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Fernández-García L, Phillips-Silver J, Daza González MT. A Novel Battery to Assess "Cool" and "Hot" Executive Functions: Sensitivity to Age Differences in Middle Childhood. Brain Sci 2024; 14:755. [PMID: 39199450 PMCID: PMC11352394 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14080755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2024] [Revised: 07/14/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 09/01/2024] Open
Abstract
The main goal of the current work was to assess the age sensitivity of a novel battery of cool and hot Executive Function (EF) tasks developed for the middle childhood period: the Executive Brain Battery (EBB). To this end, we carried out a first study in which the EBB was administered to six age groups ranging from 6 to 11. Additionally, in a second study, we compared children at the end of middle childhood (age 11 years) and adult performance in the EBB. Results showed that tasks included in the EBB were suitable for all age groups, with more age-related changes being found in cool than hot EF tasks. Moreover, at the end of middle childhood, children reach an adult-like performance in most of these cool and hot tasks. The present findings extend previous research suggesting that cool and hot EFs exhibit different patterns of age-related growth in middle childhood. Additionally, the EEB could become a useful tool for research on EFs during middle childhood that could be adapted for a wide range of populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Fernández-García
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain;
- CIBIS Research Center, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
| | | | - María Teresa Daza González
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain;
- CIBIS Research Center, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
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2
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Xu X, Buzzell GA, Bowers ME, Shuffrey LC, Leach SC, McSweeney M, Yoder L, Fifer WP, Myers MM, Elliott AJ, Fox NA, Morales S. Electrophysiological correlates of inhibitory control in children: Relations with prenatal maternal risk factors and child psychopathology. Dev Psychopathol 2024:1-14. [PMID: 38654404 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579424000816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Inhibitory control plays an important role in children's cognitive and socioemotional development, including their psychopathology. It has been established that contextual factors such as socioeconomic status (SES) and parents' psychopathology are associated with children's inhibitory control. However, the relations between the neural correlates of inhibitory control and contextual factors have been rarely examined in longitudinal studies. In the present study, we used both event-related potential (ERP) components and time-frequency measures of inhibitory control to evaluate the neural pathways between contextual factors, including prenatal SES and maternal psychopathology, and children's behavioral and emotional problems in a large sample of children (N = 560; 51.75% females; Mage = 7.13 years; Rangeage = 4-11 years). Results showed that theta power, which was positively predicted by prenatal SES and was negatively related to children's externalizing problems, mediated the longitudinal and negative relation between them. ERP amplitudes and latencies did not mediate the longitudinal association between prenatal risk factors (i.e., prenatal SES and maternal psychopathology) and children's internalizing and externalizing problems. Our findings increase our understanding of the neural pathways linking early risk factors to children's psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoye Xu
- Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Cortland, Cortland, NY, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - George A Buzzell
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
- Center for Children and Families, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Maureen E Bowers
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, The University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Lauren C Shuffrey
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Stephanie C Leach
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, The University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Marco McSweeney
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, The University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Lydia Yoder
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, The University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD, USA
| | - William P Fifer
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michael M Myers
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Amy J Elliott
- Avera Research Institute, Sioux Falls, SD, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of South Dakota School of Medicine, Sioux Falls, SD, USA
| | - Nathan A Fox
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, The University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Santiago Morales
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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3
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Ahumada-Méndez F, Lucero B, Avenanti A, Saracini C, Muñoz-Quezada MT, Cortés-Rivera C, Canales-Johnson A. Affective modulation of cognitive control: A systematic review of EEG studies. Physiol Behav 2022; 249:113743. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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4
