Yusuke Moriguchi

Neural origin of cognitive shifting in young children

Cognitive shifting is the ability to adapt to changes in the environment. Extensive research has revealed that the prefrontal cortex plays an important role in cognitive shifting. Adult neuroimaging studies have shown that the inferior prefrontal cortex is activated during cognitive shifting tasks. Developmental studies have shown that cognitive shifting changes significantly during preschool years. It is known that 3-year-old children often perseverate to previous mental sets, whereas 5-year-old children do not. Developmental psychologists assume that maturation of the prefrontal cortex plays an essential role in the development of shifting; however, direct supporting evidence is lacking. We used near-infrared spectroscopy and showed that inferior prefrontal activation is associated with successful shifting in young children. We also showed that even preschool children display adult-like inferior prefrontal activation during a simple cognitive shifting task. This report demonstrates the neural origins of cognitive shifting in young children. These results have the potential to contribute to our understanding of cognitive and brain development in both typically and atypically developed children.

Development of Executive Function During Childhood

ion level of themes Percentage of utterances that introduce themes that are decontextualized in time (e.g., I’m gonna go skiing this winter), place or reality (fictitious/fantasy) (e.g., You you’re the mom and I’m the dad (ICC = 0.89). TALKATIVENESS SCALE (α = 0.71) Number of words Number of words per minute (ICC = 1.00). Number of utterances Number of utterances per minute (ICC = 1.00). Number of utterances per speaking turn Percentage of utterances that express more than one utterance (separated by a delay of more than 2 s) per speaking turn (ICC = 0.93). ASSERTIVENESS SCALE (α = 0.66) Initiations Percentage of utterances that initiate conversation, rather than answering a question (ICC = 0.88). Requests Percentage of utterances that formulate requests (ICC = 0.56). Conversation breakdown repairs Percentage of utterances that repair conversation breakdowns (e.g., child: “Box.,” research assistant: “What?,” child: “The box.” (ICC = 0.52). COMMUNICATIVE CONTROL SCALE (α = 0.38) Fluidity Percentage of utterances that are free of involuntary and unnecessary repetition or hesitation (e.g., “I want the. . . the bottle”) (ICC = 0.93). Non-interruption Percentage of utterances that do not interrupt the interlocutor (ICC = 0.72). RESPONSIVENESS SCALE (α = 0.61) Contingency Percentage of utterances that adequately respond to a request by the interlocutor (e.g., research assistant: “Will you play with the puzzle?,” child: “OK.”) (ICC = 0.81). Utterance clarity Percentage of utterances that express clear and understandable statement (ICC = 0.14b). aICC, Intraclass correlation coefficient. The speech samples of this study were codified by the same person. However, the principal author and an undergraduate student codify eighteen speech samples separately, during the validation process of the PSCS-P, in order to compute the ICC of each variable. bThis variable’s ICC is below the “fair” level of 0.40 suggested by Cicchetti (1994). But when the inter-rater reliability is calculated in terms of percentage of agreement, the rate of this variable still remains relatively high at 91%, even higher than other variables. The lack of variability in this variable seems to have reduced

Longitudinal development of prefrontal function during early childhood.

This is a longitudinal study on development of prefrontal function in young children. Prefrontal areas have been observed to develop dramatically during early childhood. To elucidate this development, we gave children cognitive shifting tasks related to prefrontal function at 3 years of age (Time 1) and 4 years of age (Time 2). We then monitored developmental changes in behavioral performance and examined prefrontal activation using near infrared spectroscopy. We found that children showed better behavioral performance and significantly stronger inferior prefrontal activation at Time 2 than they did at Time 1. Moreover, we demonstrated individual differences in prefrontal activation for the same behavioral tasks. Children who performed better in tasks at Time 1 showed significant activation of the right inferior prefrontal regions at Time 1 and significant activation of the bilateral inferior prefrontal regions at Time 2. Children who showed poorer performance at Time 1 exhibited no significant inferior prefrontal activation at Time 1 but significant left inferior prefrontal activation at Time 2. These results indicate the importance of the longitudinal method to address the link between cognitive and neural development.

