Theme 4A Flashcards
EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS (6)
- Resist impulses
- Efficient planning
- Flexible switching
- Actively use memory
- Monitor own behavior
- Emotion regulation
Maturation of Prefrontal Cortex
SLOW:
Related to differential structural and functional maturation of the prefrontal cortex and frontal-striatal
circuits
“Cool Executive Funtions”
- Decontextualized, abstract, cognitive tasks
- Abstract reasoning Problem solving
- Inhibition, flexibility, working memory Wisconsin Card •Sorting Task
- Tower of Hanoi / Tower of London
“Hot Executive Functions”
- Motivationally, emotionally high-stakes situations
- Gambling tasks
- Risk taking
- Delay discounting
Underlying Brain Systems of Cool and Hot Executive Functions
Cool EF
• Flexibility = Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex
• Working Memory = Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex
Hot EF
• e.g. Delay Encounting = Orbifrontal Prefrontal Cortex
Problems with executive functions
Become apparent during childhood, especially during adolescence
> Increase of skills and responsibilities
> Physical, social-emotional and cognitive changes
> Call upon still developing executive functions
Cognitive control vs Emotional system
• Brain areas?
• Function?
Cognitive control:
• prefrontal cortex, involved in inhibition, emotion regulation
Social emotional system:
• limbic / subcortical areas, role in emotions, motivation and sensitivity for reward
Dual system model of enhanced affective and incentive-based behavior in adolescence
Early maturation of subcortical regions combined with late maturation of prefrontal cortical regions predicts a nonlinear enhancement in affectively-driven behavior during adolescence.
Director Control Task
Like the theory of mind, what does the director see?
Mentalizing continues to develop during adolescence
> Basic vs Social Emotions
Basic emotions (e.g. disgust, fear) vs social emotions (e.g. guilt, embarrassment).
Basic emotions:
• ‘An angry dog was barking and running towards you’ (fear)
• ‘Your dad told you the fridge was infested with maggots’ (disgust)
Social emotions
• ‘You laughed when your friend told you she was feeling upset’ (shame) ‘You tripped over in front of a boy you liked’ (embarrassment)
Mentalizing continues to develop during adolescence
> activation cortex?
- Adolescents (10-18 years) showed more activation in the medial prefrontal cortex, and less activation in the temporal cortex than adults (22-32 years)
- More effort during adolescence. Adults use semantic knowledge
Social rejection during adolescence
• Mood declines following exclusion, in YA group anxiety
increases
• Drop is greatest during adolescence
• Higher levels of positive affect following acceptance by high interest
peer.
• Acceptance by high interest peer activates reward related areas in the brain.
Self-Regulation: long-term vs short-term in young and old students
> Older = Higher frequency delayed reward -> better regulation of behaviour
> Difference between educational tracks
> As they get older students in the lower track start to resemble those in higher track
Peer influence on risk-task
More risk when with peers and more stupid choices
- Adolescents: increase in activation in reward-related areas in prescence of peers
- Activation predicted behaviour
- Taking risks in social situations is rewarding
Social exclusion affects IQ
- Significant performance decrements associated with feeling of social exclusion.
- Not seen in misfortune condition, and not mediated by mood.
