executive function

Examples of executive function in the following topics:

• Executive Function and Control

  • Executive functions are involved in handling novel situations and regulating behavior; they mature and develop over time.
  • The executive system is a theoretical cognitive system that manages the processes of executive function.
  • The major frontal structures involved in executive function are:
  • Executive-function development corresponds to the development of the growing brain; as the processing capacity of the frontal lobes (and other interconnected regions) increases, the core executive functions emerge.
  • The different parts of the prefrontal cortex are vital to executive function.

• Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood

  • Distinct from a normal decline in memory is dementia, a broad category of brain diseases that cause a gradual long-term decrease in the ability to think and remember to the extent that a person's daily functioning is affected.
  • Neurocognitive disorders most commonly affect memory, visual-spatial ability, language, attention, and executive function (e.g., judgment and problem-solving).

• Cerebral Hemispheres and Lobes of the Brain

  • The brain is divided into two hemispheres and four lobes, each of which specializes in a different function.
  • There is evidence that each brain hemisphere has its own distinct functions, a phenomenon referred to as lateralization.
  • The frontal lobe is associated with executive functions and motor performance.
  • Executive functions are some of the highest-order cognitive processes that humans have.
  • Outline the structure and function of the lobes and hemispheres of the brain

• Early Frameworks: Structuralism and Functionalism

  • Structuralism and functionalism were two of the earliest frameworks of psychological thought.
  • Built on structuralism's concern for the anatomy of the mind, functionalism led to greater concern of the functions of the mind, and later on to behaviorism.
  • In processing information the brain is considered to execute functions, similar to those executed by a computer.
  • Psychology 101 - Wundt & James: Structuralism & Functionalism - Vook
  • Here, the foundations of structuralism and functionalism are contrasted.

• Describing Consciousness

  • It has also been defined in the following ways: sentience, awareness, subjectivity, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive-control system of the mind.
  • How are our mental states, beliefs, actions, and thinking related to our physical states, bodily functions, and external events, given that the body is physical and the mind is non-physical?
  • Higher brain areas are more widely accepted as necessary for consciousness to occur, especially the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in a range of higher cognitive functions collectively known as executive functions.

• Cognitive Development in Adolescence

  • Development of executive functions, or cognitive skills that enable the control and coordination of thoughts and behavior, are generally associated with the prefrontal cortex area of the brain.

• Early Roots of Psychology

  • One important alternative was functionalism, founded by William James in the late 19th century.
  • Built on structuralism's concern with the anatomy of the mind, functionalism led to greater concern with the functions of the mind, and later, to behaviorism.
  • Functionalism considers mental life and behavior in terms of active adaptation to the person's environment.
  • In functionalism, the brain is believed to have evolved for the purpose of bettering the survival chances of its carrier by acting as an information processor: its role is essentially to execute functions similar to the way a computer does.
  • Here, the foundations of structuralism and functionalism are contrasted.

• Introduction to Schizophrenia and Psychosis

  • Schizophrenia is considered a disorder of psychosis, or one in which the person’s thoughts, perceptions, and behaviors are impaired to the point where they are not able to function normally in life.
  • These include poor ability to absorb and act upon information (executive functioning), lack of attention, and an inability to utilize working memory.
  • Disorders of behavior may involve deterioration of social functioning, such as social withdrawal, self-neglect, or neglect of environment.

• Short-Term and Working Memory

  • According to Baddeley, working memory has a phonological loop to preserve verbal data, a visuospatial scratchpad to control visual data, and a central executive to disperse attention between them.
  • The central executive connects the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad and coordinates their activities.
  • This is a function of time; that is, the longer the memory stays in the short-term memory the more likely it is to be placed in the long-term memory.

• The Limbic System

  • The limbic system combines higher mental functions and primitive emotion into one system.
  • It combines higher mental functions and primitive emotion into a single system often referred to as the emotional nervous system.
  • It is not only responsible for our emotional lives but also our higher mental functions, such as learning and formation of memories.
  • Lesions of the hypothalamus interfere with several unconscious functions (such as respiration and metabolism) and some so-called motivated behaviors like sexuality, combativeness, and hunger.
  • The basal ganglia appears to serve as a gating mechanism for physical movements, inhibiting potential movements until they are fully appropriate for the circumstances in which they are to be executed.