Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

LIVE: Thursday 2nd May 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)

Quality sleep is essential for health. But what happens to our brains when sleep patterns are disturbed? Join our experts to explore the interplay between sleep disruption and neurological diseases, and the questions that you need to be asking your patients to help you prevent the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Neuropsychology Review
Published in: Neuropsychology Review 3/2007

01-09-2007

The Elusive Nature of Executive Functions: A Review of our Current Understanding

Authors: María Beatriz Jurado, Mónica Rosselli

Published in: Neuropsychology Review | Issue 3/2007

Login to get access

Abstract

Executive functions include abilities of goal formation, planning, carrying out goal-directed plans, and effective performance. This article aims at reviewing some of the current knowledge surrounding executive functioning and presenting the contrasting views regarding this concept. The neural substrates of the executive system are examined as well as the evolution of executive functioning, from development to decline. There is clear evidence of the vulnerability of executive functions to the effects of age over lifespan. The first executive function to emerge in children is the ability to inhibit overlearned behavior and the last to appear is verbal fluency. Inhibition of irrelevant information seems to decline earlier than set shifting and verbal fluency during senescence. The sequential progression and decline of these functions has been paralleled with the anatomical changes of the frontal lobe and its connections with other brain areas. Generalization of the results presented here are limited due to methodological differences across studies. Analysis of these differences is presented and suggestions for future research are offered.
Literature
Acevedo, A., Lowenstein, D. A., Barker, W. W., Harwood, D. G., Luis, C., & Bravo, M., et al. (2000). Category fluency test: A normative data for English and Spanish-speaking elderly. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 6, 760–769.PubMed
Anderson, V. (2001). Assessing executive functions in children: Biological, psychological, and developmental considerations. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 4, 119–136.CrossRef
Anderson, P. (2002). Assessment and development of executive function during childhood. Child Neuropsychology, 8, 71–82.PubMed
Anderson, P., Anderson, V., & Lajoie, G. (1996). The Tower of London Test: Validation and standardization for pediatric population. Clinical Neuropsychologist, 10(1), 64–65.
Anderson, V., Anderson, P., Northam, E., Jacobs, R., & Catroppa, C. (2001a). Development of executive functions through late childhood and adolescence in an Australian sample. Developmental Neuropsychology, 20(1), 385–406.PubMed
Anderson, V., Fenwick, T., Manly, T., & Robertson, I. (1998). Attentional skills following traumatic brain injury in childhood: A componential analysis. Brain Injury, 12, 937–949.PubMed
Anderson, V., Levin, H., & Jacobs, R. (2002). Executive functions after frontal lobe injury: A developmental perspective. In D. T. Stuss, & R. T. Knight (Eds.) Principles of frontal lobe function (pp. 504–527). New York: Oxford University Press.
Anderson, V., Northam, E., Hendy, J., & Wrenall, J. (2001b). Developmental neuropsychology: A clinical approach. New York: Psychology Press.
Andrés, P., & van der Linden, M. (2000). Age-related differences in supervisory attentional system functions. Journal of Gerontology, 55, 373–380.
Ardila, A., Ostrosky-Solis, F., Rosselli, M., & Gomez, C. (2000a). Age-related cognitive decline: The complex effect of education. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 15, 495–513.PubMed
Ardila, A., Pineda, D., & Rosselli, M. (2000b). Correlation between intelligence test scores and executive function measures. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 15, 31–36.PubMed
Ardila, A., Rosselli, M., Matute, E., & Guajardo, G. (2005). The influence of the parents’ educational level on the development of executive functions. Developmental Neuropyschology, 28, 539–560.
Ardila, A., & Surloff, C. (2004). Dysexecutive syndromes. Medlink Neurology. San Diego: Arbor Publishing Co.
Army Individual Test Battery (1944). Manual of directions and scoring. Washington, DC: War Department, Adjutant General’s Office.
Audenaert, K., Brans, B., van Laere, K., Lahorte, P., Versijpt, J., & van Heeringen, K., et al. (2000). Verbal fluency as a prefrontal activation probe: A validation study using 99mTc-ECD brain SPET. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 27, 1800–1808.PubMed
Auriacombe, S., Fabriogoule, C., Lafont, S., Amieva, H., Jacquim-Gadda, H., & Dartigues, J. F. (2001). Letter and category fluency in normal elderly participants: A population based study. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 8, 98–108.
Axelrod, B. N., & Henry R. R. (1992). Age-related performance on the Wisconsin card sorting, similarities, and controlled oral word association tests. Clinical Neuropsychologist, 6(1), 16–26.
Baddeley, A. (1986). Working memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Baddeley, A. D. (1992). Working memory. Science, 225, 556–559.
Baddeley, A. (1998). The central executive: A concept and some misconceptions. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 4, 523–526.PubMed
