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Cognitive Flexibility (cognitive + flexibility)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	43%
Psychology	37%
Life Sciences	12%

Selected Abstracts

Cognitive Flexibility in Drawings of Bilingual Children

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2010
Esther Adi-Japha
A. Karmiloff-Smith's (1990) task of drawing a nonexistent object is considered to be a measure of cognitive flexibility. The notion of earlier emergence of cognitive flexibility in bilingual children motivated the current researchers to request 4- and 5-year-old English,Hebrew and Arabic,Hebrew bilingual children and their monolingual peers to draw a flower and a house that do not exist (N = 80). Bilinguals exhibited a significantly higher rate of interrepresentational flexibility in their drawings (e.g., "a giraffe flower,""a chair-house," found in 28 of 54 drawings), whereas the level of complex intrarepresentational change was similar across groups. Interrepresentational drawings were previously reported only for children older than 7 years. The specific mechanisms by which bilinguals' language experience may lead to interrepresentational flexibility are discussed. [source]

Cognitive flexibility in preschoolers: the role of representation activation and maintenance

DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2008
Nicolas Chevalier
Preschoolers' lack of cognitive flexibility has often been attributed to perseverative processing. This study investigates alternative potential sources of difficulty such as deficits in activating previously ignored information and in maintaining currently relevant information. In Experiment 1, a new task tapping attentional switching was designed to isolate the difficulty of overriding an initial representation, that is, perseverative processing (,Perseveration' version), and the difficulty of activating a previously ignored representation, that is, activation deficit (,Activation-deficit' version). Three-year-olds' performance suggested that inflexibility may primarily stem from an activation deficit. Control experiments confirmed that the difficulty of the ,Activation-deficit' version could not be attributed to the effect of attraction to novelty. In Experiment 2, ,distraction' errors, alleged to reflect a failure to maintain a relevant representation, and ,perseverative' errors were distinguished. The results highlighted the important role of representation maintenance in flexibility. The present study indicates that preschoolers' lack of cognitive flexibility is multi-determined and prompts us to reconsider the role of perseveration. [source]

A randomised controlled trial of cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis in a routine clinical service

ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 4 2010
E. Peters
Peters E, Landau S, McCrone P, Cooke M, Fisher P, Steel C, Evans R, Carswell K, Dawson K, Williams S, Howard A, Kuipers E. A randomised controlled trial of cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis in a routine clinical service. Objective:, To evaluate cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis (CBTp) delivered by non-expert therapists, using CBT relevant measures. Method:, Participants (N = 74) were randomised into immediate therapy or waiting list control groups. The therapy group was offered 6 months of therapy and followed up 3 months later. The waiting list group received therapy after waiting 9 months (becoming the delayed therapy group). Results:, Depression improved in the combined therapy group at both the end of therapy and follow-up. Other significant effects were found in only one of the two therapy groups (positive symptoms; cognitive flexibility; uncontrollability of thoughts) or one of the two time points (end of therapy: general symptoms, anxiety, suicidal ideation, social functioning, resistance to voices; follow-up: power beliefs about voices, negative symptoms). There was no difference in costs between the groups. Conclusion:, The only robust improvement was in depression. Nevertheless, there were further encouraging but modest improvements in both emotional and cognitive variables, in addition to psychotic symptoms. [source]

Cognitive flexibility in preschoolers: the role of representation activation and maintenance

Switching between spatial stimulus,response mappings: a developmental study of cognitive flexibility

DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2004
Eveline A. Crone
Four different age groups (8,9-year-olds, 11,12-year-olds, 13,15-year-olds and young adults) performed a spatial rule-switch task in which the sorting rule had to be detected on the basis of feedback or on the basis of switch cues. Performance errors were examined on the basis of a recently introduced method of error scoring for the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST; Barcelo & Knight, 2002). This method allowed us to differentiate between errors due to failure-to-maintain-set (distraction errors) and errors due to failure-to-switch-set (perseverative errors). The anticipated age differences in performance errors were most pronounced for perseverative errors between 8,9 years and 11,12 years, but for distraction errors adult levels were not reached until 13,15 years. These findings were interpreted to support the notion that set switching and set maintenance follow distinct developmental trajectories. [source]

Does motor subtype influence neurocognitive performance in Parkinson's disease without dementia?

