speed were both partially mediated by distress and neuroticism. In conclusion, distress and neuroticism mediated the deleterious effect of childhood and adulthood adversity on cognition and may provide a mechanism underlying the deleterious consequences of adversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study intended to explore the neuropsychological ramifications in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors in Malaysia and to examine treatment-related sequelae. A case-control study was conducted over a 2-year period. Seventy-one survivors of childhood ALL who had completed treatment for a minimum of 1 year and were in remission, and 71 healthy volunteers were enlisted. To assess alertness (processing speed) and essential executive functioning skills such as working memory capacity, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and sustained attention, seven measures from the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks (ANT) program were chosen. Main outcome measures were speed, stability and accuracy of responses. Mean age at diagnosis was 4.50 years (SD ± 2.40) while mean age at study entry was 12.18 years (SD ± 3.14). Survivors of childhood ALL underperformed on 6 out of 7 ANT tasks, indicating poorer sustained attention, working memory capacity, executive visuomotor control, and cognitive flexibility. Duration of treatment, age at diagnosis, gender, and cumulative doses of chemotherapy were not found to correlate with any of the neuropsychological outcome measures. Childhood ALL survivors in our center demonstrated significantly poorer neuropsychological status compared to healthy controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the effect of 16 weeks of different aerobic activity on physical fitness and executive functions in primary school students. 90 right-handed students from China (Boys = 46; Girls = 44) participated in our study and were randomly separated into four groups: 20 in the control group (Con), 23 in the physical activity group (PA), 25 in the intellectual activity group (IA), 22 in the physical activity and intellectual activity group (PA + IA). The students in PA, IA and PA + IA group received aerobic exercise program lasted 40 min daily, 4 days a week for 16 weeks, regular physical activity in the PA group, intellectual activity in the IA group, physical activity couple with intellectual activity in the PA + IA group, respectively. All the students participate the experiment for body composition, physical fitness (cardiopulmonary fitness, muscle strength, speed sensitivity, flexibility quality), executive functions and saliva analysis test before and after 16 weeks. There was no significant effect of 16 weeks different aerobic exercise interventions on body composition before and after exercise interventions among four groups in children (p > 0.05). The results were obtained by inter-group and intra-group comparisons that different exercise interventions (physical activity, intellectual activity, physical combine with intellectual activity), all can significantly improve physical fitness parameters (cardiopulmonary fitness, muscle strength, speed sensitivity and flexibility quality), and executive functions parameters (inhibitory control, working memory, reaction time cognitive flexibility), as well as the concentration of saliva GH and IGF-I (p < 0.05) in children. Our experiment further demonstrated that the improvement effect of the two exercises together is more significant than that of the single exercise ways. Both physical and intellectual activity can effectively improve physical fitness and executive function in children, and the improvement effect of the two exercises together is more significant than that of the single exercise ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have impaired hot and cold executive functions, which is thought to be related to impaired ventromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (vmPFC and dlPFC) functions. The present study aimed to assess the impact concurrent stimulation of dlPFC and vmPFC through transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS), a non-invasive brain stimulation tool which enhances cortical excitability via application of alternating sinusoidal currents with random frequencies and amplitudes over the respective target regions on hot and cold executive functions. Eighteen children with ADHD received real and sham tRNS over the left dlPFC and the right vmPFC in two sessions with one week interval. The participants performed Circle Tracing, Go/No-Go, Wisconsin Card Sorting, and Balloon Analogue Risk Tasks during stimulation in each session. The results showed improved ongoing inhibition, prepotent inhibition, working memory, and decision making, but not set-shifting performance, during real, as compared to sham stimulation. This indicates that simultaneous stimulation of the dlPFC and the vmPFC improves hot and cold executive functions in children with ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence is strong for adverse fetal effects of high level or chronic prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), but many pregnant women continue to drink at lower levels. The 