Baddeley, A. (2002). Fractionating the central executive. In D. T. Stuss, & R. T. Knight (Eds.) Principles of frontal lobe function (pp. 246–260). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Baddeley, A., & Hitch, G. (1974). Working memory. In G. H. Bower (Ed.) Recent advances in learning and motivation (vol. 8). New York: Academic.
Baddeley, A., & Logie, R. (1999). Working memory: The multiple-component model. In A. Miyake, & P. Shah (Eds.) Models of working memory: Mechanisms of active maintenance and executive control (pp. 28–61). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Baddeley, A., & Wilson, B. (1988). Frontal amnesia and the dysexecutive syndrome. Brain and Cognition, 7, 212–230.PubMed
Band, G., Ridderinkhof, K. R., & Segalowitz, S. (2002). Explaining neurocognitive aging: Is one factor enough. Brain and Cognition, 49, 259–267.PubMed
Banich, M. T. (2004). Cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Barkley, R. (1997). Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: Constructing a unifying theory. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 65–94.PubMed
Belleville, S., Rouleau, N., & van der Linden, M. (2006). Use of the Hayling task to measure inhibition of prepotent responses in normal aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Brain and Cognition, 62, 113–119.PubMed
Benton, A. L., & Hamsher, K. (1989). Multilingual aphasia examination. Iowa City, IA: AJA.
Berg, E. A. (1948). A simple objective technique for measuring flexibility in thinking. Journal of General Psychology, 39, 15–22.PubMedCrossRef
Berman, K., Ostrem, J., Randolph, C., Gold, J., Goldberg, T., Coppola, R., Carson, R., Herscovitch, P., & Weinberger, D. (1995). Physiological activation of a cortical network during performance of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test: A positron emission tomography study. Neuropsychologia, 33, 1027–1046.PubMed
Bialystok, E., Craik, F., Klein, R., & Viswanathan, M. (2004). Bilingualism, aging and cognitive control: Evidence from the Simon task. Psychology and Aging, 19, 290–303.PubMed
Boone, K. B. (1999). Neuropsychological assessment of executive functions: Impact of age, education, gender, intellectual level, and vascular status on executive test scores. In B. L. Miller, & J. L. Cummings (Eds.) The human frontal lobes: Functions and disorders (pp. 247–261). New York: Guildford.
Borkowsky, J. G., & Burke, J. E. (1996). Theories, models and measurements of executive functioning: An information processing perspective. In G. R. Lyon, & N. A. Krasnegor (Eds.) Attention, memory and executive function. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
Brennan, M., Welsh, M. C., & Fisher, C. B. (1997). Aging and executive function skills: An examination of a community-dwelling older population. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 84, 1187–1197.PubMed
Brickman, A., Paul, R., Cohen, R., William, L., MacGreggor, K., Jefferson, A., Tate, D., Gunstad, J., & Gordon, E. (2005). Category and letter verbal fluency across the adult lifespan: Relationship to EEG theta power. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 20, 561–573.PubMed
Brocki, K. C., & Bohlin, G. (2004). Executive functions in children aged 6 to 13: A dimensional and developmental study. Developmental Neuropsychology, 26(2), 571–593.PubMed
Bryan, J., & Luszcz, M. (2001). Adult age differences in self-ordered pointing task performance: Contributions from working memory, executive function and speed of information processing. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 23, 608–619.PubMed
Burgess, P. (1997). Theory and methodology in executive function research. In P. Rabbitt (Ed.) Methodology of frontal executive function (pp. 81–116). Hove, East Sussex: Psychology Press.
Burgess, P., Alderman, N., Evans, J., Emslie, H., & Wilson, B. (1998). The ecological validity of tests of executive functions. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 4, 547–558.PubMed
Burgess, P. W., & Shallice, T. (1997). The Hayling and Brixton Tests. Bury St. Edmunds, UK: Thames Valley Test.
Cahn-Weiner, D., Malloy, P., Boyle, P., Marran, M., & Salloway, S. (2000). Prediction of functional status from neuropsychological tests in community-dwelling elderly individuals. Clinical Neuropsychology, 14, 187–195.
Catafau, A., Parellada, E., Lomena, F., Bernardo, M., Setoain, J., & Catarineu, S., et al. (1998). Role of the cingulate gyrus during the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test: A single photon emission computed tomography study in normal volunteers. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 26, 67–74.
Chaytor, N., Schmitter-Edgecombe, M., & Burr, R. (2006). Improving the ecological validity of executive functioning assessment. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 21, 217–227.PubMed
Chugani, H. T., Phelps, M. E., & Mazziotta, J. C. (1987). Positron emission tomography study of human brain functional development. Annals of Neurology, 22, 287–297.
Collette, T., & van der Linden, M. (2002). Brain imaging of the central executive component of working memory. Neuroscience and Biobehavior Review, 26, 105–125.
Collette, F., Van der Linden, M., Delfiore, G., Degueldre, C., Luxen, A., & Salmon, E. (2001). The functional anatomy of inhibition processes investigated with the Hayling task. Neuroimage, 14, 258–267.PubMed
Collette, T., van der Linden, M., Laureys, S., Delfiore, G., Degueldre, C., & Luxen, A., et al. (2005). Exploring the unity and diversity of the neural substrates of executive functioning. Human Brain Mapping, 25, 409–423.PubMed