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Barker TV, Buzzell GA, Troller-Renfree SV, Bowman LC, Pine DS, Fox NA. The influence of social motivation on neural correlates of cognitive control in girls. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:1611-1625. [PMID: 33538051 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Motivation influences cognitive control, particularly in childhood and adolescence. Previous work finds that the error-related negativity (ERN), an event-related potential (ERP) linked to cognitive control following errors, is influenced by social motivation. However, it is unclear whether the influences of social motivation on the ERN extend to stimulus-locked neural correlates of cognitive control. This study reexamines how social motivation influences cognitive control in adolescence by exploring motivational influences on two stimulus-locked ERPs; the N2 and P3. Adolescent girls (8-17 years of age) completed a flanker task under two different conditions. In the social condition, girls were led to believe that they were evaluated by a peer during a flanker task. In the nonsocial condition, girls completed a flanker task while evaluated by a computer. Results revealed that all girls exhibited a larger P3 in social as compared to nonsocial contexts, whereas the N2 was not different between contexts. In addition, the largest P3 enhancements were observed among younger girls. These findings suggest that social motivation influences some ERP components related to cognitive control, and such influences change across development. Additionally, findings suggest the importance of including multiple ERPs when interpreting the functional significance of motivation on cognitive control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyson V Barker
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - George A Buzzell
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Sonya V Troller-Renfree
- Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College at Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lindsay C Bowman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Daniel S Pine
- Emotion and Development Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Nathan A Fox
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
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5
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Early adversity and children's regulatory deficits: Does postadoption parenting facilitate recovery in postinstitutionalized children? Dev Psychopathol 2020; 32:879-896. [PMID: 31656215 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579419001226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Children reared in orphanages typically experience the lack of stable, reliable caregivers and are at increased risk for deficits in regulatory abilities including difficulties in inhibitory control, attention, and emotion regulation. Although adoption results in a radical shift in caregiving quality, there remains variation in postadoption parenting, yet little research has examined postadoption parenting that may promote recovery in children experiencing early life adversity in the form of institutional care. Participants included 93 postinstitutionalized children adopted between 15 and 36 months of age and 52 nonadopted same-aged peers. Parenting was assessed four times during the first 2 years postadoption (at 2, 8, 16, and 24 months postadoption) and children's regulation was assessed at age 5 (M age = 61.68 months) and during kindergarten (M age = 71.55 months). Multiple parenting dimensions including sensitivity/responsiveness, structure/limit setting, and consistency in routines were examined. Both parental sensitivity and structure moderated the effect of preadoption adversity on children's emotion regulation while greater consistency was associated with better inhibitory control and fewer attention problems. Results support the notion that postadoption parenting during toddlerhood and the early preschool years promotes better regulation skills following early adversity.
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6
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Assessing cognitive inhibition in emotional and neutral contexts in children. THE EDUCATIONAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGIST 2020. [DOI: 10.1017/edp.2020.4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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7
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Frenkel TI, Donzella B, Frenn KA, Rousseau S, Fox NA, Gunnar MR. Moderating the Risk for Attention Deficits in Children with Pre-Adoptive Adversity: The Protective Role of Shorter Duration of out of Home Placement and Children's Enhanced Error Monitoring. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 48:1115-1128. [PMID: 32607754 PMCID: PMC7424597 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-020-00671-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Early institutional-deprivation has been found to increase risk for inattention/hyperactivity (ADHD). Notably, studies suggest that children with a history of adversity evidencing an enhanced ERP (the error-related-negativity; ERN) may be protected against attention problems. However, such protective effects of the ERN have been studied in children whom typically experienced residential instability. It is unknown whether error-monitoring is similarly protective for children with stable post-deprivation placements. The present study examined the protective effect of the ERN in a sample of children who experienced at least 3-years of stable, relatively enriched caregiving after being internationally-adopted as infants/toddlers from institutional-care. We included two groups of children adopted internationally before age three, one group adopted from institutional-care (PI:n = 80) and one comparison group adopted from foster-care (FC;n = 44). A second comparison group consisted of non-adopted children (NA;n = 48) from demographically comparable families. At five-years of age, we assessed child ADHD symptoms (parent-report) and behavioral performance and neural correlates of error-monitoring (Go/No-Go task). PI children displayed lower Go/No-Go accuracy relative to FC children, and higher levels of ADHD symptoms relative to NA controls. In both FC and PI groups, longer duration of pre-adoptive out-of-home placement was associated with inattention, especially for children with deficits in error-monitoring. Enhancing cognitive control in the form of error monitoring might be a useful intervention target to protect children from some of the negative outcomes associated with adverse early care. Furthermore, results underscore that regardless of type of pre-adoptive care, we should aim to place children in stable/permanent homes as early as possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tahl I Frenkel