'Asking Questions about Alcohol in pregnancy' prospective cohort aimed to determine the neurodevelopmental consequences at 6–8 years of age of low to moderate PAE. 1570 women from seven public antenatal clinics in Melbourne, Australia, provided information on frequency and quantity of alcohol use, and obstetric, lifestyle and socio-environmental confounders at four gestation timepoints. PAE was classified into five trajectories plus controls. At 6–8 years, 802 of 1342 eligible families took part and completed a questionnaire (60%) and 696 children completed neuropsychological assessments (52%). Multiple linear regressions examined mean outcome differences between groups using complete case and multiple imputation models. No meaningful relationships were found between any of the PAE trajectories and general cognition, academic skills, motor functioning, behaviour, social skills, social communication, and executive function. Maternal education most strongly influenced general cognition and academic skills. Parenting behaviours and financial situation were associated with academic skills, behaviour, social skills and/or executive function. The lack of association between PAE and neurodevelopment at 6–8 years may partly be explained by cumulative positive effects of socio-environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) is a brain region that influences vital neurobehavioral processes, including executive functioning and the generation of sleep rhythms. TRN dysfunction underlies hyperactivity, attention deficits, and sleep disturbances observed across various neurodevelopmental disorders. A specialized sarco-endoplasmic reticulum calcium (Ca2+) ATPase 2 (SERCA2)-dependent Ca2+ signaling network operates in the dendrites of TRN neurons to regulate their bursting activity. Phospholamban (PLN) is a prominent regulator of SERCA2 with an established role in myocardial Ca2+-cycling. Our findings suggest that the role of PLN extends beyond the cardiovascular system to impact brain function. Specifically, we found PLN to be expressed in TRN neurons of the adult mouse brain, and utilized global constitutive and innovative conditional genetic knockout mouse models in concert with electroencephalography (EEG)-based somnography and the 5-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) to investigate the role of PLN in sleep and executive functioning, two complex behaviors that map onto thalamic reticular circuits. The results of the present study indicate that perturbed PLN function in the TRN results in aberrant TRN-dependent phenotypes in mice (i.e., hyperactivity, impulsivity and sleep deficits) and support a novel role for PLN as a critical regulator of SERCA2 in the TRN neurocircuitry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inhibition is implicated across virtually all human experiences. As a trade-off of being very efficient, this executive function is also prone to many errors. Rodent and computational studies show that midbrain regions play crucial roles during errors by sending dopaminergic learning signals to the basal ganglia for behavioural adjustment. However, the parallels between animal and human neural anatomy and function are not determined. We scanned human adults while they performed an fMRI inhibitory task requiring trial-and-error learning. Guided by an actor-critic model, our results implicate the dorsal striatum and the ventral tegmental area as the actor and the critic, respectively. Using a multilevel and dimensional approach, we also demonstrate a link between midbrain and striatum circuit activity, inhibitory performance, and self-reported autistic and obsessive–compulsive subclinical traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) are significant health indicators closely related to executive functions and able to detect mild cognitive impairment. A decline in IADL usually precedes ADL limitation, including taking medications, and may therefore predict a cognitive decline. We aimed to investigate the association of patients' IADL score with other clinical factors, with a particular focus on the presence of a caregiver, and the impact on adherence to androgen receptor pathway inhibitors (ARPIs) and survival outcomes within the Meet-URO 5—ADHERE study. It was a large prospective multicentre observational cohort study monitoring adherence to ARPIs in 234 metastatic castrate-resistant PC (mCRPC) patients aged ≥ 70. We observed an association between impaired IADL and lower geriatric G8 scores (p < 0.01), and lower adherence to ARPIs whether assessed by pill counting (p = 0.01) or self-reported by the patient himself (p = 0.03). The combination of an IADL < 6 and the absence of a caregiver resulted in a significantly high risk of non-adherence to the ARPIs at the multivariable analysis (HR 9.23, 95% confidence interval 2.28–37.43, p = 0.01). IADL alongside the geriatric G8 scales represent essential tools to identify frail and less auto-sufficient patients who are extremely vulnerable particularly if not supported by a caregiver and have the highest risk of nonadherence to ARPIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bilingualism is linked to both enhanced and hampered performance in