Crawford, J., Bryan, J., Luszcz, M., Obonsawin, M., & Stewart, L. (2000). The executive decline hypothesis of cognitive aging: Do executive deficits qualify as differential deficit and do they mediate age-related memory decline? Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 7, 9–31.
Crawford, S., & Channon, S. (2002). Dissociation between performance on abstract tests of executive function and problem solving in real-life type situations in normal aging. Aging & Mental Health, 6, 12–21.
Crossley, M., D’Arcy, C., & Rawson, N. S. (1997). Letter and category fluency in community-dwelling Canadian seniors: A comparison of normal participants to those with dementia of the Alzheimer or vascular type. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 19, 52–62.PubMed
Crinella, F., & Yu, J. (2000). Brain mechanisms and intelligence psychometric g and executive functions. Intelligence, 27(4), 299–327.
Dagher, A., Owen, A., Boecker, H., & Brooks, D. (1999). Mapping the network for planning: A correlational PET activation study with the Tower of London task. Brain, 122, 1973–1987.PubMed
Dahua, W., Jiliang, S., Huamao, P., Dan, T., & Liang, Z. (2005). The model of educational effect on old adults’ cognition. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 37, 511–516.
Daigneault, S., & Braun, C. M. (1993). Working memory and the self-ordered pointing task: Further evidence of early prefrontal decline in normal aging. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 15, 881–895.PubMed
Daigneault, S., Braun, C. M., & Whitaker, H. A. (1992). Early effects of normal aging on perseverative and non-perseverative prefrontal measures. Developmental Neuropsychology, 8, 99–114.
Daigneault, G., Joly, P., & Frigon, J. Y. (2002). Executive functions in the evaluation of accident risk of older individuals. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 2, 221–238.
Davis, H., & Klebe, K. (2001). A longitudinal study of the performance of the elderly and young on the Tower of Hanoi puzzle and Rey recall. Brain and Cognition, 46, 95–99.PubMed
De Frias, C., Dixon, R., & Strauss, E. (2006). Structure of tour executive functioning tests in healthy older adults. Neuropsychology, 20, 206–214.PubMed
Delis, D., Kaplan, E., & Kramer, N. (2001). Delis–Kaplan executive function system. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
De Luca, C., Wood, S., Anderson, V., Buchanan, J., Proffit, R., & Mahony, K., et al. (2003). Normative data from the Cantab: Development of executive function over the lifespan. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 25, 242–254.PubMed
Denckla, M. B. (1996). A theory and model of executive function: A neuropsychological perspective. In G. Lyon, & N. Krasnegor (Eds.) Attention, memory and executive function. Maryland: Paul Brooks.
Desman, C., Schneider, A., Ziegler-Kirbach, E., Peterman, F., Mohr, B., & Hampel, P. (2006). Behavioral inhibition and emotion regulation among boys with ADHD during a go-no-go task. Praxis der Kinderpsychologie und Kinderpsychiatrie, 55, 328–349.PubMed
D’Esposito, M., Postle, B., Ballard, D., & Lease, J. (1999). Maintenance versus manipulation of information held in working memory: An event-related fMRI study. Brain and Cognition, 41, 66–86.PubMed
Diamond, A. (2002). Normal development of prefrontal cortex from birth to young adulthood. In D. T. Stuss, & R. T. Knight (Eds.) Principles of frontal lobe function (pp. 466–503). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Diamond, A., & Goldman-Rakic, P. (1985). Evidence for involvement of prefrontal cortex in cognitive changes during the first year of life: Comparison of human infants and rhesus monkeys on a detour task with transparent barrier. Neurosciences Abstracts, 11, 832.
Diamond, A., & Goldman-Rakic, P. (1989). Comparison of human infants and rhesus monkeys on Piaget’s AB task: Evidence for dependence on dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Experimental Brain Research, 74, 24–40.
Dickstein, S., Bannon, K., Castellanos, F. X., & Milham, M. (2006). The neural correlates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: An ALE meta-analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 1051–1062.PubMed
Du Boisegueheneuc, F., Levy, R., Volle, E., Seassau, M., Duffau, H., & Kinkingneheun, S., et al. (2006). Functions of the left superior frontal gyrus in humans: A lesion study. Brain, 129, 3315–3328.
Duncan, J., Burgess, P., & Emslie, H. (1995). Fluid intelligence after frontal lobe lesions. Neuropsichologia, 33, 261–268.
Duncan, J., Emslie, H., Williams, P., Johnson, R., & Freer, C. (1996). Intelligence and the frontal lobes: The organization of goal-directed behavior. Cognitive Psychology, 30, 257–303.PubMed
Eldreth, D., Patterson, M., Porcelli, A., Biswal, B., Rebbechi, D., & Rypma, B. (2006). Evidence for multiple manipulation processes in prefrontal cortex. Brain Research, 1123, 145–156.PubMed
Elliot, R. (2003). Executive functions and their disorders. British Medical Bulletin, 65, 49–59.
Espy, K. (1997). The shape school: Assessing executive function in preschool children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 13, 495–499.
Fassbender, C., Murphy, K., Foxe, J., Wylie, G., Javitt, D., & Robertson, I., et al. (2004). A topography of executive functions and their interactions revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging. Brain Research, Cognitive Brain Research, 20, 132–143, happiness.
Fisk, J. E., & Sharp, C. A. (2004). Age-related impairment in executive functioning: Updating, inhibition, shifting, and access. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 26, 874–890.PubMed
