PSYC23H3 Study Guide - Final Guide: Autism Spectrum, Prefrontal Cortex, Developmental Psychology
Document Summary
Executive functions (efs; e. g. working memory, inhibitory control) are mediated by the prefrontal cortex and associated with optimal cognitive and socio-emotional development. By 36 months of age, maternal ef and negative caregiving behaviors accounted for unique variance in child ef. Maternal ef had significant indirect effects on changes in child ef through maternal caregiving. At 24 months, ef was associated with maternal ef, but not negative caregiving behaviors. Taken together, these findings suggest that links between negative caregiving and child ef are increasingly manifested during early childhood. Links between negative caregiving and child ef are increasingly manifested during early childhood. Efs are higher-order cognitive and self-regulatory processes (e. g. working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility) that underlie goal-directed behaviors: the prefrontal cortex is intricately linked to ef. Ef deficits, on the other hand, have been associated with difficulties in emotion regulation and early-onset disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and phenylketonuria.