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Ziama Arkin Infancy Institute, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Bonny Donzella
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, 51 E. River Road, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Kristin A Frenn
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, 51 E. River Road, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Sofie Rousseau
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Ziama Arkin Infancy Institute, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Nathan A Fox
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Megan R Gunnar
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, 51 E. River Road, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
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8
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Zamora EV, Introzzi I, Del Valle M, Vernucci S, Richard S MM. Perceptual inhibition of emotional interference in children. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY. CHILD 2020; 9:215-229. [PMID: 30793980 DOI: 10.1080/21622965.2019.1567340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
In daily life, when a bee approaches us while we are sitting in the garden, we must pay attention to that threatening stimulus and give an appropriate response. However, if this bee approaches us while riding a bike, we must inhibit that distractor to avoid an accident. In this case, avoiding the interference of an emotional stimuli and continuing with the task should be preferential. In general, perceptual inhibition is responsible for controlling and suppressing the environmental distractions that interrupt the course of the realization of a goal. In this study, 435 children performed a modified flanker task with entirely irrelevant emotional and neutral stimuli in order to assess perceptual inhibition in contexts with high and low emotional salience. The results showed that entirely irrelevant distractors affected performance, but that there were no significant differences according to whether these distractors were emotionally salient or neutral. These results constitute a first approach to the problem of emotional interference in children considering the multidimensional approach of inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eliana V Zamora
- Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Isabel Introzzi
- Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Macarena Del Valle
- Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Santiago Vernucci
- Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - María M Richard S
- Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología (IPSIBAT), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMDP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Mar del Plata, Argentina
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9
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Cremone-Caira A, Root H, Harvey EA, McDermott JM, Spencer RMC. Effects of Sleep Extension on Inhibitory Control in Children With ADHD: A Pilot Study. J Atten Disord 2020; 24:601-610. [PMID: 31138037 PMCID: PMC7887756 DOI: 10.1177/1087054719851575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Objective: Children with ADHD often have sleep complaints and cognitive deficits. The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether sleep extension improves inhibitory control, a primary cognitive deficit in ADHD. Method: Children with (n = 11) and without (n = 15) ADHD participated in a within-subject sleep extension intervention that targeted nocturnal sleep duration. Sleep was assessed with actigraphy and polysomnography. Inhibitory control was assessed with a Go/No-Go task. Results: For children without ADHD, there was a significant main effect of time, such that morning inhibitory control was 10% greater than evening inhibitory control. However, inhibitory control did not differ between the baseline and extension conditions in this group. For children with ADHD, although morning inhibitory control did not differ from evening inhibitory control, sleep extension improved inhibitory control by 13% overall. Conclusion: These results suggest that a sleep extension intervention improves inhibitory control in children with ADHD.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Helen Root
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
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10
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Miller NV, Hane AA, Degnan KA, Fox NA, Chronis-Tuscano A. Investigation of a developmental pathway from infant anger reactivity to childhood inhibitory control and ADHD symptoms: interactive effects of early maternal caregiving. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2019; 60:762-772. [PMID: 30908640 PMCID: PMC6594894 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a complex pathogenesis. Individual differences in temperamental reactivity - in particular, anger reactivity - are predictive of ADHD. The goal of this study was to examine the moderating (maternal caregiving behaviors; MCB) and mediating (inhibitory control) variables of reactivity using a 9-year multimethod prospective longitudinal design. METHODS Participants included 291 children (135 male; 156 female) who participated in a larger study of temperament and social-emotional development. Anger reactivity was assessed by observation of facial anger during an arm restraint task, and MCB were observed during a series of semi-structured mother-infant tasks, both at 9 months of age. Inhibitory control was assessed by performance on a go/no-go task at 5 years of age. ADHD symptoms were assessed by parent and teacher report questionnaires at 7 and 9 years, respectively. RESULTS Anger