Fisk, J. E., & Warr, P. (1996). Age and working memory: The role of perceptual speed, the central executive and the phonological loop. Psychology and Aging, 11, 316–323.PubMed
Friedman, N. P., Miyake, A., Corley, R. P., Young, S. E., Defries, J. C., & Hewitt, J. K. (2006). Not all executive functions are related to intelligence. Psychological Science, 17, 172–179.PubMed
Frith, C., Friston, K., Liddle, P., & Frackowiak, R. (1991). A PET study of word finding. Neuropsychologia, 29, 1137–1148.PubMed
Fuster, J. (1993). Frontal lobes. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 3, 160–165.PubMed
Fuster, J. (2002). Physiology of executive functions: The perception–action cycle. In D. T. Stuss, & R. T. Knight (Eds.) Principles of the frontal lobe. New York: Oxford University Press.
Garden, S., Phillips, L., & MacPherson, S. (2001). Midlife aging, open-ended planning, and laboratory measures of executive function. Neuropsychology, 15, 472–482.PubMed
Gerstadt, C., Hong, Y. J., & Diamond, A. (1994). The relationship between cognition and action: Performance of children 3 1/2–7 years old on a Stroop-like day–night test. Cognition, 53, 129–153.PubMed
Gerton, B., Brown, T., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., Kohn, P., Holt, J., & Olsen, R., et al. (2004). Shared and distinct neurophysiological components of the digits forward and backward tasks as revealed by functional neuroimaging. Neuropsychologia, 42, 1781–1787.PubMed
Gioia, G., & Isquith, P. (2004). Ecological assessment of executive function in traumatic brain injury. Developmental Neuropsychology, 25, 135–158.PubMed
Gioia, G., Isquith, P., Guy, S., & Kenworthy, L. (2000). Behavior rating inventory of executive functions. Lutz, FL: Psycological Assessment Resources.
Girgis, R., Minshew, N., Melhem, N., Nutche, J., Keshavan, M. S., & Hardan, A. (2007). Volumetric alterations of the orbitofrontal cortex in autism. Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology, & Biological Psychiatry, 31, 41–45.
Glosser, G., & Goodglass, H. (1990). Disorders of executive function among aphasic and other brain-damaged patients. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 12, 485–501.PubMed
Godefroy, O., Cabaret, M., Petit-Chenal, V., Pruvo, J.-P., & Rousseaux, M. (1999). Control functions of the frontal lobe: Modularity of the central-supervisory system. Cortex, 35, 1–20.PubMed
Goethals, I., Audenaert, K., Jacobs, F., van der Wiele, C., Pyck, H., & Ham, H., et al. (2004). Application of a neuropsychological activation probe with SPECT: The ‘Tower of London’ task in healthy volunteers. Nuclear Medicine Communications, 25, 177–182.PubMed
Golberg, E. (2001). The executive brain: Frontal lobes and the civilized mind. New York: Oxford University Press.
Golden, C. J. (1978). Stroop color and word test: A manual for clinical and experimental uses. Chicago, IL: Stoelting.
Grace, J., & Malloy, P. F. (2002). Frontal system behavioral scale. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Grafman, J. (1999). Experimental assessment of adult frontal lobe. In B. L. Miller, & J. L. Cummings (Eds.) The human frontal lobes (pp. 321–344). New York: Guildford.
Greenwood, P. (2000). The frontal aging hypothesis evaluated. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 6, 705–726.PubMed
Grigsby, J., Kaye, K., Shetterly, S. M., Baxter, J., Morgenstern, N., & Hamman, R. F. (2002). Prevalence of disorders of executive cognitive functioning among the elderly: Findings from the San Luis Valley health and aging study. Neuroepidemiology, 21, 213–220.PubMed
Grigsby, J., Kaye, K., Baxter, J., Shetterly, S. M., & Hamman, R. F. (1998). Executive cognitive abilities and functional status among community-dwelling older persons in the San Luis Valley Health and Aging Study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 46, 590–596.PubMed
Haaland, K., Vranes, L., Goodwin, J., & Garry, P. (1987). Wisconsin Card Sort performance in a healthy elderly population. Journal of Gerontology, 42, 345–346.PubMed
Haarmann, H., Ashling, G., Davelaar, E., & Usher, M. (2005). Age-related declines in context maintenance and semantic short-term memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Section A, 58, 34–53.
Harris, P. L. (1974). Perseverative search at a visibly empty place by young infants. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 18, 535–542.
Hasher, L., Tonev, S. T., Lustig, C., & Zacks, R. T. (2001). Inhibitory control, environmental support, and self-initiated processing in aging. In M. Naveh-Benjamin, M. Moscovitch, & R. L. Roediger (Eds.) Perspectives on human memory and cognitive aging: Essays in honour of Fergus Craik. East Sussex: Psychology Press.
Hasher, L., & Zacks, R. T. (1988). Working memory, comprehension, and aging: A review and a new view. In G. H. Bower (Ed.) The psychology of learning and motivation. New York: Academic.
Hashimoto, R., Meguro, K., Lee, E., Kasai, M., Ishii, H., & Yamaguchi, S. (2006). Effect of age and education on the TMT and determination of normative data for Japanese elderly people: The Tajin Project. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 60, 422–428.PubMed
Haug, H., & Eggers, R. (1991). Morphometry of the human cortex cerebri and corpus striatum during aging. Neurobiology of Aging, 12, 336–338.PubMed
Hill, E. (2004). Executive dysfunction in autism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8, 26–32.PubMed
Hirshorn, E. A., & Thompson-Schill, S. L. (2006). Role of the left inferior frontal gyrus in covert word retrieval: Neural correlates of switching during verbal fluency. Neuropsychologia, 44, 2547–2557.PubMed