various cognitive measures, yet the extent to which these bilingual advantages and disadvantages co-occur is unclear. To address this gap, we perform a systematic review and two quantitative analyses. First, we analyze results from 39 studies, obtained through the PRISMA method. Less than 50% of the studies that show up as results for the term "bilingual disadvantage" report exclusively a disadvantage, that shows bilinguals performing worse than monolinguals in a task. A Bayesian analysis reveals robust evidence for bilingual effects, but no evidence for differences in the proportion of advantages and disadvantages, suggesting that when results from different cognitive domains such as executive functions and verbal fluency are analyzed together, bilingual effects amount to a zero-sum game. This finding was replicated by repeating the analysis, using the datasets of two recent meta-analyses. We propose that the equilibrium we observe between positive and negative outcomes may not be accidental. Contrary to widespread belief, advantageous and disadvantageous effects are not stand-alone outcomes in free variation. We reframe them as the connatural components of a dynamic trade-off, whereby enhanced performance in one cognitive measure is offset by an incurred cost in another domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response of older people to the COVID-19 pandemic has attracted much attention as they are at increased risk of adverse outcomes. A longitudinal study has shown that improvement in global cognitive, executive and language functioning in healthy older adults enrolled at the University of the Third Age appears to play a protective role against emotional dysregulation and mood changes during the pandemic. To date, no study has examined emotional dysregulation through COVID-19-related images using facial electromyographic recordings in healthy older adults. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the relationships between zygomaticus and corrugator reactivity, neuropsychological measures, and the affective dimensions of arousal, dominance, and valence. The results showed an unexpected association between higher zygomaticus activity and higher levels of apathy, depression, and anxiety. In contrast, increased contracture of the corrugator was associated with poorer performance on cognitive tests (global cognition, memory, executive functions) and physical status, i.e., walking speed. These results are consistent with the reappraisal of emotional stimuli in response to the challenges of the pandemic. Interestingly, COVID-19-related stimuli triggered the activation of bottom-up affectivity strategies associated with higher mood levels and interacted with top-down factors that play an important role in the dysregulation of cognitive control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive flexibility involves the capability to switch between different perspectives and implement novel strategies upon changed circumstances. The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (in humans) and the Attentional Set-Shifting Task (ASST, in rodents) evaluate individual capability to acquire a reward-associated rule and subsequently disregard it in favour of a new one. Both tasks entail consecutive stages wherein subjects discriminate between: two stimuli of a given category (simple discrimination, SD); the stimuli of SD confounded by an irrelevant stimulus of a different category (compound discrimination, CD); different stimuli belonging to the SD category (intradimensional shift, IDS); and two stimuli of the confounding category (extradimensional shift, EDS). The ASST is labour intensive, not sufficiently standardised, and prone to experimental error. Here, we tested the validity of a new, commercially available, automated version of ASST (OPERON) in two independent experiments conducted in: different mouse strains (C57BL/6 and CD1 mice) to confirm their differential cognitive capabilities (Experiment 1); and an experimental model of chronic stress (administration of corticosterone in the drinking water; Experiment 2). In both experiments, OPERON confirmed the findings obtained through the manual version. Just as in Experiment 1 both versions captured the deficit of C57BL/6 mice on the reversal of the CD (CDR), so also in Experiment 2 they provided analogous evidence that corticosterone treated mice have a remarkable impairment in the IDS. Thus, OPERON capitalises upon automated phenotyping to overcome the limitation of the manual version of the ASST while providing comparable results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bidirectional communication exists between the brain and the gut, in which the gut microbiota influences cognitive function and vice-versa. Gut dysbiosis has been linked to several diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). However, the relationship between gut dysbiosis and markers of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD), a major contributor to ADRD, is unknown. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the connection between the gut microbiome, cognitive, and neuroimaging markers of cSVD in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS). Markers of cSVD included white matter hyperintensities (WMH), peak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity (PSMD), and executive function (EF), estimated as the difference between the trail-making tests B and A. We included 972 FHS participants with MRI scans, neurocognitive measures, and stool samples and quantified the gut microbiota composition using 16S rRNA sequencing. We used multivariable association and differential abundance analyses adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and education level to estimate the association between gut microbiota and WMH, PSMD, and EF measures. Our results suggest an increased abundance of Pseudobutyrivibrio and Ruminococcus genera was associated with lower WMH and PSMD (p values < 0.001), as well as better executive function (p values < 0.01). In addition, in both differential and multivariable analyses, we found that the gram-negative bacterium Barnesiella intestinihominis was strongly associated with markers indicating a higher cSVD burden. Finally, functional analyses using PICRUSt implicated various KEGG pathways, including microbial quorum sensing, AMP/GMP-activated protein kinase, phenylpyruvate, and β-hydroxybutyrate production previously associated with cognitive performance and dementia. Our study provides important insights into the association between the gut microbiome and cSVD, but further studies are needed to replicate the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence is accumulating that the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) can bring forth deficits in executive functioning via alterations in the dopaminergic system. Importantly, dopaminergic pathways have been shown to modulate how actions and perceptions are integrated within the brain. Such alterations in event file binding could thus underlie the cognitive deficits developing after a COVID-19 infection. We examined action-perception integration in a group of young people (11–19 years of age) that had been infected with COVID-19 before study participation (n = 34) and compared them to a group of uninfected healthy controls (n = 29) on the behavioral (i.e., task accuracy, reaction time) and neurophysiological (EEG) level using an established event file binding paradigm. Groups did not differ from each other regarding demographic variables or in reporting psychiatric symptoms. Overall, multiple lines of evidence (behavioral and neurophysiological) suggest that action-perception integration is preserved in adolescents who suffered from COVID-19 prior to study participation. Event file binding processes were intact in both groups on all levels. While cognitive impairments can occur following a COVID-19 infection, the study demonstrates that action-perception integration as one of the basic building blocks of cognition seems to be largely unaffected in adolescents with a rather mild course of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) improves cognitive function by stimulating neurogenesis and neuroplasticity. We hypothesize that higher plasma BDNF levels are protective against cognitive toxicity among adolescent and young adult cancer patients (15–39 years old). In a prospective, longitudinal study, we recruited 74 newly diagnosed cancer and 118 age-matched non-cancer controls who completed the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function questionnaire (FACT-Cog) and blood draws. Plasma BDNF was quantified using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Genomic DNA from buffy coat was genotyped for BDNF Val66Met. Most cancer participants were diagnosed with breast (24%) and head/neck (22%) cancers. After adjusting for sociodemographic variables (age, gender, race, marital status, education years), cancer participants had lower BDNF levels (ng/mL) at baseline (median: 10.7 vs 21.6, p < 0.001) and 6-months post-baseline (median: 8.2 vs 15.3, p = 0.001) compared to non-cancer controls. Through linear mixed modelling adjusted for sociodemographic variables, baseline cognition, fatigue, psychological distress, and time, we observed that among cancer participants, lower baseline BDNF levels were associated with worse attention (p = 0.029), memory (p = 0.018) and self-perceived cognitive abilities (p = 0.020) during cancer treatment. Met/Met was associated with enhanced executive function compared to Val/Val (p = 0.012). Plasma BDNF may serve as a predictive biomarker of cancer-related cognitive impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with aphasia (PWA) often present deficits in non-linguistic cognitive functions, such as executive functions, working memory, and temporal information processing (TIP), which intensify the associated speech difficulties and hinder the rehabilitation process. Therefore, training targeting non-linguistic cognitive function deficiencies may be useful in the treatment of aphasia. The present study compared the effects of the novel Dr. Neuronowski® training method (experimental training), which particularly emphasizes TIP, with the linguistic training commonly applied in clinical practice (control training). Thirty four PWA underwent linguistic and non-linguistic assessments before and after the training as well as