Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T07:18:42.610Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Age Differences in Executive Functions within a Sample of Brazilian Children and Adolescents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 June 2013

Natália Martins Dias ,
Amanda Menezes  and
Alessandra Gotuzo Seabra
Natália Martins Dias*
Affiliation:
Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie (Brazil)
Amanda Menezes
Affiliation:
Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie (Brazil)
Alessandra Gotuzo Seabra
Affiliation:
Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie (Brazil)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Natália Martins Dias. Caixa Postal 45. Moenda, Itatiba, CEP 13.252–755. São Paulo (Brazil). E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Executive abilities have been suggested to show differential age-related changes. This study aimed to extend this evidence to a Brazilian sample, which was composed of 572 children and adolescents aged 6 to 14 years, assessed in tests of visual and auditory working memory, selective attention, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, attentional abilities, verbal fluency and planning. ANOVAs revealed significant age effect on performance in all tests, with a trend toward better performance with the progression of age, even in differential ways. Overall, the performance on simpler tests, such as the basic attention, increased with age progression until around 11 or 12 years, when performance becomes more stable. However, in more complex tasks, including working memory tasks, the performance showed a more continuous improvement. There was gender effect in two measures: visual working memory, in which boys outperformed girls, and verbal fluency, in which the girls outperformed boys. In general, the results of this Brazilian sample were similar to those reported by studies conducted in other countries, what suggests that Brazilian socio-cultural specificities, at least of the participants of this sample, were not sufficient to reveal a distinct pattern of progression.

Keywords

executive functionchildhood developmentBrazil
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 16 , 2013 , E9
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

This article is based on the Master’s thesis of the first author (FAPESP Scholarship) under the supervision of the third author.
This work was financed in part by the Mackenzie Research Fund _ MackPesquisa

