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. 2019 Aug:38:100651.
doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100651. Epub 2019 May 24.

Cognitive flexibility-related prefrontal activation in preschoolers: A biological approach to temperamental effortful control

Laura E Quiñones-Camacho  1 , Frank A Fishburn  2 , M Catalina Camacho  3 , Lauren S Wakschlag  4 , Susan B Perlman  5
Affiliations

Cognitive flexibility-related prefrontal activation in preschoolers: A biological approach to temperamental effortful control

Laura E Quiñones-Camacho et al. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2019 Aug.

Abstract

Individual differences in temperament have been theorized to be supported by differential recruitment of key neural regions, resulting in the distinct patterns of behavior observed throughout life. Although a compelling model, its rigorous and systematic testing is lacking, particularly within the heightened neuroplasticity of early childhood. The current study tested a model of the link between temperament, the brain, and behavior for cognitive flexibility in a sample of 4-5-year-old children (N = 123) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to assess prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to explore the link between survey reports of temperamental effortful control, and both performance-based and neuroimaging measures of cognitive flexibility. Results indicated that greater parent-reported temperamental effortful control was associated with better performance on a cognitive flexibility task, and less activation of the DLPFC in preschoolers. These findings support the theorized model of the interrelatedness between temperamental tendencies, behavior, and brain activation and suggest that better temperamentally regulated children use the DLPFC more efficiently for cognitive flexibility.

Keywords: Cognitive flexibility; Effortful control; Executive function; Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS); PFC; Preschool.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Example of Pet Store Stroop ‘NonStroop’ and ‘Stroop’ trials. Children put the animals on the cage corresponding to the sound the animal made.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Cognitive flexibility fNIRS activation shown for the Stroop-NonStroop contrast for oxygenated- and deoxygenated-hemoglobin thresholded at p < .05, FDR corrected for the number of channels.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
SEM model of effortful control predicting PFC activation during the cognitive flexibility task. Estimates are standardized. Errors not included in the figure for clarity. Bold = significant estimate; dashed line = nonsignificant path.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Correlation between DLPFC activation during cognitive flexibility and attentional focusing controlling for accuracy and age. Blue lines represent 95% confidence interval of the prediction line (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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