Editorial: Development of Executive Function during Childhood

Executive function (EF) is one of the most rapidly expanding research fields in the developmental and cognitive sciences. The aim of this Research Topic is to present a broad sample of recent advances in understanding the development of EF. The 38 articles in this collection provide a unique, state-of-the-art tour of current, burning issues regarding executive function development, from cutting-edge research on the underpinning basic cognitive processes to the most promising applications in educational and clinical settings.


Development of Executive Function during Childhood
Executive function (EF) is one of the most rapidly expanding research fields in the developmental and cognitive sciences. The aim of this Research Topic is to present a broad sample of recent advances in understanding the development of EF. The 38 articles in this collection provide a unique, state-of-the-art tour of current, burning issues regarding executive function development, from cutting-edge research on the underpinning basic cognitive processes to the most promising applications in educational and clinical settings.

COGNITIVE PROCESSES OF EF DURING CHILDHOOD
EF involves several complex cognitive processes, including working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. The present papers shed new light on how these processes develop and how they are interrelated. Specifically, they clarify the conditions that modulate EF demands (FitzGibbon et al.; Unger et al.), how their effect can persist in time (Garcia and Dick), the specific executive processes (e.g., inhibitory control) at play in a given task (Wright and Diamond) and the specific age windows during which critical changes in EF engagement occur (Lucenet and Blaye). Furthermore, they provide new evidence that EF may develop through progressive differentiation of executive processes from more basic cognitive processes (e.g., processing speed and short-term memory; Clark et al.

THE CRITICAL ROLE OF EF IN SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
The present papers also reveal or clarify the association of EF to a host of social and emotional processes including, for instance, theory of mind ( Impressively, these associations are often found over and above associations with IQ. Other findings highlight links between EF and motor function (Gonzalez et al.), source monitoring (Earhart and Roberts), and conceptual development (Houdé and Borst). These impressive findings highlight the foundational role that EF plays in goal-directed behavior across a wide range of domains and situations, and they underscore that the healthy development of EF skills is critical for both social-emotional and cognitive development. Indeed, they suggest that understanding the development of EF is absolutely key to understanding child development overall.

EXPERIENCES AFFECTING EF
Given the importance of EF for child development and academic achievement, several studies examined experiential influences that may affect its development. The findings suggest that some activities, such as regular energy drink consumption during adolescence, may impair EF (Batenburg-Eddes et al.), whereas others, such as time spent in non-structured activities, may promote it during childhood (Barker et al.). Meanwhile, the influence of other factors that have long been assumed to affect EF, in particular bilingualism, may have been overestimated in the past (Gathercole et al.). All these thought-provoking findings have important implications on societal choices and for policy makers.

EF DISORDERS
Just as EF appears to play an essential role in typical development,

SUMMARY
The articles in this Research Topic demonstrate how considerations of both basic cognitive/biological processes and applied/clinical settings help to unify and extend our understanding of EF during childhood. They illustrate the large range of questions and debates that animate this particularly dynamic field. We hope that this Research Topic will be helpful to both novices and experts of EF development by providing an overview of the field and highlighting the most recent advances.