References

Anderson, V. A., Anderson, P., Northam, E., Jacobs, R., & Catroppa, C. (2001). Development of executive functions through late childhood and adolescence in an Australian sample. Developmental Neuropsychology, 20, 385–406. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207%2FS15326942DN2001_5 Google Scholar
Assef, E. C. S., Capovilla, A. G. S., & Capovilla, F. C. (2007). Computerized Stroop Test to assess selective attention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 10, 33–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bell, M. A., Wolfe, C. D., & Adkins, D. R. (2007). Frontal lobe development during infancy and childhood. In Coch, D., Dawson, G., & Fischer, K.W. (Eds.), Human behavior, learning, and the developing brain: Typical development (pp. 247–276). New York, NY: Guilford.Google Scholar
Benton, A. L., & Hamsher, K. D. (1989). Multilingual aphasia examination. Iowa City, Iowa: AJA Associates.Google Scholar
Best, J. R., & Miller, P. H. (2010). A developmental perspective on executive function. Child Development, 81, 1641–1660. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1467-8624.2010.01499.x CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Best, J. R., Miller, P., & Naglieri, J. A. (2011). Relations between executive function and academic achievement from ages 5 to 17 in a large, representative national sample. Learning and Individual Differences, 21, 327–336. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.lindif.2011.01.007 Google Scholar
Bibok, M. B., Carpendale, J. I. M., & Müller, U. (2009). Parental scaffolding and the development of executive function. In Lewis, C. & Carpendale, J. I. M. (Eds.), Social interaction and the development of executive function. New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development, 123, 17–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cd.233 Google Scholar
Brocki, K. C., & Bohlin, G. (2004). Executive functions in children aged 6 to 13: A dimensional and developmental study. Developmental Neuropsychology, 26, 571–593. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207%2Fs15326942dn2602_3 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Capovilla, A. G. S., Berberian, A. A., Rezende, M. C. A., & Trevisan, B. T. (2008). Avaliação da memória de trabalho em estudantes brasileiros de 1a a 4a série [Working memory assessment in Brazilian students from 1st to 4th grade of elementary school]. Psicologia, Educação e Cultura, 12, 127–142.Google Scholar
Capovilla, A. G. S., & Dias, N. M. (2008). Desenvolvimento de habilidades atencionais em estudantes da 1ª à 4ª série do ensino fundamental e relação com rendimento escolar [Attentional skills development in 1st to 4th levels students of elementary school and relation with scholar achievement]. Psicopedagogia, 25, 198–211.Google Scholar
Capovilla, A. G. S., Dias, N. M., Trevisan, B. T., Montiel, J. M., & Andrade, A. M. (2008). Validity of neuropsychological instruments for attention assessment in Brazilian children. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 14(2), 7–8.Google Scholar
Carlson, S. M. (2009). Social origins of executive function development. In Lewis, C. & Carpendale, J. I. M. (Eds.), Social interaction and the development of executive function. New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development, 123, 87–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cd.237 Google Scholar
Culbertson, W. C., & Zillmer, E. A. (1998). The tower of LondonDX: A standardized approach to assessing executive functioning in children. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 13, 285–301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2FS0887-6177%2897%2900033-4 Google Scholar
Davidson, M. C., Amso, D., Anderson, L. C., & Diamond, A. (2006). Development of cognitive control and executive functions from 4 to 13 years: Evidence from manipulations of memory, inhibition, and task switching. Neuropsychologia, 44, 2037–2078. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.neuropsychologia.2006.02.006 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dias, N. M., Menezes, A., & Seabra, A. G. (2010). Alterações das funções executivas em crianças e adolescentes [Executive functions damage in children and adolescents]. Estudos Interdisciplinares em Psicologia, 1, 80–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dias, N. M., & Seabra, A. G. (2012). Executive demands of the tower of London task in Brazilian teenagers. Psychology & Neuroscience, 5, 63–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.3922%2Fj.psns.2012.1.09 Google Scholar
Dias, N. M., Trevisan, B. T., Menezes, A., Godoy, S., & Seabra, A. G. (2011). Dificuldades de aprendizagem e funções executivas [Learning difficulties and executive functions]. In Capovilla, F. C.. (Ed.), Transtornos de Aprendizagem [Learning Disorders] (pp. 356–364). Sao Paulo, Brazil: Memnon.Google Scholar
Durston, S., & Casey, B. J. (2006). What have we learned about cognitive development from neuroimaging? Neuropsychologia, 44, 2149–2157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.neuropsychologia.2005.10.010 Google Scholar
Elliott, R. (2003). Executive functions and their disorders. British Medical Bulletin, 65, 49–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093%2Fbmb%2F65.1.49 Google Scholar
Estévez-González, A., García-Sánchez, C., & Barraquer-Bordas, L. (2000). Los lóbulos frontales: El cerebro ejecutivo [The frontal lobes: The executive brain]. Revista de Neurologia, 31, 566–577.Google Scholar
Fournier-Vicente, S., Larigauderie, P., & Gaonac’h, D. (2008). More dissociations and interactions within central executive functioning: A comprehensive latent-variable analysis. Acta Psychologica, 129, 32–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.actpsy.2008.04.004 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gonsalez, S. M. (2008). Tower of Hanoi - A Contribution for normatization of the task in children from 9 to 13 years old. Journal of the International Neuropsychology Society, 14 (2), 11–11.Google Scholar
Hanauer, J., & Brooks, P. (2003). Developmental chance in the cross-modal Stroop effect. Perception and Psychophysics, 65, 359–366. http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/BF03194567 Google Scholar
Huizinga, M., Dolan, C. V., & van der Molen, M. W. (2006). Age-related change in executive function: Developmental trends and a latent variable analysis. Neuropsychologia, 44, 2017–2036. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.neuropsychologia.2006.01.010 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Injoque-Ricle, I., & Burin, D. I. (2008). Visuo-spatial working memory assessment in 6 and 8 years old children. Journal of the International Neuropsychology Society, 14(2), 34–35.Google Scholar
Klenberg, L., Korkman, M., & Lahti-Nuuttila, P. (2001). Differential development of attention and executive functions in 3 to 12-year-old Finnish children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 20, 407–428. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207%2FS15326942DN2001_6 Google Scholar
Kochanska, G., Murray, K. T., & Harlan, E. T. (2000). Effortful control in early childhood: Continuity and change, antecedents, and implications for social development. Developmental Psychology, 36, 220–232. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037%2F%2F0012-1649.36.2.220 Google Scholar
