Executive functioning in adolescence: Developmental trajectories and longitudinal links to sleep and neural indicators

青春期的执行功能：发育轨迹以及与睡眠和神经指标的纵向联系

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-05084
• 负责人: Bernier, Annie
• 金额: $ 3.42万
• 依托单位: Université de Montréal
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=689472
• 关键词: Executive; functioning; adolescence; Developmental; trajectories

Cognitive abilities change dramatically over the course of adolescence, especially the neurocognitive processes related to executive functioning (EF). EF consists of a set of higher-order cognitive skills that are recruited when individuals face cognitively challenging situations, and is centrally involved in attention regulation, information processing and updating, and problem solving. EF is considered to be a central indicator of neurocognition in adolescence and depends heavily on neural networks involving notably the prefrontal cortex, which undergoes significant developments throughout childhood and adolescence. These neurodevelopments include myelination of axons and synaptic pruning, resulting in increased efficiency in the neural circuits that subsume EF. As a result, age-related improvements in neurocognition throughout adolescence are expected. Indeed, age differences in EF are often observed, with older adolescents outperforming their younger counterparts on a variety of executive tasks.******These mean-level differences between age groups are generally interpreted as reflecting developmental improvements yet, cross-sectional studies cannot speak to cognitive development per se. Cross-sectional studies rely on comparisons of groups of adolescents of different ages, and thus cannot disentangle age effects from any other characteristic that may distinguish the age groups (cohort effects). In contrast, longitudinal designs with at least three time points facilitate the disaggregation of age and cohort effects, as well as the characterization of cognitive development on two levels: the pattern of change within each individual and differences between individuals in this within-person change. Thus, longitudinal designs with three time points or more are essential for answering key questions about neurocognitive development, pertaining for instance to the rate and shape (e.g., linear or quadratic) of EF improvements throughout adolescence and individual differences in these patterns.******Although progression in neurocognitive capacity happens at the within-person level by definition, all EF research with adolescents to date has involved the analysis of strictly between-person data, or has relied on only two assessment points. As a result, current knowledge on the rhythm and shape of executive improvement in adolescence is limited. This, in turn, constrains the state of knowledge on all other questions pertaining to the process of EF development, such as the nature of the links between this process and neurobiological underpinnings presumed to be of key importance, such as sleep patterns or brain anatomy and connectivity. Aiming to address these gaps, this program of longitudinal research consists of four studies seeking to characterize the rhythm and shape of age-related improvements in EF in adolescence, and examine the associations between these improvement trajectories and adolescents' brain structure, function, and their sleep patterns.**

认知能力在青春期发生了巨大的变化，尤其是与执行功能相关的神经认知过程。EF由一组高阶认知技能组成，这些技能在个体面临认知挑战时被招募，主要涉及注意力调节、信息处理和更新以及问题解决。EF被认为是青少年神经认知的一个中心指标，在很大程度上依赖于神经网络，尤其是涉及前额叶皮层的神经网络，前额叶皮层在整个童年和青少年时期经历了重要的发展。这些神经发育包括轴突髓鞘形成和突触修剪，导致包含EF的神经回路效率提高。因此，在整个青春期，与年龄相关的神经认知能力的改善是可以预期的。事实上，EF的年龄差异经常被观察到，年龄较大的青少年在各种执行任务上的表现优于年龄较小的同龄人。******这些年龄组之间的平均水平差异通常被解释为反映了发展的改善，然而，横断面研究不能说明认知发展本身。横断面研究依赖于不同年龄的青少年群体的比较，因此不能将年龄效应与任何其他可能区分年龄组的特征（队列效应）区分开来。相比之下，至少有三个时间点的纵向设计有助于年龄和队列效应的分解，以及在两个层面上表征认知发展：每个个体内部的变化模式和这种个人内部变化中个体之间的差异。因此，具有三个或更多时间点的纵向设计对于回答有关神经认知发展的关键问题至关重要，例如，有关整个青春期EF改善的速度和形状（例如，线性或二次型）以及这些模式的个体差异。******虽然神经认知能力的进步从定义上讲发生在个人层面，但迄今为止EF对青少年的所有研究都涉及严格的个人数据分析，或者仅依赖于两个评估点。因此，目前对青少年执行力提高的节奏和形式的了解是有限的。反过来，这又限制了对EF发育过程相关的所有其他问题的认识状态，例如该过程与被认为至关重要的神经生物学基础（如睡眠模式或大脑解剖学和连通性）之间联系的性质。为了解决这些差距，这个纵向研究项目包括四项研究，旨在描述青少年EF与年龄相关的改善的节奏和形状，并检查这些改善轨迹与青少年大脑结构、功能和睡眠模式之间的关系