reactivity and poor inhibitory control were predictive of later ADHD symptoms. Results supported a moderated mediation model, in which the indirect effects of anger reactivity on ADHD symptoms through inhibitory control were conditional on quality of early MCB. Inhibitory control mediated the effect of anger reactivity on ADHD symptoms, but only among children exposed to lower-quality MCB. CONCLUSIONS Infant anger reactivity exerts a direct effect on later ADHD from infancy, suggesting anger reactivity as a very early indicator of ADHD risk. Higher-quality caregiving did not buffer against the direct risk of anger reactivity on ADHD but did buffer against the indirect risk by reducing the negative effect of anger reactivity on inhibitory control. Thus, in the developmental pathway from anger reactivity to ADHD, more sensitive, less intrusive parenting supports the development of protective mechanisms (i.e. inhibitory control) to remediate ADHD risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie V. Miller
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
| | - Amie A. Hane
- Department of Psychology, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
| | - Kathryn A. Degnan
- Department of Psychology, The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C
| | - Nathan A. Fox
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
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11
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Abdul Rahman A, Wiebe SA. Valence matters: An electrophysiological study on how emotions influence cognitive performance in children. Dev Psychobiol 2018; 61:290-303. [PMID: 30548999 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Revised: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 11/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Emotional stimuli have been found to influence cognitive performance in children, but it is not clear whether this effect varies with the cognitive demands of the task. In this study, we examined how emotional expressions influenced cognitive performance and event-related potentials (ERPs) in early and middle childhood under varying cognitive control demands. Two groups of children (4.5-6.0 and 7.0-8.5 years) completed a modified flanker task where the stimuli were faces displaying task-irrelevant emotional expressions. Emotional influence varied depending on emotional valence: Accuracy was greater for happy targets, while response time and N2 latency were longer for angry targets. In younger children only, angry targets elicited a larger late frontal negativity. Cognitive control demands did not modulate the effect of emotions on behavioral performance or ERPs, contrasting with findings in adults. Findings are discussed in relation to the dual competition model and previous work demonstrating a positivity bias in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aishah Abdul Rahman
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Sandra A Wiebe
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.,Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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12
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Ho RA, Hall GB, Noseworthy MD, DeMatteo C. An Emotional Go/No-Go fMRI study in adolescents with depressive symptoms following concussion. Int J Psychophysiol 2018; 132:62-73. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2017.09.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2016] [Revised: 09/18/2017] [Accepted: 09/25/2017] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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13
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Hartstein LE, LeBourgeois MK, Berthier NE. Light correlated color temperature and task switching performance in preschool-age children: Preliminary insights. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0202973. [PMID: 30161180 PMCID: PMC6117001 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 08/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Data from a growing number of experimental studies show that exposure to higher correlated color temperature (CCT) ambient light, containing more blue light, can positively impact alertness and cognitive performance in older children and adults. To date, few if any studies have examined whether light exposure influences cognitive task performance in preschool-age children, who are in the midst of rapid developmental changes in attention and executive function skills. In this study, healthy children aged 4.5-5.5 years (n = 20; 11 females) completed measures of sustained attention and task switching twice while being exposed to LED light set to either 3500K (a lower CCT) or 5000K (a higher CCT). A control group (n = 18; 10 females) completed the tasks twice under only the 3500K lighting condition. Although the lighting condition did not impact performance on the sustained attention task, exposure to the higher CCT light lead to greater improvement in preschool-age children's task switching performance (F(1,36) = 4.41, p = 0.04). Children in the control group showed a 6.5% increase in task switching accuracy between time points, whereas those in the experimental group improved by 15.2%. Our primary finding-that exposure to light at a higher correlated color temperature leads to greater improvement in task switching performance-indicates that the relationship between the spectral power distribution of light and executive function abilities is present early in cognitive development. These data have implications for designing learning environments and suggest that light may be an important contextual factor in the lives of young children in both the home and the classroom.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E. Hartstein
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States of America
- Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications Engineering Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, United States of America
- Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Monique K. LeBourgeois
- Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States of America
| | - Neil E. Berthier
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States of America
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14
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Lamm C, Troller-Renfree SV, Zeanah CH, Nelson CA, Fox NA. Impact of early institutionalization on attention mechanisms underlying the inhibition of a planned action. Neuropsychologia 2018; 117:339-346. [PMID: 29908954 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Revised: 06/06/2018] [Accepted: 06/10/2018] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Institutional rearing is associated with deficits in executive functions, such as inhibitory control, and may contribute to later externalizing behavior problems. In the current study, we explored the impact of institutional rearing on attention in the context of inhibiting a planned action. As part of the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP), children were randomized to either remain in the institutions in which they lived (Care as Usual Group) or be placed into foster family homes (Foster Care Group). We also recruited age and gender matched never-institutionalized (NIG) children from the Bucharest community. We examined differences in behavioral and Event Related Potentials (ERPs) during a go-no-go task when children were 12 years old. Results revealed that the ever-institutionalized group (CAUG and FCG combined) showed slower reaction times, worse performance accuracy, larger P2 activation, and smaller (less negative) N2 activation than the NIG group. Results of a moderation analysis revealed that children who spent more time in institutions and had small N2s showed more externalizing symptoms. These results have implications for the design of treatment approaches for previously institutionalized children with externalizing behavior problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connie Lamm
- Department of Psychological Science, J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, United States.
| | - Sonya V Troller-Renfree
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Charles H Zeanah
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Charles A Nelson
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, United States; Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Nathan A Fox
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States
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15
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Denke G, Rawls E, Lamm C. Attentional Conflict Moderates the Association Between Anxiety and Emotional Eating Behavior: An ERP Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:194. [PMID: 29867417 PMCID: PMC5962666 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotional eating is an attempt to avoid, control, or cope with negative emotions through eating a large amount of calorie dense sweet and/or high fat foods. Several factors, including various attentional mechanisms, negative affect, and stress, impact emotional eating behavior. For example, attentional narrowing on negative events may increase attentional stickiness and thereby prevent the processing of more peripheral events, such as eating behavior. This study contributes to the extant literature by examining the neural correlates underlying the attentional conflict between processing negative events and regulating behavior within a task that emulates how negative life experiences might contribute to unrestrained eating behavior. We explore this question within a normative sample that varies in their self-reported anxiety symptoms. Dense-array EEG was collected while participants played the attentional blink game—a task in which excessive attentional resource allocated to one event (e.g., negative picture) interferes with the adequate attentional processing of a second event that requires action. To assess the attentional conflict, we measured N2 activation, an event-related potentials (ERPs; averaged EEG) associated with conflict processing. Results revealed that N2 activation moderates the association between anxiety and emotional-eating behavior. Thus, increased anxiety combined with more negative N2 activation can contribute to emotional-eating behavior. These results are discussed in the context of ineffective conflict processing contributing to poor emotion regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greg Denke
- School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Casper College, Casper, WY, United States
| | - Eric Rawls
- Department of Psychological Science, J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, United States
| | - Connie Lamm
- Department of Psychological Science, J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, United States
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16
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Motivational processes from expectancy-value theory are associated with variability in the error positivity in young children. J Exp Child Psychol 2016; 155:32-47. [PMID: 27898304 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2016.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2016] [Revised: 10/22/2016] [Accepted: 10/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Motivational beliefs and values influence how children approach challenging activities. The current study explored motivational processes from an expectancy-value theory framework by studying children's mistakes and their responses to them by focusing on two event-related potential (ERP) components: the error-related negativity (ERN) and the error positivity (Pe). Motivation was assessed using a child-friendly challenge puzzle task and a brief interview measure prior to ERP testing. Data from 50 4- to 6-year-old children revealed that greater perceived competence beliefs were related to a larger Pe, whereas stronger intrinsic task value beliefs were associated with a smaller Pe. Motivation was unrelated to the ERN. Individual differences in early motivational processes may reflect electrophysiological activity related to conscious error awareness.