a follow-up assessment. Patients were randomly assigned to either experimental (n = 18) or control groups (n = 16). The experimental training improved both non-linguistic functions (TIP and verbal short-term and working memory) and linguistic functions: phoneme discrimination, sentence comprehension, grammar comprehension, verbal fluency, and naming. In contrast, the control training improved only grammar comprehension and naming. The follow-up assessment confirmed the stability of the effects of both trainings over time. Thus, in PWA, Dr. Neuronowski® training appears to have broader benefits for linguistic and non-linguistic functions than does linguistic training. This provides evidence that Dr. Neuronowski® may be considered a novel tool with potential clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The FTO gene rs9936909 polymorphism is one of the well-documented single nucleotide polymorphisms in the context of increased risk of obesity, including in children. Few studies have tested the association of the FTO gene with cognitive functions. Deficits of "cool" executive functions (EFs) are considered a potential risk factor for excessive weight. The aims of our study were to investigate whether cool EFs are associated with the Body Mass Index, the Fat Mass Index and the risk of excess body mass and overfatness in neurotypically school-aged children, and whether the FTO gene polymorphism is involved in development of this possible association. The sample consisted of 553 children aged 6–12 years old. A body composition analysis, a neuropsychological assessment of EFs, and FTO polymorphism genotyping were performed in the children studied. The study found a significant association of an interference effect in theStroop Color-Word Interference Task and the risk of excessive body fatness, but not excessive body mass. There were no explicit associations between the FTO genotype and EFs deficits. Environmental factors, and particularly low maternal education, appeared to be the strongest contributors to the increased risk of obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Signatures of immune dysregulation as clinical biomarker for psychosis have remained unclear. We aimed to compare the Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) of patients with acute non-affective first-episode psychosis (FEP) with healthy controls after accounting for emotional states. We also explored the associations of NLR with symptom severity, onset profile and cognitive functions. The NLR was enumerated from complete blood count taken within a week of assessment. All FEP patients were rated on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Clinician Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) with verbal memory and executive functions assessed with the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Prevailing emotional state was measured with Beck Depression Inventory-II and Beck Anxiety Inventory. Out of seventy-nine consecutive FEP patients presenting to the study site, twenty-seven subjects were eligible and recruited. Twenty-seven age-/sex-matched controls were recruited. FEP patients had an NLR of 1.886 over the controls after accounting for scores on emotional states. The NLR of FEP patients was positively associated with CGI-S scores, PANSS positive symptom, disorganization and excitation scores. There was no significant correlation between NLR with the duration of untreated psychosis and cognitive performances. These findings support using NLR as a clinical biomarker in FEP, purporting further prospective study to measure NLR changes in the course of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perinatal stroke causes most hemiparetic cerebral palsy and cognitive dysfunction may co-occur. Compensatory developmental changes in the intact contralesional hemisphere may mediate residual function and represent targets for neuromodulation. We used morphometry to explore cortical thickness, grey matter volume, gyrification, and sulcal depth of the contralesional hemisphere in children, adolescents, and young adults after perinatal stroke and explored associations with motor, attention, and executive function. Participants aged 6–20 years (N = 109, 63% male) with unilateral perinatal stroke underwent T1-weighted imaging. Participants had arterial ischemic stroke (AIS; n = 36), periventricular venous infarction (PVI; n = 37) or were controls (n = 36). Morphometry was performed using the Computational Anatomy Toolbox (CAT12). Group differences and associations with motor and executive function (in a smaller subsample) were assessed. Group comparisons revealed areas of lower cortical thickness in contralesional hemispheres in both AIS and PVI and greater gyrification in AIS compared to controls. Areas of greater grey matter volume and sulcal depth were also seen for AIS. The PVI group showed lower grey matter volume in cingulate cortex and less volume in precuneus relative to controls. No associations were found between morphometry metrics, motor, attention, and executive function. Cortical structure of the intact contralesional hemisphere is altered after perinatal stroke. Alterations in contralesional cortical morphometry