9. Executive Function/Cognitive Control Flashcards
(26 cards)
What are the 3 core executive functions and applications in behaviour and cognitions?
- working memory
- inhibitory control
- cognitive flexibility
What is cognition?
- basis for ‘intelligent behaviour’
- overrides reflexive, habitual responses in favour of complex, long-term goals
- controls/orchestrates sensory, memory and motor systems
- key neural structure in mammals: prefrontal cortex
What components make up working memory?
central executive
VSS EB PL
LTM
What is inhibitory control?
- crucial executive function
- stops impulsive, habitual thoughts/actions
What area of the brain is involved in inhibition?
frontal lobe
- other areas such as basil ganglia
What is cognitive flexibility?
- changer perspectives: visually, spatially and interpersonally
- relies on inhibition of old information
- change priorities
- flexibly adapt to new opportunities
What is the Wisconsin card sorting task?
- draw a card and assign it into a category to match on colour, number or symbol
- you receive feedback on whether the assignment was right or wrong
- if correct, carry assorting in the same way
- if wrong, match another category
- the correct category will change at some point (without announcement) so the P
What impairments does the Wisconsin card sorting task assess for?
- frontal lobe
- schizophrenia
- stroke
- OCD
Why are EFs important in terms of mental health?
EFs are impaired in many mental disorders, including:
- addictions
- ADHD
- conduct disorder
- depression
- OCD
- Sz
Why are EFs important in terms of physical health?
- poorer EFs are associated with obesity, overeating, substance abuse etc
Why are EFs important in terms of quality of life?
- people with EFs enjoy a better quality of life
Why are EFs important in terms of school readiness?
- EFs are more important for school readiness than IQ or entry level reading/maths
Why are EFs important in terms of school success?
- EFs predict both maths and reading competence throughout the school years
Why are EFs important in terms of job success?
- poor EFs lead to poor productivity and difficulty finding/keeping a job
Why are EFs important in terms of marital harmony?
- a partner with poor EFs can be more difficult to get along with, less dependable and/or more likely to act on impulse
Why are EFs important in terms of public safety?
- poor EFs lead to social problems
- crime, reckless behaviour, violence and emotional outbursts
How is a go / no go task used to assess inhibitory control?
- go trials require an automatic response (habitual reaction)
- no go trials: test the PPs ability to inhibit the automatic response when another stimulus appears
What is cognitive inhibition?
- ability to inhibit unwanted/unproductive thoughts
- can pertain to upsetting thoughts
What does successful inhibition involve?
- supressing the prepotent response allowing the correct response to reach the threshold
What is self control?
How does it relate to cognitive control?
‘ability to control oneself’
- impaired self-control common in many clinical disorders such as OCD, drug addiction and gambling
What is attention?
How does it relate to cognitive control?
- similar to aspects of control: selecting, prioritising etc
- often sensory
- other strategic forms of attention may involve different mechanisms than ‘sensory’ attention
What is the relationship between working memory and inhibitory control?
- inhibitory control helps maintain working memory by filtering out distractions
What is the relationship between working memory and cognitive flexibility?
- flexibility allows working memory to adapt to new strategies or shifting goals
What is the relationship between inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility?
- one must inhibit current perspectives/responses to adopt a new one