Korkman, M., Kemp, S. L., & Kirk, U. (2001). Effects of age on neurocognitive measures of children ages 5 to 12: A cross-sectional study of 800 children from the United States. Developmental Neuropsychology, 20, 331–354. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207%2FS15326942DN2001_2 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krikorian, R., Bartok, J., & Gay, N. (1994). Tower of London procedure: A standard method and developmental data. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 16, 840–850. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080%2F01688639408402697 Google Scholar
Lahat, A., Todd, R. M., Mahy, C. E. V., Lau, K., & Zelazo, P. D. (2010). Neurophysiological correlates of executive function: A comparison of European-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian 5-year-old children. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 3, 1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389%2Fneuro.09.072.2009 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lamm, C., Zelazo, P. D., & Lewis, M. D. (2006). Neural correlates of cognitive control in childhood and adolescence: Disentangling the contributions of age and executive function. Neuropsychologia, 44, 2139–2148. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.neuropsychologia.2005.10.013 Google Scholar
Lan, X., Legare, C., Ponitz, C., Li, S., & Morrison, F. (2011). Investigating the links between the subcomponents of executive function and academic achievement: A cross-cultural analysis of Chinese and American preschoolers. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 108, 677–692. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jecp.2010.11.001 Google Scholar
Lezak, M. D., Howieson, D. B., & Loring, D. W. (2004). Neuropsychological assessment. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lippa, R. A., Collaer, M. L., & Peters, M. (2010). Sex differences in mental rotation and line angle judgments are positively associated with gender equality and economic development across 53 nations. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 990–997. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10508-008-9460-8 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Malloy-Diniz, L. F., Sedo, M., Fuentes, D., & Leite, W. B. (2008). Neuropsicologia das funções executivas [Neuropsychology of executive functions]. In Fuentes, D., Malloy-Diniz, L. F., Camargo, C. H. P., & Cosenza, R. M. (Eds.), Neuropsicologia: Teoria e prática [Neuropsychology: Theory and practice] (pp. 187–206). Porto Alegre, Brazil: Artmed.Google Scholar
Matute, E., Rosselli, M., Ardila, A., & Morales, G. (2004). Verbal and nonverbal fluency in Spanish-speaking children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 26, 647–660. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207%2Fs15326942dn2602_7 Google Scholar
Matute, E., Chamorro, Y., Inozemtseva, O., Barrios, O., Rosselli, M., & Ardila, A. (2008). Efecto de la edad en una tarea de planificación y organización (‘Pirámide de México’) en escolares [The effect of age in a planning and arranging task (‘Mexican pyramid’) among schoolchildren]. Revista de Neurologia, 47, 61–70.Google Scholar
Miyake, A., Friedman, N., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., & Wager, T. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “frontal lobe” tasks: A latent variable analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41, 49–100. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006%2Fcogp.1999.0734 Google Scholar
Montiel, J. M., & Seabra, A. G. (2012a). Teste de Atenção por Cancelamento [Cancellation Attention Test]. In Seabra, A. G. & Dias, N. M. (Eds.), Avaliação neuropsicológica cognitiva: Atenção e funções executivas. [Cognitive neuropsychological assessment: Attention and executive functions]. (Vol. 1. pp. 47–56). Sao Paulo, Brazil: Memnon Google Scholar
Montiel, J., & Seabra, A. G. (2012b). Teste de Trilhas [Trail Making Test]. In Seabra, A. G. & Dias, N. M. (Eds.), Avaliação neuropsicológica cognitiva: Atenção e funções executivas. [Cognitive neuropsychological assessment: Attention and executive functions]. (Vol. 1. pp. 69–75). Sao Paulo, Brazil: Memnon.Google Scholar
Noble, K. G., Norman, M. F., & Farah, M. J. (2005). Neurocognitive correlates of socioeconomic status in kindergarten children. Developmental Science, 8, 74–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1467-7687.2005.00394.x Google Scholar
Oh, S., & Lewis, C. (2008). Korean preschoolers’ advanced inhibitory control and its relation to other executive skills and mental state understanding. Child Development, 79, 80–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1467-8624.2007.01112.x CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Papazian, O., Alfonso, I., & Luzondo, R. J. (2006). Transtornos de las funciones ejecutivas [Executive functions disorders]. Revista de Neurologia, 42(3), S45–S50.Google Scholar
Primi, R. (2002). Bateria informatizada de capacidades cognitivas [Computadorized battery of cognitive skills] . Software. Itatiba, Brazil: São Francisco University.Google Scholar
Regard, M. (1981). Cognitive rigidity and flexibility: A neuropsychological study. In Spreen, O. & Strauss, E. (Eds.), A compendium of neuropsychological tests. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Seabra, A. G. (in press). Teste de Fluência Verbal FAS [FAS Verbal Fluency Test] . Software. Sao Paulo, Brazil: Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie.Google Scholar
Seabra, A. G., Cozza, H., Capovilla, F. C., Macedo, E. C., & Dias, N. M. (2009). Avaliação de controle inibitório em crianças: Teste de Geração Semântica [Assessment of inhibitory control in children: The Semantic Generation Test]. In Seabra, A. G. & Capovilla, F. C. (Eds.), Teoria e pesquisa em avaliação neuropsicológica [Theory and practice in neuropsychological assessment] (2 nd Ed.), Sao Paulo, Brazil: Memnon.Google Scholar
Seabra, A. G., Dias, N. M., & Trevisan, B. T. (2010). Avaliação neuropsicológica das funções executivas na infância e na adolescência [Neuropsychological assessment of executive functions in childhood and adolescence]. In Hutz, C. (Ed.), Avaliação psicológica na infância e na adolescência [Psychological assessment in the childhood and adolescence] . Sao Paulo, Brazil: Casa do Psicólogo.Google Scholar
Seabra, A. G., Dias, N. M., & Macedo, E. C. (in press). Teste de Stroop Computadorizado [The Computadorized Stroop Test] . Sao Paulo, Brazil. Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie.Google Scholar
Sheep, B., Barret, S., & Kolbet, L. (1987). The development of selective attention: Holostic perception versus resource allocation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 43, 159–180. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2F0022-0965%2887%2990057-9 Google Scholar
Thompson-Schill, S. L., Swich, D., Farah, M. J., D’Exposito, M., Kan, I. P., & Knight, R. T. (1998). Verb generation in patients with focal frontal lesions: A neuropsychological test of neuroimaging findings. Proceedings of National Academic Sciences, 95, 15855–15860. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073%2Fpnas.95.26.15855 Google Scholar
Trevisan, B., Hipólito, R., Godoy, S., Picchi, G., Paula, B., Dias, N. M., ... & Seabra, A. G. (2010, July). Avaliação neuropsicológica da atenção em crianças pré-escolares brasileiras [Neuropsychological assessment of attention in Brazilian preschool children] . Poster session presented at the VII Iberoamerican Congress of Psychology, Asturias, Spain.Google Scholar