shown in perinatal stroke may be associated with different mechanisms of damage or timing of early injury. Further investigations with larger samples are required to more thoroughly explore associations with motor and cognitive function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans naturally synchronize their behavior with other people. However, although it happens almost automatically, adjusting behavior and conformity to others is a complex phenomenon whose neural mechanisms are still yet to be understood entirely. The present experiment aimed to study the oscillatory synchronization mechanisms underlying automatic dyadic convergence in an EEG hyperscanning experiment. Thirty-six people performed a cooperative decision-making task where dyads had to guess the correct position of a point on a line. A reinforcement learning algorithm was used to model different aspects of the participants' behavior and their expectations of their peers. Intra- and inter-connectivity among electrode sites were assessed using inter-site phase clustering in three main frequency bands (theta, alpha, beta) using a two-level Bayesian mixed-effects modeling approach. The results showed two oscillatory synchronization dynamics related to attention and executive functions in alpha and reinforcement learning in theta. In addition, inter-brain synchrony was mainly driven by beta oscillations. This study contributes preliminary evidence on the phase-coherence mechanism underlying inter-personal behavioral adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurocognitive function, especially executive functioning, is positively associated with better fitness or higher levels of physical activity (PA). Previous research suggests that combined endurance and resistance (AER+R) training leads to greater improvements than training in either modality separately. Dynamic team sports with cognitive dimensions, such as basketball (BAS), may be an excellent context for improving cognition. This study compared the effects of following a four-month PA training program in BAS versus AER+R on executive functions along with a control group with low PA. Fifty participants completed the training period and were randomly distributed into three groups: BAS (16 participants), AER+R (18), and control (16). Participants in the BAS group showed improved inhibition and working memory and those in the AER+R group showed improved inhibition and cognitive flexibility, while inhibition deteriorated in the control group. There were significant differences between groups only in inhibition. It appears that following a four-month PA training program is enough to enhance executive functioning, and improvements in inhibition are more evident when the program includes an open sport such as BAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrusive thoughts of negative experiences can pose a threat to our well-being. To some extent, unwanted memories can be intentionally controlled via an executive control mechanism that downregulates the occurrence of intrusions. Mindfulness training can improve executive control. It is not known whether mindfulness training can be used as an intervention to improve intentional memory control and reduce intrusions. To this end, 148 healthy participants completed a 10-day app-based mindfulness training or an active control task. At baseline, inhibitory control and working memory were assessed as measures of executive functioning. Post-mindfulness training, intrusions were assessed via the Think/No-Think task. It was expected that mindfulness training would reduce intrusions. Furthermore, we hypothesised that this would be moderated by baseline executive functioning. Results revealed that, contrary to our hypothesis, both groups increased equally in dispositional mindfulness between baseline and post-test. As such, our exploratory analysis revealed that higher dispositional mindfulness across both groups resulted in fewer intrusions and enhanced the ability to downregulate intrusions over time. Furthermore, this effect was moderated by inhibitory control at baseline. These results provide insight into factors that can improve the ability to control unwanted memories, which could have considerable implications for treatments in psychopathologies characterized by the frequent occurrence of intrusive thoughts. Protocol registration: The stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on 11th March, 2022. