This study investigated the associations between infant frontal EEG power (5 month), infant visual attention (10 month), and toddler executive functioning (EF; 24 month), extending previous research predominantly conducted with school-aged children. Data were collected from 410 typically developing children (51% female; 78% White, non-Hispanic)…

Caregiver executive functions (EFs) play an integral role in shaping cognitive development. Here, we investigated how caregiver EF abilities (86 caregivers; "mean age" = 33.4 years, SD = 4.5) was associated with visual working memory (VWM) in infants (86 infants females; mean age = 250.6 days, SD = 35.8). The BRIEF-A was used to assess…

Bilingualism is a powerful experiential factor, and its effects have been proposed to extend beyond the linguistic domain by boosting the development of executive functioning skills. Crucially, recent findings suggest that this effect can be detected in bilingual infants before their first birthday indicating that it emerges as a result of early…

Puerperium may lead to memory and executive/attentional complaints that interfere with women's daily life. This might be prevented by dietary compounds, such as neuroprotective polyphenols. Their bioactivity depends on their effects on lipid metabolism in different tissues, such as the brain, fat, and breast. Thus, a polyphenol-related cognitive…

This study aimed to explore whether early developmental abilities are related to future executive function (EF) in children with motor delays. Fourteen children with motor delays (Mean age = 10.76, SD = 2.55) were included from a larger study. Object interaction and developmental outcomes (Bayley-III) were evaluated at baseline and 3, 6, and 12…

This study of 195 (108 boys) children seen twice during infancy (Time 1: 4.12 months; Time 2: 14.42 months) aimed to investigate the associations between and infant predictors of executive function (EF) at 14 months. Infants showed high levels of compliance with the EF tasks at 14 months. There was little evidence of cohesion among EF tasks but…

Infants born low birth weight (LBW) and preterm were evaluated in a high-risk follow-up clinic and compared with infants born full term. A multivariate linear model was used to examine the overall differences on Bayley Scales of Infant Toddler Development (BSID-III) among three groups: full term, heavy LBW (<2,500 g [greater than or equal to]…

Executive functions (EFs) are key abilities that allow us to control our thoughts and actions. Research suggests that two EFs, inhibitory control (IC) and working memory (WM), emerge around 9 months. Little is known about IC earlier in infancy and whether basic attentional processes form the "building blocks" of emerging IC. These…

This study provides the first analyses connecting individual differences in infant attention to reading achievement through the development of executive functioning (EF) in infancy and early childhood. Five-month-old infants observed a video, and peak look duration and shift rate were video coded and assessed. At 10 months, as well as 3, 4, and…

Using data from a large longitudinal sample (N = 1,292) of children and their caregivers in predominantly low-income, nonurban communities, we investigated longitudinal relations between attuned caregiving in infancy, joint attention in toddlerhood, and executive functions in early childhood. The results from path analysis demonstrated that…

This study examined the independent and mediated associations between maternal depression symptoms (MDS), mother-child interaction, and child executive function (EF) in a prospective longitudinal sample of 1,037 children (50% boys) from predominantly low-income and rural communities. When children were 6, 15 and 24 months of age, mothers reported…

Individual differences in infant attention are theorized to reflect the speed of information processing and are related to later cognitive abilities (i.e., memory, language, and intelligence). This study provides the first systematic longitudinal analysis of infant attention and early childhood executive function (EF; e.g., working memory,…

The current longitudinal study examined the role of cumulative social risk on children's theory of mind (ToM) and executive functioning (EF) across early development. Further, we also tested a cascade model of development in which children's social cognition at 18 months was hypothesized to predict ToM and EF at age 4.5 through intermediary…

A primary aim of the neuropsychological revolution has been the mapping of what has come to be known as executive function (EF). This term encompasses a range of mental processes such as working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility that, together, regulate our social behavior, and our emotional and cognitive well-being. In this…

Executive functions enable children to pay attention, follow instructions, apply what they have learned, have those "aha!" moments in which they grasp how multiple facts interrelate, think of creative solutions, obey social norms such as waiting their turn and not butting in line or jumping out of their seat, mentally construct a plan,…