Hobson, P., & Leeds, L. (2001). Executive functioning in older people. Reviews in Clinical Gerontology, 11, 361–372.
Hudson, J. A., Shapiro, L. R., & Sosa, B. B. (1995). Planning in the real world: Preschool children’s scripts and plans for familiar events. Child Development, 66, 984–998.PubMed
Hughes, C., & Graham, A. (2002). Measuring executive functions in childhood: Problems and solutions. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 7, 131–142.
Hughes, C., Russel, J., & Robbins, T. W. (1994). Evidence for executive dysfunction in autism. Neuropsychologia, 32, 477–492.PubMed
Huppert, F., Bravne, F., Paykel, E., & Beardsall, L. (1995). CAMCOG—a concise neuropsychological test to assist dementia diagnosis: Socio-demographic determinants in an elderly population sample. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 34, 529–541.PubMed
Hurks, P., Vles, J., Hendriksen, J., Kalff, A., Feron, F., & Kroes, M., et al. (2006). Semantic category fluency versus initial letter fluency over 60 seconds as a measure of automatic and controlled processing in healthy school-aged children. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 28, 684–695.PubMed
Isquith, P., Gioia, G., & Espy, K. (2004). Executive function in preschool children: Examination through everyday behavior. Developmental Neuropsychology, 26, 403–422.PubMed
Izaks, G., & Westendorp, R. (2003). Ill or just old? Towards a conceptual framework on the relation between aging and disease. BMC Geriatrics, 3, 7.PubMed
Jahanshahi, M., Dirnberger, G., Fuller, R., & Frith, C. (2000). The role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in random number generation: A study with positron emission tomography. Neuroimage, 12, 713–725.PubMed
Kassubek, J., Juengling, F. D., Ecker, D., & Landwehrmeyer, G. B. (2005). Thalamic atrophy in Huntington’s disease co-varies with cognitive performance: A morphometric MRI analysis. Cerebral Cortex, 15, 846–853.PubMed
Kaufmann, L., Koppelstaetter, F., Delazer, M., Siedentopf, C., Rhomberg, P., & Golaszewski, S., et al. (2005). Neural correlates of distance and congruity effects in a numerical Stroop task: An event-related fMRI study. Neuroimage, 15, 888–898.
Keys, B., & White, D. (2000). Exploring the relationship between age, executive abilities, and psychomotor speed. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 6, 76–82.PubMed
Kimberg, D., D’Esposito, M., & Farah, M. (1997). Cognitive functions in the prefrontal cortex—working memory and executive control. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 6, 185–192.
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.PubMed
Koechlin, E., Corrado, G., Pietrini, P., & Grafman, J. (2000). Dissociating. the role of the medial and lateral anterior prefrontal cortex in human planning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, 97, 7651–7656.
Lafleche, G., & Albert, M. (1995). Executive function deficits in mild Alzheimer’s disease. Neuropsychology, 9, 313–320.
Lazeron, R. H., Rombouts, S. A., Machielsen, W. C., Scheltens, P., Witter, M. P., & Uylings, H. B., et al. (2000). Visualizing brain activation during planning: The tower of London test adapted for functional MR imaging. American Journal of Neuroradiology, 21, 1407–1414.PubMed
Lehto, J. (1996). Are executive function tests dependent on working memory capacity. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 49, 29–50.
Levin, H., Culhane, K., Hartmann, J., Evankovich, K., Mattson, A., & Harwood, H. (1991). Developmental changes in performance on tests of purported frontal lobe functions. Developmental Neuropsychology, 7, 377–396.
Lewis, S. J., Dove, A., Robbins, T. W., Barker, R. A., & Owen, A. M. (2004). Striatal contributions to working memory: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study in humans. European Journal of Neuroscience, 19, 755–760.PubMed
Lezak, M. D. (1983). Neuropsychological assessment (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Lezak, M. D., Howieson, D. B., & Loring, D. W. (2004). Neuropsychological assessment (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Lie, C., Specht, K., Marshall, J., & Fink, G. (2006). Using fMRI to decompose the neural processes underlying the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Neuroimage, 15, 1038–1049.
Lombardi, W., Andreason, P., Sirocco, K., Rio, D., Gross, R., & Umhau, J., et al. (1999). Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance following head injury: Dorsolateral fronto-striatal circuit activity predicts perseveration. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 21, 2–16.PubMed
Luria, A. R. (1973). The Working brain: An introduction to neuropsychology. New York: Basic.
Lustig, C., Hasher, L., & Tonev, S. (2001). Inhibitory control over the present and the past. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 13, 107–122.
MacPherson, S., Phillips, L., & DellaSala, S. (2002). Age, executive function, and social decision making: A dorsolateral prefrontal theory of cognitive aging. Psychology and Aging, 4, 598–609.
Mani, T., Bedwell, J., & Miller, S. (2005). Age-related decrements in performance on a brief continuous performance test. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 20, 575–586.PubMed
Manly, J., Schumpf, N., Tang, M., & Stern, Y. (2005). Cognitive decline and literacy among ethnically diverse elders. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 18, 213–217.PubMed