Prefrontal cortex and executive function in young children: a review of NIRS studies

Executive function (EF) refers to the higher-order cognitive control process for the attainment of a specific goal. There are several subcomponents of EF, such as inhibition, cognitive shifting, and working memory. Extensive neuroimaging research in adults has revealed that the lateral prefrontal cortex plays an important role in EF. Developmental studies have reported behavioral evidence showing that EF changes significantly during preschool years. However, the neural mechanism of EF in young children is still unclear. This article reviews recent near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) research that examined the relationship between the development of EF and the lateral prefrontal cortex. Specifically, this review focuses on inhibitory control, cognitive shifting, and working memory in young children. Research has consistently shown significant prefrontal activation during tasks in typically developed children, but this activation may be abnormal in children with developmental disorders. Finally, methodological issues and future directions are discussed.

The early development of executive function and its relation to social interaction: a brief review

Executive function (EF) refers to the ability to execute appropriate actions and to inhibit inappropriate actions for the attainment of a specific goal. Research has shown that this ability develops rapidly during the preschool years. Recently, it has been proposed that research on EF should consider the importance of social interaction. In this article, recent evidence regarding the early development of EF and its relation to social interaction has been reviewed. Research consistently showed that social interaction can influence EF skills in young children. However, the development of EF may facilitate the cognitive skills that are important for social interaction. Taken together, there might be functional dependency between the development of EF and social interaction.

Cultural differences in the development of cognitive shifting: East-West comparison

Prior research has documented that Japanese childrens performance on the Dimensional Change Card Sorting (DCCS) task can be influenced by their observation of another person completing the task, which is referred to as social transmission of disinhibition. The current study explored whether Canadian children would also show a social transmission of disinhibition and whether their performance would be comparable to that of Japanese children. In this study, 3- and 4-year-olds in Canada and Japan were given both the standard version and social version of the DCCS. Results indicated that Canadian children displayed the social transmission of disinhibition, but their effects were significantly weaker than those with Japanese children. On the other hand, performance on the standard DCCS was comparable between children in the two countries. We discuss the results in terms of cultural differences in the relationship between self and other.

Teaching others rule-use improves executive function and prefrontal activations in young children.

Intervention of executive function during early childhood is an important research topic. This study examined the effect of a child-friendly intervention program, where children interacted with a doll or a puppet. Children were presented with cognitive shifting tasks before and after an intervention. In the intervention, children interacted with a doll or a puppet, and taught rules of the cognitive shifting tasks to the object. As the results, 3- to 5-year-old children significantly improved the performances and strengthened activations in the lateral prefrontal regions as measured by near-infrared spectroscopy. The results suggest that interaction with a doll or a puppet may have a significant impact on the development of executive function.

Language and Cognitive Shifting: Evidence from Young Monolingual and Bilingual Children

The relationship between language and cognitive shifting in young children was examined. Specifically, second language experiences from infancy as well as individual differences in monolingual language experience may affect performances on the Dimensional Change Card Sort Task. 54 Japanese-French bilingual children and two groups of Japanese monolingual children participated (ns = 18). One monolingual group was matched to the bilingual group on verbal ability and chronological age (VC monolingual group) and the other group was matched by chronological age but had higher verbal ability (C monolingual group). The results showed that the groups of children who were bilingual and monolingual with higher verbal ability performed the task significantly better than matched monolingual children. Language experiences may affect cognitive set shifting in young children.

Parental behaviour and children's creation of imaginary companions: A longitudinal study

This longitudinal study examined whether parenting quality, parental behaviours and childrens temperament at 6 months of age predicted childrens creations of imaginary companions (ICs) at 44 months of age. At six months, parenting quality and parental behaviours were measured using the Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment, and the frequency of mental-state references made during mother–infant interactions was recorded. Temperament was assessed using the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire. Parents then completed questionnaires assessing whether their children had ICs at 44 months of age. The results revealed that only the approach characteristic of temperament marginally predicted childrens IC status. Results of the parental measures showed that parents of children with ICs were more likely to attribute mental states to their child and to refrain from intruding in their childs behaviours than parents of children without ICs. The results indicated that parental behaviours are important for childrens creation of ICs.

Behavioral and neural differences during two versions of cognitive shifting tasks in young children and adults

The present study examined how young children and adult participants activated inferior prefrontal regions when they were given different cognitive shifting tasks. Children and adults were given two versions of the Dimensional Change Card Sort task (the standard and advanced versions), and brain activations during the tasks were examined using near infrared spectroscopy. On the behavioral level, the performance of both children and adults deteriorated during the advanced version as compared to the standard version. On the neural level, adults exhibited similar bilateral inferior prefrontal activations during the advanced version and the standard version. On the other hand, children showed the significant differences of the activations between the regions during the advanced version, but not during the standard version. The results indicated that children recruited different inferior prefrontal areas depending on the demands of cognitive shifting.