Circadian rhythms in executive function during the transition to adolescence: the effect of synchrony between chronotype and time of day

Abstract

To explore the influence of circadian rhythms on executive function during early adolescence, we administered a battery of executive function measures (including a Go-Nogo task, the Iowa Gambling Task, a Self-ordered Pointing task, and an Intra/Extradimensional Shift task) to Morning-preference and Evening-preference participants (N = 80) between the ages of 11 and 14 years who were tested in the morning or afternoon. Significant Chronotype × Time of Day interactions (controlling for amount of sleep the previous night) revealed that adolescents tested at their optimal times of day performed better than those tested at their nonoptimal times. Implications for our understanding of physiological arousal, sleep, and executive function during adolescence are discussed.

Figure 1

Executive function composite scores (based on Go-Nogo Task, the Iowa Gambling Task, Self-ordered Pointing Task [concrete version], and the Intra/Extradimensional Shift Task; see text for details), as a function of chronotype and time of day. Error bars represent standard errors.

Figure 2

(A) Percentage of commission errors on the Go-Nogo Task, as a function of chronotype and time of day. Error bars represent standard errors. (B) Performance on the Iowa Gambling Task (net score across 100 trials), as a function of chronotype and time of day. Error bars represent standard errors. (C) Performance (total errors) on the Self-ordered Pointing Task (concrete version), as a function of chronotype and time of day. Error bars represent standard errors. (D) Performance on the Intra/Extradimensional Shift Task (highest level reached, as a function of chronotype and time of day. Error bars represent standard errors.