Matute, E., Rosselli, M., Ardila, A., & Morales, L. (2004). Verbal and non-verbal fluency in Spanish speaking children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 26(2), 647–660.PubMed
Mejia, S., Pineda, D., Alvarez, L., & Ardila, A. (1998). Individual Differences in memory and executive function abilities during normal aging. International Journal of Neuroscience, 95, 271–284.PubMed
Miller, A. K., Alston, R. L., & Corselli, J. A. (1980). Variation with age in the volumes of grey and white matter in the cerebral hemispheres of man: Measurements with an image analyzer. Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology, 6, 119–132.PubMedCrossRef
Mitrushina, K. M., Boone, K. B., Razani, J., & D’Elia, L. F. (2005). Handbook of normative data for neuropsychological assessment, second edition. New York: Oxford University Press.
Miyake, A., Friedman, N., Emerson, M., Witzki, A., & Howerter, A. (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.PubMed
Monchi, O., Petrides, M., Strafella, A. P., Worsley, K. J., & Doyon, J. (2006). Functional role of the basal ganglia in the planning and execution of actions. Annuals of Neurology, 59, 257–264.
Morris, R., Ahmed, S., Syed, G., & Toone, B. (1993). Neural correlates of planning ability: Frontal lobe activation during the Tower of London test. Neuropsychologia, 31, 1367–1378.PubMed
Nagahama, Y., Okada, T., Katsumi, Y., Hayashi, Y., Yamauchi, H., & Oyanagi, Y., et al. (2001). Dissociable mechanisms of attentional control within the human prefrontal cortex. Cerebral Cortex, 11, 85–92.PubMed
Nathan, J., Wilkinson, D., Stammers, S., & Low, L. (2001). The role of tests of frontal executive function in the detection of mild dementia. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 16, 18–26.PubMed
Nelson, H. E. (1976). A modified card sorting test sensitive to frontal lobe defects. Cortex, 12(4), 313–324.PubMed
Norman, D. A., & Shallice, T. (1986). Attention to action: Willed and automatic control of behavior. In R. J. Davidson, et al. (Ed.) Consciousness and self-regulation (vol. 4, (pp. 1–18)). New York: Plenum.
Norris, G., & Tate, R. (2000). The Behavioral Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS): Ecological, concurrent and construct validity. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 11, 33–45.CrossRef
Obonsawin, M. C., Crawford, J. R., Page, J., Chalmers, P., Cochrane, R., & Low, G. (2002). Performance on test of frontal lobe function reflect general intellectual ability. Neuropsychologia, 40, 970–977.PubMed
Odhuba, R., van den Broek, M., & Johns, L. (2005). Ecological validity of measures of executive functioning. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44, 269–278.PubMed
Ostrosky-Solis, F., Gutierrez, A. L., Flores, M. R., & Ardila, A. (2007). Same or different? Semantic verbal fluency across Spanish-speakers from different countries. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 22, 367–377.PubMed
Owen, A., Doyon, J., Petrides, M., & Evans, A. (1996). Planning and spatial working memory: A positron emission tomography study in humans. European Journal of Neuroscience, 8, 353–364.PubMed
Ozonoff, S., Strayer, D. L., McMahon, W. M., & Filloux, F. (1998). Inhibitory deficits in Tourette’s syndrome: A function of comorbidity and symptom severity. Journal of Child Psychiatry, 39, 1109–1118.
Parkin, A. (1998). The central executive does not exist. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 4, 518–522.PubMed
Parkin, A., & Java, R. (1999). Deterioration of frontal lobe function in normal aging: Influences of fluid intelligence versus perceptual speed. Neuropsychology, 13, 539–545.PubMed
Parkin, A., Walter, B., & Hunkin, N. (1995). Relationship between normal aging, frontal lobe function, and memory for temporal and spatial information. Neuropsychology, 9, 304–312.
Passler, M., Issac, W., & Hynd, G. (1985). Neuropsychological development of behavior attributed to the frontal lobe functioning in children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 1(4), 349–370.
Paulesu, E., Goldacre, B., Scifo, P., Cappa, S., Gilardi, M., & Castiglioni, I., et al. (1997). Functional heterogeneity of left inferior frontal cortex as revealed by fMRI. Neuroreport, 27, 2011–2017.CrossRef
Pennington, B. F., Bennetto, L., McAleer, O., & Roberts, R. J. (1996). Executive functions and working memory; theoretical and measurement issues. In G. R. Lyon, & N. A. Krasnegor (Eds.) Attention, memory, and executive function. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
Pennington, B. F., & Ozonoff, S. (1996). Executive functions and developmental psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37, 51–87.PubMed
Perianez, J. A., Maestu, F., Barcelo, F., Fernandez, A., Amo, C., & Ortiz-Alonso, T. (2004). Spatiotemporal brain dynamics during preparatory set shifting: MEG evidence. Neuroimage, 21, 687–695.PubMed
Phelps, E., Hyder, F., Blamire, A., & Shulman, R. (1997). FMRI of the prefrontal cortex during overt verbal fluency. Neuroreport, 8, 561–565.PubMed
Phillips, L. H., Kliegel, M., & Martin, M. (2006). Age and planning tasks: The influence of ecological validity. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 62, 175–184.
Piaget, J. (1954). The Construction of Reality in the Child. Oxford: Basic.
Piguet, O., Grayson, G., Browe, A., Tate, H., Lye, T., & Creasey, H., et al. (2002). Normal aging and executive functions in “old-old” community dwellers: Poor performance is not an inevitable outcome. International Psychogeriatric Association, 14, 139–159.