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Thorpe SG, Cannon EN, Fox NA. Spectral and source structural development of mu and alpha rhythms from infancy through adulthood. Clin Neurophysiol 2016; 127:254-269. [PMID: 25910852 PMCID: PMC4818120 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2015.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2014] [Revised: 02/10/2015] [Accepted: 03/06/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To assess the developmental trajectory of spectral, topographic, and source structural properties of functional mu desynchronization (characterized during voluntary reaching/grasping movement), and investigate its spectral/topographic relation to spontaneous EEG in the developing alpha band. METHODS Event related desynchronization (ERD) and power spectral density spectra/topography are analyzed in 12 month-old infants, 4 year-old children, and adults. Age-matched head models derived from structural MRI are used to obtain current density reconstructions of mu desynchronization across the cortical surface. RESULTS Infant/child EEG contains spectral peaks evident in both the upper and lower developing alpha band, and spectral/topographic properties of functionally identified mu rhythm strongly reflect those of upper alpha in all subject groups. Source reconstructions show distributed frontoparietal patterns of cortical mu desynchronization concentrated in specific central and parietal regions which are consistent across age groups. CONCLUSIONS Peak frequencies of mu desynchronization and spontaneous alpha band EEG increase with age, and characteristic mu topography/source-structure is evident in development at least as early as 12 months. SIGNIFICANCE Results provide evidence for a cortically distributed functional mu network, with spontaneous activity measurable in the upper alpha band throughout development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel G Thorpe
- University of Maryland Child Development Laboratory, 3304 Benjamin Building, College Park, MD, USA.
| | - Erin N Cannon
- University of Maryland Child Development Laboratory, 3304 Benjamin Building, College Park, MD, USA.
| | - Nathan A Fox
- University of Maryland Child Development Laboratory, 3304 Benjamin Building, College Park, MD, USA.
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Farbiash T, Berger A. Brain and behavioral inhibitory control of kindergartners facing negative emotions. Dev Sci 2015; 19:741-56. [PMID: 26287125 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2014] [Accepted: 05/05/2015] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Inhibitory control (IC) - one of the most critical functions underlying a child's ability to self-regulate - develops significantly throughout the kindergarten years. Experiencing negative emotions imposes challenges on executive functioning and may specifically affect IC. In this study, we examined kindergartners' IC and its related brain activity during a negative emotional situation: 58 children (aged 5.5-6.5 years) performed an emotion-induction Go/NoGo task. During this task, we recorded children's performance and brain activity, focusing on the fronto-central N2 component in the event-related potential (ERP) and the power of its underlying theta frequency. Compared to Go trials, inhibition of NoGo trials was associated with larger N2 amplitudes and theta power. The negative emotional experience resulted in better IC performance and, at the brain level, in larger theta power. Source localization of this effect showed that the brain activity related to IC during the negative emotional experience was principally generated in the posterior frontal regions. Furthermore, the band power measure was found to be a more sensitive index for children's inhibitory processes than N2 amplitudes. This is the first study to focus on kindergartners' IC while manipulating their emotional experience to induce negative emotions. Our findings suggest that a kindergartner's experience of negative emotion can result in improved IC and increases in associated aspects of brain activity. Our results also suggest the utility of time-frequency analyses in the study of brain processes associated with response inhibition in young children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tali Farbiash
- Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
| | - Andrea Berger
- Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
