Executive functions (EFs)--the higher level cognitive abilities that enable us to control our own thoughts and actions--continue to develop into early adulthood, yet no longitudinal study has examined their stability during the important life transition from late adolescence to young adulthood. In this twin study (total N = 840 individuals from…

Background: Research on the relationships between parental factors and children's executive function (EF) has been conducted mainly in Western cultures. Aim: This study provides the first empirical test, in a non-Western context, of how maternal EF and parenting behaviours relate to child EF. Sample South Korean mothers and their preschool…

Theory of mind (ToM) refers to the ability to make inferences about mental states. Thus far, little research has examined ToM development in middle childhood. Importantly, recent studies have distinguished between making inferences about beliefs (cognitive ToM) and emotions (affective ToM). ToM has also been associated with executive functioning,…

This article takes its point of departure in the research methodology of a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary innovative intervention study in Swedish preschools with preschoolers aged 3-5, involving two digital learning games focusing early math and executive functions. Based on a combination of video-ethnography, focus groups, field notes and…

This paper explores what we can learn from research that early cognitive processes support the development of children's mathematics skills. The role of two cognitive processes in working memory in the development of early mathematics was investigated: executive functions (EF) and visual-spatial (VS) ability. Children's mathematical skills were…

When bilinguals speak, both fluent language systems become activated in parallel and exert an influence on speech production. As a consequence of maintaining separation between the two linguistic systems, bilinguals are purported to develop enhanced executive control functioning. Like bilinguals, individuals who speak two dialects must also…

Background: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been characterized as having deficits in social communication and empathy which present difficulties in the areas of social reciprocity, sharing of emotions and developing and maintaining relationships. This study explores the associations between vocabulary, executive function…

Parents and professionals are concerned that second language exposure may delay communication in children with ASD. In this study 174 youth (6-16 years) with and without ASD, exposed to a second language, were compared on executive function (EF) and functional communication (FC) with their peers without exposure. There were no significant…

The goal of this study was to evaluate the extent to which training that emphasizes the process of executive function (EF) and self-regulated learning (SRL) would result in increased reading comprehension; we also evaluated interrelationships of EF, SRL, and reading. We report an experiment (N = 75 fourth graders) that contrasted two…

The concept of modularity is used to contrast the approach to working memory proposed by Truscott with the Baddeley and Hitch multicomponent model. This proposes four sub components comprising the "central executive," an executive control system of limited attentional capacity that utilises storage based on separate but interlinked…

Background: Social communication problems are common in adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI), particularly problems in spoken discourse. Social communication problems are thought to reflect underlying cognitive impairments. Aims: To measure the contribution of two cognitive processes, executive functioning (EF) and theory of mind (ToM), to the…

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 (n = 11,000), this study examined the developmental outcomes of 5-year-old children in multigrade classrooms (combined prekindergarten and kindergarten classrooms serving 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds) compared with those of 5-year-olds attending kindergarten-only…

The present investigation explored long-term relationships of behavioral symptoms of adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities with the mental health of their mothers. Fragile X premutation carrier mothers of an adolescent or adult child with fragile X syndrome (n = 95), and mothers of a grown child with autism (n = 213) were…

Purpose: To examine the relation between speech recognition and cognitive skills in bimodal cochlear implant (CI) and hearing aid users. Method: Seventeen bimodal CI users (28-74 years) were recruited to the study. Speech recognition tests were carried out in quiet and in noise. The cognitive tests employed included the Reading Span Test and the…

The present behavioral study aimed to examine the impact of language control expertise on two domain-general control processes, i.e. active inhibition of competing representations and overcoming of inhibition. We compared how Simultaneous Interpreters (SI) and Highly Proficient Bilinguals--two groups assumed to differ in language control…