Executive function: Reflection, iterative reprocessing, complexity, and the developing brain

“Children with lower SES show lower levels of EF skill, even controlling for general cognitive skills (e.g., Farah et al., 2006; Masten et al., 2012; Mezzacappa, 2004; Noble, Norman, & Farah, 2004; Obradović, 2010).”

“This function has been studied in the context of theory of mind [e.g., Perner, 1991], and bears some resemblance to representational redescription [Karmiloff-Smith, 1991] as well as the ad hoc formulation of rules in self-directed speech [Zelazo, 2015].”

“It measures cognitive flexibility [33] which is related to inhibition and working memory [34, 35].”

“Additionally, it has been suggested that training cognitive functions such as rule-use and efficient reflection could potentially help children at risk (Zelazo 2015).”

“We propose contextualizing and discussing these results in light of the Iterative Reprocessing model (Zelazo, 2015), which puts forward the integration of three distinct levels of analysis involved in Es research: neural, cognitive, and behavioural.”

“For tasks that involve more complex action- oriented rules (than those examined here), a more protracted period of development may be necessary (Zelazo, 2015).”

“SW ability is defined as someone’s ability to shift attention between tasks, perspectives, or strategies, and is related to cognitive flexibility [55, 81].”

“Por fim, a flexibilidade cognitiva, cumpre a função de alternar estratégias, ações ou pensamentos entre dois ou mais cenários de processamento cognitivo distintos, flexibilizando respostas frente às diferentes demandas (Diamond, 2016; Zelazo, 2015).”

“Zelazo (2015) proposed that executive function worked by controlling our attention and maintaining memory.”

“Self-control (Zelazo, 2015) and emotional understanding of oneself and of Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 1 October 2019 | Volume 10 | Article 2271 others are also associated with IC (Rueda and Paz-Alonzo, 2013).”

“In line with the Iterative Reprocessing (IR) model (Zelazo, 2015), the use of avatars and a third-person perspective within VR environments may further enhance self-monitoring, attentional control, and facilitate the shift from reactive to reflective cognitive functioning.”

“Executive function (EF) refers to the cognitive processes responsible for governing conscious thought and behavior in service of a goal (Friedman & Miyake, 2017; Zelazo, 2015).”

“…focus on relevant information while relying on distinct EFs to suppress irrelevant distraction (inhibitory control), hold and mentally organise information (working memory), and adjust their behaviour or thoughts based on updated demands or priorities (cognitive flexibility) to achieve goals [3–5].”

“Recently, Zelazo (2015) has proposed that language, via private speech, in older children acts as a meta-cognitive tool during EF tasks (Müller et al., 2004).”

“as well as foundational texts from philosophy [71], cognitive neuroscience [91], and the learning sciences [61] that similarly describe reflection with three overarching components.”

“Executive functions are interconnected with the maturation of the prefrontal cortex, and their dysfunctions are common in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders (Shaheen, 2014; Zelazo, 2015; Bausela-Herreras et al., 2019; Faedda et al., 2019).”

“Some deficits in EF are more pronounced in childhood than in adolescence (Nikolas & Nigg, 2013, 2015).”

“…performing music engages a wide range of higher-order cognitive processes (Zatorre and McGill, 2005), induces neural plasticity (Kraus et al., 2009; Zendel and Alain, 2013; Schroeder et al., 2016; Sachs et al., 2017; Hennessy et al., 2019) and improves performance on a wide array of cognitive…”

“The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) primarily assesses the ability to flexibly switch between rules (Doebel and Zelazo, 2015).”

“Of note, implicated frontal structures that provide top-down regulation of emotion overlap both structurally and functionally with those that subserve executive function and self-control [47].”

“This conscious control of learning involves planning, monitoring, and evaluating one’s own strategies and progress, which are fundamental aspects for academic development (Diamond & Lee, 2011; Diamond, 2013; Durlak et al., 2011; Morgan et al., 2019; Zelazo, 2015, 2020; Zelazo et al., 2005).”

“As children develop, they demonstrate improvements in their ability to formulate, remember, and utilize increasingly complex rules when problem-solving (Rothbart et al., 2003; Zelazo, 2015).”

“…thinking means contributing to the child’s thinking by facilitating reflection, encouraging analysis and reasoning, and using repetition and extension – practices that are viewed theoretically as critical for enhancing the development of executive functions (Distefano et al., 2020; Zelazo, 2015).”

“As increasingly intricate and interconnected sets of rules are represented, children’s EF skills are enhanced (Zelazo, 2015).”

“However, as noted by Zelazo (2015) both abilities associated with planning, inhibition, and working memory as well as abilities which are important for emotion, motivation, and immediate vs late delayed gratification are considered important when examining real-world behaviors.”

“Clearly, whether through providing children with enriched activities, which allow them the repeated use of thinking before responding (Zelazo, 2015), or planned tasks to scaffold (Zelazo, 2015) geometric thinking in a way to bring out the use of EF skills requires adults to use essentially…”

“…Eysenck et al., 2007; Bickel et al., 2012; Pacheco-Unguetti et al., 2012; Leshem, 2016a; Shields et al., 2016; Friedman et al., 2020; Wegmann et al., 2020; Warren et al., 2021), which is the ability to shift between multiple tasks or mental strategies (Miyake and Friedman, 2012; Zelazo, 2015).”