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Cowell JM, Decety J. The neuroscience of implicit moral evaluation and its relation to generosity in early childhood. Curr Biol 2014; 25:93-7. [PMID: 25532892 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2014] [Revised: 10/30/2014] [Accepted: 11/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Despite cultural and individual variation, humans are a judgmental bunch. There is accumulating evidence for early social and moral evaluation as shown by research with infants and children documenting the notion that some behaviors are perceived as right and others are perceived as wrong. Moreover, social interactions are governed by a concern for fairness and others' well-being. However, although generosity increases between infancy and late childhood, it is less clear what mechanisms guide this change. Early predispositions toward prosociality are thought to arise in concert with the social and cultural environment, developing into adult morality, a complex incorporation of emotional, motivational, and cognitive processes. Using EEG combined with eye tracking and behavioral sharing, we investigated, for the first time, the temporal neurodynamics of implicit moral evaluation in 3- to 5-year-old children. Results show distinct early automatic attentional (EPN) and later cognitively controlled (N2, LPP) patterns of neural response while viewing characters engaging in helping and harming behaviors. Importantly, later (LPP), but not early (EPN), waveforms predicted actual generosity. These results shed light on theories of moral development by documenting the respective contribution of automatic and cognitive neural processes underpinning social evaluation and directly link these neural computations to prosocial behavior in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason M Cowell
- Child Neurosuite, Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, 5848 South University Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Jean Decety
- Child Neurosuite, Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, 5848 South University Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
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Mahy CEV, Voigt B, Ballhausen N, Schnitzspahn K, Ellis J, Kliegel M. The impact of cognitive control on children's goal monitoring in a time-based prospective memory task. Child Neuropsychol 2014; 21:823-39. [PMID: 25342074 DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2014.967202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The present study investigated whether developmental changes in cognitive control may underlie improvements of time-based prospective memory. Five-, 7-, 9-, and 11-year-olds (N = 166) completed a driving simulation task (ongoing task) in which they had to refuel their vehicle at specific points in time (PM task). The availability of cognitive control resources was experimentally manipulated by imposing a secondary task that required divided attention. Children completed the driving simulation task both in a full-attention condition and a divided-attention condition where they had to carry out a secondary task. Results revealed that older children performed better than younger children on the ongoing task and PM task. Children performed worse on the ongoing and PM tasks in the divided-attention condition compared to the full-attention condition. With respect to time monitoring in the final interval prior to the PM target, divided attention interacted with age such that older children's time monitoring was more negatively affected by the secondary task compared to younger children. Results are discussed in terms of developmental shifts from reactive to proactive monitoring strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin E V Mahy
- a Department of Psychology , Brock University , St. Catharines , ON L2S 3A1 , Canada
| | - Babett Voigt
- b Department of Psychology , University of Geneva , Geneva , Switzerland
| | - Nicola Ballhausen
- b Department of Psychology , University of Geneva , Geneva , Switzerland
| | | | - Judi Ellis
- c School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences , University of Reading , Reading , United Kingdom
| | - Matthias Kliegel
- b Department of Psychology , University of Geneva , Geneva , Switzerland
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Lamm C, Walker OL, Degnan KA, Henderson HA, Pine DS, McDermott JM, Fox NA. Cognitive control moderates early childhood temperament in predicting social behavior in 7-year-old children: an ERP study. Dev Sci 2014; 17:667-81. [PMID: 24754610 PMCID: PMC4334573 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2013] [Accepted: 09/27/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral inhibition (BI) is a temperament associated with heightened vigilance and fear of novelty in early childhood, and social reticence and increased risk for anxiety problems later in development. However, not all behaviorally inhibited children develop signs of anxiety. One mechanism that might contribute to the variability in developmental trajectories is the recruitment of cognitive-control resources. The current study measured N2 activation, an ERP (event-related potential) associated with cognitive control, and modeled source-space activation (LORETA; Low Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomography) at 7 years of age while children performed a go/no-go task. Activation was estimated for the entire cortex and then exported for four regions of interest: ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dorsal ACC), and dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). BI was measured in early childhood (ages 2 and 3 years). Anxiety problems and social reticence were measured at 7 years of age to ascertain stability of temperamental style. Results revealed that BI was associated with increased performance accuracy, longer reaction times, greater (more negative) N2 activation, and higher estimated dorsal ACC and DLPFC activation. Furthermore, early BI was only associated with social reticence at age 7 at higher (more negative) levels of N2 activation or higher estimated dorsal ACC or DLPFC activation. Results are discussed in the context of overcontrolled behavior contributing to social reticence and signs of anxiety in middle childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connie Lamm
