Development patterns of executive functions in children

CANET JURIC, L.; RICHARD´S M.; INTROZZI, I.; ANDRES, M.L.; URQUIJO, S.

Spanish Journal of Psychology

Cambridge University Press

Lugar: Madrid; Año: 2013 vol. 16 p. 1 - 13

1138-7416

The Executive Functions (EF) realize the behavior and thought control across a set of functionally independent processes like cognitive flexibility (reactive and spontaneous), working memory and planning. The development patterns of these components show different stages of acceleration and deceleration in childhood. In our context there are not registered studies that analyze its development in Spanish-speaking children. The aim of this work is to analyze the development patterns of EF in order to establish relations and comparisons and to identify for every component the stages of acceleration and stagnation. The sample was comprised of 274 Argentinian schoolchildren aged 6 to 8 years old (119 were from first grade, 61 from second grade and 94 from third grade). The evaluation was realized using the scales of the Battery of Neurological Infantile Evaluation (ENI): Verbal Fluency (Semantic and Phonemic), Cognitive Flexibility, Mexico´s Tower and Digits in regression. There were detected three different patterns from development and different interactions between executive components. In addition three empirical typologies depending on the patterns and the relations between components were established.