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Executive Function Tests
A major aspect of conscious cognition, executive functioning (EF) refers to a constellation of separate but related cognitive functions that enable self-control and the deliberate self-regulation of thought, emotion, and behavior toward the purpose of achieving a goal. We routinely use EFs to navigate aspects of life and interact with the environment around us. These abilities are crucial for supporting important aspects of everyday life such as planning, navigating difficult tasks, contemplating and making decisions, coping and adapting to uncertainty, tracking finances, and holding conversations. Neuroanatomically, EF is dependent primarily on the prefrontal cortex and interactions between the prefrontal cortex and subcortical brain regions. Because the frontal or prefrontal cortex is among the last areas of the brain to mature fully in humans, there are major developmental shifts in EF across the lifespan. For instance, EF abilities emerge and develop rapidly during the preschool years and then follow a pattern of progressively increasing maturation until early adulthood. EF abilities, on average, then decrease gradually after the third decade of life, although there are considerable differences across people. This entry examines different methods of testing executive function.
Executive functioning is a critical cognitive resource in humans that comprises several interrelated subprocesses. EF tests that measure these abilities can be administered across development. These tests are important and useful tools in neurocognitive assessments to determine the cognitive profiles of individuals and support targeted clinical recommendations among those with developmental disabilities. It is important to consider that although many EF tests appear similar, the specific cognitive domain assessed differs according to the type of task parameters and demands placed on those assessed.
Assessing Executive Functions
Executive functions are considered a form of higher order cognitive abilities. This higher order distinguishes them from nonexecutive functions, or so-called lower order abilities, such as motor processes or visual perception. EF tests are frequently related to other higher order cognitive tests (e.g., intelligence tests) because tests sometimes require individuals to complete highly similar tasks measuring related concepts and because using EF is necessary to complete the other tests.
Many versions of EF tests are available commercially, and other, modified, versions are used in experimental and clinical research laboratories to study aspects of human cognition. Most commercially available tests are designed to be standardized and norm referenced. This means that a given individual’s performance on an EF test is compared against a large group of scores that were used to develop the test. Norm-referenced tests enable clinicians, researchers, parents, and individuals to determine and understand how a given individual’s EF performance stands relative to others of similar demographic (age, gender) or who are a part of special clinical groups (i.e., those with developmental disabilities, brain injury). Within-person comparisons can be made to identify personal strengths and weaknesses across several EF domains.
A comprehensive assessment of multiple EFs permits the interpretation of individual profiles to be understood. These profiles are often helpful in clinical or school settings for guiding treatment planning or school accommodations, predicting risk outcomes, or supporting psychological diagnoses. Different profiles of executive performance impairments and strengths are associated with several developmental disability conditions, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, speech-language disorders, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, and fetal alcohol syndrome.
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