- Department of Psychology, University of New Orleans
| | - Olga L. Walker
- Child Development Laboratory, Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland
| | - Kathryn A. Degnan
- Child Development Laboratory, Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland
| | | | | | | | - Nathan A. Fox
- Child Development Laboratory, Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland
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Lamm C, Pine DS, Fox NA. Impact of negative affectively charged stimuli and response style on cognitive-control-related neural activation: an ERP study. Brain Cogn 2013; 83:234-43. [PMID: 24021156 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2013.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2012] [Revised: 07/25/2013] [Accepted: 07/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The canonical AX-CPT task measures two forms of cognitive control: sustained goal-oriented control ("proactive" control) and transient changes in cognitive control following unexpected events ("reactive" control). We modified this task by adding negative and neutral International Affective Picture System (IAPS) pictures to assess the effects of negative emotion on these two forms of cognitive control. Proactive and reactive control styles were assessed based on measures of behavior and electrophysiology, including the N2 event-related potential component and source space activation (Low Resolution Tomography [LORETA]). We found slower reaction-times and greater DLPFC activation for negative relative to neutral stimuli. Additionally, we found that a proactive style of responding was related to less prefrontal activation (interpreted to reflect increased efficiency of processing) during actively maintained previously cued information and that a reactive style of responding was related to less prefrontal activation (interpreted to reflect increased efficiency of processing) during just-in-time environmentally triggered information. This pattern of results was evident in relatively neutral contexts, but in the face of negative emotion, these associations were not found, suggesting potential response style-by-emotion interaction effects on prefrontal neural activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Lamm
- Department of Psychology, University of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
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Schel MA, Crone EA. Development of response inhibition in the context of relevant versus irrelevant emotions. Front Psychol 2013; 4:383. [PMID: 23847560 PMCID: PMC3698449 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2013] [Accepted: 06/10/2013] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The present study examined the influence of relevant and irrelevant emotions on response inhibition from childhood to early adulthood. Ninety-four participants between 6 and 25 years of age performed two go/nogo tasks with emotional faces (neutral, happy, and fearful) as stimuli. In one go/nogo task emotion formed a relevant dimension of the task and in the other go/nogo task emotion was irrelevant and participants had to respond to the color of the faces instead. A special feature of the latter task, in which emotion was irrelevant, was the inclusion of free choice trials, in which participants could freely decide between acting and inhibiting. Results showed a linear increase in response inhibition performance with increasing age both in relevant and irrelevant affective contexts. Relevant emotions had a pronounced influence on performance across age, whereas irrelevant emotions did not. Overall, participants made more false alarms on trials with fearful faces than happy faces, and happy faces were associated with better performance on go trials (higher percentage correct and faster RTs) than fearful faces. The latter effect was stronger for young children in terms of accuracy. Finally, during the free choice trials participants did not base their decisions on affective context, confirming that irrelevant emotions do not have a strong impact on inhibition. Together, these findings suggest that across development relevant affective context has a larger influence on response inhibition than irrelevant affective context. When emotions are relevant, a context of positive emotions is associated with better performance compared to a context with negative emotions, especially in young children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margot A Schel
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University Leiden, Netherlands ; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition Leiden, Netherlands
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