Developmental Change in, and Environmental Modulation of, Cognitive Control:
Differences by Gender and Genetics
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1
University of British Columbia, Department of Psychiatry, Canada
In some ways young children differ more from adults than we sometimes realize. For example, increasing demands on inhibition are more difficult for young children than increasing demands on how much information they must hold in mind. The opposite is true for young adults; increasing memory load is disproportionately more difficult for adults than increasing inhibitory demand. Adults may not appreciate how inordinately difficult inhibition is for young children because it is so much less taxing for us. On the other hand, we adults are more like young children than we would often like to admit. We have the same cognitive and perceptual biases; we’re just better at inhibiting them.
Executive functions are not immutable. They can be improved even in children as young as 4-5 years, in regular classrooms, with regular teachers, without special equipment. Educational practices that improve executive functions lead to better academic outcomes and may head off mental health problems (such as ADHD) from developing. Many issues are not simply education issues or health issues; they are both. Many interventions address fixing problems after they have arisen; working with young children to prevent problems may be far less expensive and far more efficacious. Differences by genes and gender in what environments best enable executive functions to blossom will be discussed.
Conference:
Conference on Neurocognitive Development, Berkeley, CA, United States, 12 Jul - 14 Jul, 2009.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Cognitive control frontostriatal circuitry, and dopamine
Citation:
Diamond
A
(2009). Developmental Change in, and Environmental Modulation of, Cognitive Control:
Differences by Gender and Genetics.
Conference Abstract:
Conference on Neurocognitive Development.
doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.09.2009.10.012
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Received:
06 Jul 2009;
Published Online:
06 Jul 2009.
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Correspondence:
Adele Diamond, University of British Columbia, Department of Psychiatry, Vancouver, Canada, adele.diamond@ubc.ca