“2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC (Zelazo, 2015).”

“…processes that re-represent / reflect 1 Some publications use the term ‘mind wandering with awareness’ rather than ‘metaconsciousness’, and this paper will use these terms interchangeably. on input (Son & Schwartz, 2002; Zelaso, 2015) and that are decoupled from sensory input (Stanovich, 2009).”

“Indeed, most real-world problems enlist a blend of hot and cold EF when action must be planned and implemented with respect to a goal that holds some motivational/emotional significance (Zelazo, 2015).”

“…of cognitive abilities that involve managing, guiding and planning an individual’s cognition and behaviour (Best & Miller, 2010); it shows a pattern of “unity and diversity” and usually involves three key components: inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility and working memory (Zelazo, 2015).”

“These neural correlates of error monitoring are proposed to represent the preliminary stage of hierarchical, self-reflective processing—the first iteration of interpreting one’s own actions in terms of one’s goals (Zelazo, 2015).”

“Additionally, they enable self-regulation learning and adaptation to changing circumstances (Diamond, 2013; Zelazo, 2015).”

“Much of the recent empirical motivation for the “emergence” process in this model comes from brain studies in which there seems to be “iterative reprocessing” of information within and between areas of the brain (Zelazo, 2015).”

“…life when basic skills are still developing, the skills of keeping self-behaviours such as self-regulation, self-control, and self-discipline under control and preventing unwanted behaviours by inhibiting wills and desires are also still being developed (McClelland and Cameron 2012; Zelazo 2015).”

“…abilities that enable conscious, top-down control of thought, action, and emotion; are required for deliberate reasoning, intentional action, emotion regulation, and complex social functioning; and allow for self-regulated learning and adaptation to changing circumstances (Zelazo, 2015).”

“Neuroscientists use technical, practical formulaic and observational approaches to explain brain function and structure under conditions of stress (Baars and Gage 2010; Giedd 2004; Haas et al. 2018; Headway 2023; Isquith et al. 2015; Zelazo 2015).”

“The function of inhibitory control can be understood in light of a problem-solving framework (Zelazo, 2015).”

“EFs can also be considered to consist of attentional skills, or ways of using attention (Zelazo, 2015).”

“One reason to expect such effects is that neurocognitive skills like EF develop when they are used; with repeated use, the neural circuits involved in the mental operation become more efficient (Zelazo, 2015).”

“Another point emphasized about executive functions is that its development differs depending on age, experiences and many protective or restrictive factors (CooperKahn & Foster, 2013; Harris, 2016; Zelazo, 2015) because restrictive factors prevent the child from having rich experiences by disrupting the development.”

“Successful problem solving also relies on executive functioning (EF) skills (e.g., working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility), which are important for regulating goal-directed behavior (Zelazo, 2015).”

“…de diferencias en el desempeño de las tareas que evalúan las FE según el nivel motivacional dado por el contexto (Peterson & Welsh, 2014; Zelazo, 2015), donde el nivel motivacional alude al concepto de saliencia emocional, siendo esta última la que da la temperatura al procesamiento de…”

“The cerebral cortex plays a key role on brain cognitive functions [2].”

“Podkreślić należy, że niezbędne do rozwoju teorii umysłu funkcje zarządzające można ujmować jako procesy stwarzające warunki do rozwoju refleksji (Zelazo, 2015).”

“…adolescence that align with advancement in neural circuitry within the prefrontal cortex (PFC; Miller & Wallis, 2013; Zelazo, 2015) and children’s abilities to mentally represent and reflect on their representations helpful to controlling behavior (e.g., Marcovitch & Zelazo, 2009; Zelazo, 2015).”

“These include providing autonomy support, sustained child routines, and stimulation that is developmentally appropriate, prompt, consistent, and contingent to the child’s cues and needs [12, 31, 43, 55, 75, 82, 91, 97].”

“EF comprises a set of high-level cognitive processes that underlie the control of goal-directed behavior (Miyake et al. 2000; Carlson et al. 2013; Zelazo 2015).”

“Children’s executive functions are related to other cognitive skills, such as flexibility and abstraction (Zelazo, 2015).”

“To regulate one’s own behaviour, mental representations of goals or rules need to be held in working memory to allow one to monitor and control behaviours accordingly (Zelazo, 2015).”

“It is considered one of the most reliable and valid experimental tasks for measuring individual differences in children’s EF (Bauer & Zelazo, 2014; Carlson, 2005; Zelazo et al., 2013, Zelazo, 2006, 2015).”

“…as it allows for higher levels of representation and reflection on task-relevant information to help regulate behavior (Marcovitch & Zelazo, 2009; Zelazo, 2004, 2015), provides distance from the immediate context, encourages abstract representation of the problem (e.g., Carlson et al., 2005),…”

“It is described as a "sensitive period" of development, due to a combination of factors, such as relatively high brain plasticity, the rapid development of neurocognitive processes that are the basis of socio-cognitive and emotional functioning (Zelazo, 2015) and development contexts.”

“Los dos tipos de FEs se emplean normalmente para abordar problemas del mundo real (p.e. Zelazo, 2015).”

“…2012]), their development and interactions from birth to adulthood (developmental tradition [Case, 1985; Pascual-Leone, 1988; Piaget, 1970; Zelazo, 2015]), and the factors causing individual differences in the state and development of mental processes (differential tradition [Carroll,…”