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 3 2008
E. Lyros
The postural instability and gait difficulty (PIGD) motor subtype has been shown to represent a risk factor for development of dementia in Parkinson's disease. Whether this relationship extends to a more subtle cognitive dysfunction in patients is less clear. Therefore, we administered a battery of selected neuropsychological tests to two groups of non-demented patients with mild to moderate disease classified either as PIGD or as non-PIGD subtype and to a group of healthy controls. Groups were matched on potential confounders of neuropsychological performance. No significant differences were revealed between the two groups of patients in the performance of any of the administered neuropsychological tests. However, relative to controls there was a tendency towards a differential pattern of cognitive dysfunction. The PIGD group had slower performance in a test of psychomotor speed and cognitive flexibility, whilst the non-PIGD group performed worse in measures of verbal learning and visuo-spatial perception. In conclusion, the PIGD subtype was not associated with more severe cognitive deficits and may to a certain extent share common mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction with non-PIGD subtypes. Diverse pathological processes however may develop to account for unequal rates of dementia amongst different motor subtypes. [source]

The neglected constituent of the basal forebrain corticopetal projection system: GABAergic projections

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 12 2002
Martin Sarter
Abstract At least half of the basal forebrain neurons which project to the cortex are GABAergic. Whilst hypotheses about the attentional functions mediated by the cholinergic component of this corticopetal projection system have been substantiated in recent years, knowledge about the functional contributions of its GABAergic branch has remained extremely scarce. The possibility that basal forebrain GABAergic neurons that project to the cortex are selectively contacted by corticofugal projections suggests that the functions of the GABAergic branch can be conceptualized in terms of mediating executive aspects of cognitive performance, including the switching between multiple input sources and response rules. Such speculations gain preliminary support from the effects of excitotoxic lesions that preferentially, but not selectively, target the noncholinergic component of the basal forebrain corticopetal system, on performance in tasks involving demands on cognitive flexibility. Progress in understanding the cognitive functions of the basal forebrain system depends on evidence regarding its main noncholinergic components, and the generation of such evidence is contingent on the development of methods to manipulate and monitor selectively the activity of the GABAergic corticopetal projections. [source]

Reading Culture: Using Literature to Develop C2 Competence

FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 6 2002
Virginia M. Scott
The study compared the attitudes and performances of students who read a fact sheet about Côte d'Ivoire and the attitudes and performances of students who studied a poem about Côte d'Ivoire. We found that the students who read the fact sheet learned about the culture of Côte d'Ivoire in a rigid way that could foster stereotypes. Students who read the poem, on the other hand, explored their own feelings about the language and content of the poem. The study supports the notion that literary texts contribute to students' affective awareness and cognitive flexibility, and are therefore more effective for developing C2 competence. This study suggests ways to achieve the goals, articulated in the national standards, of fostering knowledge about and understanding of other cultures. [source]

Profiles of executive function in parents and siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorders

GENES, BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR, Issue 8 2006
D. Wong
Delineation of a cognitive endophenotype for autism is useful both for exploring the genetic mechanisms underlying the disorder and for identifying which cognitive traits may be primary to it. This study investigated whether first-degree relatives of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) demonstrate a specific profile of performance on a range of components of executive function (EF), to determine whether EF deficits represent possible endophenotypes for autism. Parents and siblings of ASD and control probands were tested on EF tasks measuring planning, set-shifting, inhibition and generativity. ASD parents showed poorer performance than control parents on a test of ideational fluency or generativity, and ASD fathers demonstrated a weakness in set-shifting to a previously irrelevant dimension. ASD siblings revealed a mild reduction in ideational fluency and a weakness in non-verbal generativity when compared with control siblings. Neither ASD parents nor siblings displayed significant difficulties with planning or inhibition. These results indicated that the broad autism phenotype may not be characterized primarily by impairments in planning and cognitive flexibility, as had been previously proposed. Weaknesses in generativity emerged as stronger potential endophenotypes in this study, suggesting that this aspect of EF should play a central role in cognitive theories of autism. However, discrepancies in the EF profile demonstrated by parents and siblings suggest that factors related to age or parental responsibility may affect the precise pattern of deficits observed. [source]