Pihlajamaki, M., Tanila, H., Hanninen, T., Kononen, M., Laakso, M., & Partanen, K., et al. (2000). Verbal fluency activates the left medial temporal lobe: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Annals of Neurology, 47, 1367–1313.
Plumet, J., Gil, R., & Gaonac’h, D. (2005). Neuropsychological assessment of executive functions in women: Effects of age and education. Neuropsychology, 19(5), 566–577.PubMed
Racine, C. A., Barch, D. M., Braver, T. S., & Noelle, D. C. (2006). The effect of age on rule-based category learning. Neuropsychological Development and Cognition: Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 13, 411–434.
Rapp, M., & Reischies, F. (2005). Attention and executive control predict Alzheimer’s disease in late life: Results from the Berlin Aging Study (BASE). Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 13, 134–141.
Reitan, R. M. (1955). The relation of the Trail Making Test to organic brain damage. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 19, 393–394.PubMed
Rekkas, V. (2006). Interference resolution in the elderly: Evidence suggestive of differences in strategy on measures of prepotent inhibition and dual task processing. Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 13, 341–365.PubMed
Ridderinkhof, K. R., Span, M. M., & van der Molen, M. W. (2002). Perseverative behavior and adaptive control in older adults: Performance monitoring, rule induction, and set shifting. Brain and Cognition, 49, 382–401.PubMed
Riva, D., Nichelli, F., & Devoti, M. (2000). Developmental aspects of verbal fluency and confrontation naming in children. Brain and Language, 71, 267–284.PubMed
Robbins, T., James, M., Owen, A., Sahakian, B., Lawrence, A., & Mcinnes, L., et al. (1998). A study of performance on tests from the CANTAB batter sensitive to frontal lobe dysfunction in a large sample of normal volunteers: Implications for theories of executive functioning and cognitive aging. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 4, 474–490.PubMed
Rodriguez-Aranda, C., & Martinussen, M. (2006). Age-related decline in performance of phonetic verbal fluency measured by the Controlled Oral Word Association Task (COWAT): A meta-analysis study. Developmental Neuropsychology, 30, 697–717.PubMed
Romine, C., & Reynolds, C. (2005). A model of the development of frontal lobe functioning: Findings from a meta-analysis. Applied Neuropsychology, 12, 190–201.PubMed
Rönnlund, M., Lövden, M., & Nilsson, L. G. (2001). Adult age differences in Tower of Hanoi performance: Influence from demographic and cognitive variables. Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 8, 269–283.CrossRef
Royall, P., Lauterbach, E. C., Cummings, J. L., Reeve, A., Rummans, T. A., & Kaufer, D. I., et al. (2002). Executive control function: A review of its promise and challenges for clinical research. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 14, 377–405.
Rush, B. K., Barch, D. M., & Braver, T. S. (2006). Accounting for cognitive aging: Context processing, inhibition or processing speed? Neuropsychology, Development and Cognition. Section B: Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 13, 588–610.
Salat, D. H., Tuch, D. S., Henelone, N. D., Fischl, B., Corkin, S., & Rosas, H. D., et al. (2005). Age related changes in pre-frontal white matter measure by diffusion tensor imaging. Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 1064, 37–49.
Salthouse, T. (1996). The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition. Psychological Review, 103, 403–428.PubMed
Salthouse, T. (2005). Relations between cognitive abilities and measures of executive functioning. Neuropsychology, 19, 532–545.PubMed
Salthouse, T., Atkinson, T., & Berish, D. (2003). Executive functioning as a potential mediator of age-related cognitive decline in normal adults. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 132, 566–594.
Salthouse, T. A., Siedlecki, K. L., & Krueger, L. E. (2006). An individual differences analysis of memory control. Journal of Memory and Language, 55, 102–125.
Salthouse, T., Toth, J., Daniels, K., Parks, C., Pak, R., & Wolbrette, M., et al. (2000). Effects of aging on efficiency of task switching in a variant of the trail making test. Neuropsychology, 14, 102–111.PubMed
Scheres, A., Oosterlaan, J., Geurts, H., Morein-Zamir, S., Meiran, N., & Schut, H., et al. (2004). Executive functioning in boys with ADHD: Primarily an inhibition deficit? Archives in Clinical Neuropsychology, 19, 569–594.
Schmitz, N., Rubia, K., Daly, E., Smith, A., Williams, S., Murphy, D. (2006). Neural correlates of executive function in autistic spectrum disorders. Biological Psychiatry, 54(1), 7–16.
Shallice, T. (1982). Specific impairments of planning. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Series B, 298, 199–209.
Shallice, T. (2002). Fractionation of the supervisory system. In D. T. Stuss, & T. Knight (Eds.) Principles of frontal lobe function (pp. 261–277). New York: Oxford University Press.
Shallice, T., & Burgess, P. W. (1991). Higher-order cognitive impairments and frontal lobe lesions in man. In H. S. Levin, H. M. Eisenberg, & A. L. Benton (Eds.) Frontal lobe function and dysfunction (pp. 125–138). New York: Oxford University Press.
Siegel, B., Nuechterlein, K., Abel, L., Wu, J., & Buchsbaum, M. (1995). Glucose metabolic correlates of continuous performance test performance in adults with a history of infantile autism, schizophrenics, and controls. Schizophrenia Research, 17, 85–94.PubMed
Simon, H. A. (1975). The functional equivalence of problem solving skills. Cognitive Psychology, 7, 268–288.