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/U8SJN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional impairments in cognition are frequently thought to be a feature of individuals with depression or anxiety. However, documented impairments are both broad and inconsistent, with little known about when they emerge, whether they are causes or effects of affective symptoms, or whether specific cognitive systems are implicated. Here, we show, in the adolescent ABCD cohort (N = 11,876), that attention dysregulation is a robust factor underlying wide-ranging cognitive task impairments seen in adolescents with moderate to severe anxiety or low mood. We stratified individuals high in DSM-oriented depression or anxiety symptomology, and low in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as vice versa – demonstrating that those high in depression or anxiety dimensions but low in ADHD symptoms not only exhibited normal task performance across several commonly studied cognitive paradigms, but out-performed controls in several domains, as well as in those low in both dimensions. Similarly, we showed that there were no associations between psychopathological dimensions and performance on an extensive cognitive battery after controlling for attention dysregulation. Further, corroborating previous research, the co-occurrence of attention dysregulation was associated with a wide range of other adverse outcomes, psychopathological features, and executive functioning (EF) impairments. To assess how attention dysregulation relates to and generates diverse psychopathology, we performed confirmatory and exploratory network analysis with different analytic approaches using Gaussian Graphical Models and Directed Acyclic Graphs to examine interactions between ADHD, anxiety, low mood, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), social relationships, and cognition. Confirmatory centrality analysis indicated that features of attention dysregulation were indeed central and robustly connected to a wide range of psychopathological traits across different categories, scales, and time points. Exploratory network analysis indicated potentially important bridging traits and socioenvironmental influences in the relationships between ADHD symptoms and mood/anxiety disorders. Trait perfectionism was uniquely associated with both better cognitive performance and broad psychopathological dimensions. This work suggests that attentional dysregulation may moderate the breadth of EF, fluid, and crystalized cognitive task outcomes seen in adolescents with anxiety and low mood, and may be central to disparate pathological features, and thus a target for attenuating wide-ranging negative developmental outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EXecutive-functions Innovative Tool 360° (EXIT 360°) is an original 360° instrument for an ecologically valid and multicomponent evaluation of executive functioning. This work aimed to test the diagnostic efficacy of EXIT 360° in distinguishing executive functioning between healthy controls (HC) and patients with Parkinson's Disease (PwPD), a neurodegenerative disease in which executive dysfunction is the best-defined cognitive impairment in the early stage. 36 PwPD and 44 HC underwent a one-session evaluation that involved (1) neuropsychological evaluation of executive functionality using traditional paper-and-pencil tests, (2) EXIT 360° session and (3) usability assessment. Our findings revealed that PwPD made significantly more errors in completing EXIT 360° and took longer to conclude the test. A significant correlation appeared between neuropsychological tests and EXIT 360° scores, supporting a good convergent validity. Classification analysis indicated the potential of the EXIT 360° for distinguishing between PwPD and HC in terms of executive functioning. Moreover, indices from EXIT 360° showed higher diagnostic accuracy in predicting PD group membership compared to traditional neuropsychological tests. Interestingly, EXIT 360° performance was not affected by technological usability issues. Overall, this study offers evidence that EXIT 360° can be considered an ecological tool highly sensitive to detect subtle executive deficits in PwPD since the initial phases of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroplasticity research supports the idea that varied practice and new environments promote cognitive engagement and enhance learning. Expanding on a meta-analysis of the effect of physical activity interventions on cognition and academic outcomes, we reviewed and quantified the impact of task and environmental factors that foster creative physical activity. Interventions were considered as fostering creative physical activity to a greater extent if (1) they were varied, (2) relied less on technical acquisition, instruction or demonstration, (3) involved open spaces, props, or open-ended instructions, and (4) involved interactions with peers. A wide range of physical activities were considered, from dance to aerobic exercise across 92 studies in 5–12-year-old children. Creativity ratings of physical activity interventions were varied but did not associate with greater beneficial effects on executive functions (k = 45), academic achievement (k = 47), or fluid intelligence (k = 8). Studies assessing on-task behaviour (k = 5) tended not to foster creativity, while reversely studies assessing creativity tended to foster creative physical activities (k = 5). As a group, three studies that fostered more creative PA showed a small significant negative summary effect on cognitive flexibility. Considering qualitative differences in the physical activities performed in schools will improve our understanding of their mechanisms of impact. Future research should consider using more varied measures, including more proximal outcomes that involve body movements (e.g., a Simon Says task to measure inhibitory control). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]