Neuropsychological studies in anorexia nervosa

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS, Issue S1 2005
Kate Tchanturia PhD
Abstract Neuropsychological findings in eating disorders are somewhat inconsistent. This may be because individual studies have used a broad range of tests on relatively small, heterogeneous clinical groups, thus limiting the detection of subtle neuropsychological differences in these patients. Therefore, rather than using broad assessments of a variety of neuropsychological functions, adoption of a more focused, hypothesis-driven approach based on clinical practice is proposed. This will allow more in-depth investigations of targeted functions and will improve the chances of detecting a problem, of exploring its ecologic validity, and of tailoring a treatment. We have demonstrated this approach using our neuropsychological studies of cognitive flexibility in anorexia nervosa (AN). © 2005 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Executive Functioning and Working Memory in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 8 2005
Carmen Rasmussen
The goal of this report is to critically review research on executive functioning (EF) and working memory in individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Individuals with FASD exhibit EF deficits in the areas of cognitive flexibility, planning and strategy use, verbal reasoning, some aspects of inhibition, set shifting, fluency, working memory, and, recently, on tests of emotion-related or hot EF. Some researchers have linked prenatal alcohol exposure to abnormalities in the development of the frontal cortex of affected individuals or animals. One common finding is that these EF deficits persist regardless of whether the individual has facial dysmorphology. Furthermore, EF deficits are not simply due to a low IQ in these individuals. More research with larger sample sizes, smaller age ranges, and consistent measurement tools is needed in this area to ameliorate some inconsistencies in the literature. Furthermore, researchers should now focus on studying the pattern of weakness in EF in individuals with FASD as well as relations among working memory and EF, which will help to identify specific areas of weakness, to enhance diagnosis, and to improve treatment. There is limited research on the development of EF in individuals with FASD, which can have important implications for understanding of how these deficits unfold from childhood through adulthood. [source]

Cognitive Efficiency in Stimulant Abusers With and Without Alcohol Dependence

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 3 2003
Andrea Lawton-Craddock
Background: Although previous studies have found stimulant (i.e., cocaine, methamphetamine) abusers and alcoholics to have neuropsychological deficits, research examining which cognitive abilities are most affected by concurrent exposure to these substances is lacking. To address this issue, detoxified men and women who met criteria for dependence of (a) alcohol only (ALC) (n= 15); (b) stimulants only (STIM) (n= 15); and (c) both alcohol and stimulants (A/STIM) (n= 15) were compared with age- and education-matched community controls (n= 15). Methods: Tasks that measured visual spatial skills, problem-solving and abstraction, short-term memory, cognitive flexibility, and gross motor speed were administered to participants. For each test, both speed and accuracy were assessed and an efficiency ratio (accuracy/time) was derived. Based on an average of these efficiency ratios, an overall performance index of cognitive efficiency was obtained. Results: Overall, controls performed more efficiently than all other groups. However, they were statistically significantly better only in relation to the A/STIM and STIM groups (p < 0.01). Individual comparisons revealed that the ALC group performed significantly better than the STIM group, although the ALC group did not differ from either the control or A/STIM groups (p, 0.05). This pattern of results was relatively consistent across the individual subtests of problem-solving/abstraction, short-term memory, and cognitive flexibility. Conclusions: As expected, substance abuse was associated with cognitive inefficiency. More importantly, these findings suggest that the cognitive effects of chronic stimulant abuse are not additive with those of alcohol abuse. That is, singly addicted stimulant abusers demonstrated similar or greater neurocognitive impairments than individuals who abuse alcohol and stimulants concurrently. The reason for this pattern is speculative but may be attributed to alcohol's opposing actions on cerebrovascular effects brought on by stimulant abuse. [source]