Slattery, M., Garvey, M., & Swedo, S. (2001). Frontal–subcortical circuits: A functional developmental approach. In D. G. Lichter, & J. L. Cummings (Eds.) Frontal–subcortical circuits in psychiatric and neurological disorders (pp. 314–333). New York: Guilford.
Span, M., Ridderinkhof, K. R., & van der Molen, W. (2004). Age-related changes in the efficiency of cognitive processing across the life span. Acta Psychologica, 117, 155–183.PubMed
Spreen, O., & Strauss, E. (1998). A compendium of neuropsychological tests. New York: Oxford University Press.
Springer, M., McIntosh, A., Winocur, G., & Grady, C. (2005). The relation between brain activity during memory tasks and years of education in young and older adults. Neuropsychology, 19, 181–192.PubMed
Strauss, E., Sherman, E. M. S., & Spreen, O. (2006). A compendium of neuropsychological tests: Administration, norms, and commentary. New York: Oxford University Press.
Stroop, J. R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reaction. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18, 643–662.
Stuss, D. T. (2000). New approaches to prefrontal lobe testing. In B. Miller, & I. Cummings (Eds.) The human frontal lobes: Functions and disorders. London: Giuldford.
Stuss, D. T., & Alexander, M. (2000). Executive functions and the frontal lobes: A conceptual view. Psychological Research, 63, 289–298.PubMed
Stuss, D. T., Alexander, M. P., Floden, D., Binns, M. A., Levine, B., & McIntosh, A. R., et al. (2002). Fractionation and localization of distinct frontal lobe processes: Evidence from focal lesions in humans. In D. T. Stuss, & R. T. Knight (Eds.) Principles of frontal lobe function (pp. 392–407). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Stuss, D. T., & Benson, D. F. (1986). The frontal lobes. New York: Raven.
Van der Elst, W., van Boxtel, M., van Breukelen, G., & Jolles, J. (2006). The Stroop color–word test: Influence of age, sex and education; normative data for a large sample across the adult age range. Assessment, 13, 62–79.PubMed
Wagner, G., Kock, K., Reichenbach, J., Sauer, H., & Schlosser, R. (2006). The special involvement of the rostrolateral prefrontal cortex in planning abilities: An event-related fMRI study with the Tower of London paradigm. Neuropsychologia, 44, 2337–2347.PubMed
Wager, T. D., & Smith, E. E. (2003). Neuroimaging studies of working memory: A meta analysis. Behavioral Neuroscience, 3, 241–253.
Wecker, N. S., Kramer, J. H., Hallam, B. J., & Delis, D. C. (2005). Mental flexibility: Age effects on switching. Neuropsychology, 19, 345–352.PubMed
Welsh, M. C., Pennington, B. F., & Groissier, D. B. (1991). A normative-developmental study of executive functions: A window on prefrontal function in children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 7, 131–149.CrossRef
Welsh, M. C., Pennington, B. F., Ozonoff, S., Rouse, B., & McCAbe, E. R. (1990). Neuropsychology of early-treated phenylketonuria: Specific executive function deficits. Child Development, 61, 1697–1713.PubMed
West, R. (1996). An application of prefrontal cortex function theory to cognitive aging. Psychological Bulletin, 120, 272–292.PubMed
Williams, B., Ponesse, J., Schacher, R., Logan, G., & Tannock, R. (1999). Development of inhibitory control across the life span. Developmental Psychology, 35, 205–213.PubMed
Wood, R., & Liossi, C. (2006). The ecological validity of executive tests in a severely brain injured sample. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 21, 429–437.PubMed
Yoon, D., Gause, C., Leckman, F., & Singer, H. (2007). Frontal dopaminergic abnormality in Tourette syndrome: A postmortem analysis. Journal of Neurological Sciences, 255, 50–56.
Zelazo, P. D., Carter, A., Reznick, J., & Frye, D. (1997). Early development of executive functions: A problem-solving framework. Review of General Psychology, 1, 198–226.
Zelazo, P. D., Craik, F., & Booth, L. (2004). Executive function across the lifespan. Acta Psychologica, 115, 167–183.PubMed
Zelazo, P. D., & Frye, D. (1998). II. Cognitive complexity and control: The development of executive function. Current directions in Psychological Science, 7, 121–126.
Zelazo, P. D., & Muller, U. (2002). Executive function in typical and atypical development. In U. Goswami (Ed.) Blackwell handbook of childhood cognitive development (pp. 445–469). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Zook, N., Welsh, M., & Ewing, V. (2006). Performance of healthy, older adults on the Tower of London Revised: Associations with verbal and nonverbal abilities. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 13, 1–19.
Metadata
Title
The Elusive Nature of Executive Functions: A Review of our Current Understanding
Authors
María Beatriz Jurado
Mónica Rosselli
Publication date
01-09-2007
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Neuropsychology Review / Issue 3/2007
Print ISSN: 1040-7308
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6660
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-007-9040-z

Other articles of this Issue 3/2007

Neuropsychology Review 3/2007 Go to the issue

OriginalPaper

Neuropsychiatric Effects of Prescription Drug Abuse

OriginalPaper

The Neuropsychology of Amphetamine and Opiate Dependence: Implications for Treatment

OriginalPaper

The Effects of Tobacco Smoke and Nicotine on Cognition and the Brain

OriginalPaper

Motor-Skill Learning in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Review with an Eye to the Clinical Practice

OriginalPaper

Acute and Non-acute Effects of Cannabis on Brain Functioning and Neuropsychological Performance

OriginalPaper

The Role of Cognitive Control in Cocaine Dependence