Personal Resources, Appraisal, and Coping in the Adaptation Process of Immigrants From the Former Soviet Union

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2008
Liat Yakhnich PhD
Between 1989 and 2005, Israel absorbed over a million new immigrants, about 90% of whom were from the Former Soviet Union (FSU). The present study investigated the adaptation of these FSU new immigrants in a sample of 301 participants (67% women, ages 25,45 years), who completed inventories measuring personal resources (tolerance of ambiguity and cognitive flexibility), cognitive appraisals (of employment, language, and housing problems), coping strategies, well-being, distress, and willingness to remain in Israel. A structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis showed that tolerance for ambiguity and cognitive flexibility contributed positively to control appraisals, task-oriented coping, and level of participant well-being, and negatively to threat/loss appraisals, emotion/avoidance-oriented coping, and distress. Control appraisals contributed to task-oriented coping, whereas threat/loss appraisals contributed to both emotion/avoidance-oriented and task-oriented coping. Control and challenge appraisals, and task-oriented coping, contributed positively to participant willingness to remain in Israel, whereas emotion/avoidance-oriented coping contributed positively to distress levels, which in turn were negatively related to willingness to remain in Israel. The results of this study have significant implications for such aspects of immigrant adaptation as absorption policies and the provision of individual care by professionals and organizations. [source]

Influence of depressed mood on neuropsychologic performance in HIV-seropositive drug users

PSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES, Issue 3 2003
Enrique Vázquez-Justo
Abstract Some studies point out that depression affects the performance of HIV patients in neuropsychological tasks, but at present this effect is not clear. The purpose of the present paper was to study whether the presence of symptoms of depression affects the neuropsychologic performance of seropositive drug users in tasks of attention/concentration, learning and memory, language, construction and visuospatial function, speed of motor performance, cognitive flexibility, manual skill and concept formation and reasoning. In order to carry out this research a sample consisting of 127 male volunteer subjects was used. These subjects were distributed in four groups: one group consisted of HIV-seropositive drug users with symptoms of depression (n = 33); the second group consisted of HIV-seropositive drug users without symptoms of depression (n = 47); the third group was formed by HIV-seronegative drug users with symptoms of depression (n = 15) and the fourth group was formed by HIV-seronegative drug users without symptoms of depression (n = 32). The results reveal the effect of symptoms of depression (evaluated by the Beck Depression Inventory) on the neuropsychologic performance of seropositive drug users. This effect, however, was not observed in the seronegative group. These findings lead us to suggest that symptoms of depression constitute a risk factor for presenting neuropsychologic disturbances in seropositive subjects, which could well be acting as a factor that foments the neuropsychological effects of HIV. [source]

Follow-up of adolescents born extremely preterm: cognitive function and health at 18 years of age

ACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 9 2010
Anne-Li Hallin
Abstract Aim:, To compare cognitive ability, school achievement and self-perceived health aspects in adolescents born extremely preterm and term born controls. Method:, Fifty-two, out of 61, extremely preterm born adolescents (mean age 18.4 years) and 54 matched controls (mean age 18.3 years) born at full term were investigated; intelligence quotient was measured with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale; cognitive flexibility, i.e. a measure of visuomotor speed and attention, with the Trail Making Test; school achievement and choice of upper secondary programmes were reported. Health aspects were investigated in a semi structured interview. Result:, The adolescents born prematurely had significantly lower IQ than the controls, mean 93 (SD 15.4) vs 106 (12.5), p < 0.001; showed slower visuomotor speed; had lower grades from compulsory school (192.7 vs 234.8, p < 0.001); and chose to a greater extent practical upper secondary school programmes. There were no differences between the groups in health care consumption, prevalence of chronic disease, allergy or infectious diseases. Conclusion:, Poorer cognitive performance, in extremely preterm born individuals, seems to persist into late adolescence. Fewer prematurely born than control chose theoretical upper secondary school programmes. However, no difference was noted regarding self-perceived health aspects. [source]