Coffin-Siris syndrome (CSS) is a rare genetic disorder presenting physical abnormalities and cognitive developmental challenges. Research into cognitive and developmental aspects of CSS could shed...Show moreCoffin-Siris syndrome (CSS) is a rare genetic disorder presenting physical abnormalities and cognitive developmental challenges. Research into cognitive and developmental aspects of CSS could shed light on the development of emotional and behavioural problems which could contribute to early detection and preventive measures. This study investigates core executive functions (Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Functions) and emotional and behavioural problems (Child Behavioural Checklist) in 15 CSS children aged 3-18 years. Core executive functions are compared between 12 children with CSS children and 26 TD children matched on mental age. Additionally, this study delves into the relationship between core executive functions and emotional and behavioural problems. Children with CSS exhibited attention deficit/hyperactivity, anxiety and oppositional defiant problems. The majority of children with CSS also exhibited problems in cognitive flexibility and working memory. However, inhibition problems were in line with TD children. Children with CSS displayed equal levels of inhibition and working memory problems compared to their peers with a similar developmental level but showed increased levels of cognitive flexibility problems. Findings suggest that there is no correlation between total executive functioning and emotional and behavioural problems in children with CSS. However, a relationship was found between inhibition and overall emotional and behavioural problems, and specifically attention deficit/hyperactivity. Additional investigations are necessary to conduct comprehensive assessments of executive functions in children with CSS, particularly considering their intellectual development. Additionally, recommendations for future research are provided to further explore the connection between executive functions and emotional and behavioural problems in children with CSS. These findings provide first insight into executive functions in children with CSS and their relationship with emotional and behavioural problems. These findings may aid the development of tailored interventions aimed at improving adaptive functioning, reduce emotional and behavioural problems, and enhance quality of life.Show less
Adolescence is a peak age of onset for many psychiatric disorders and a period for development of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Previous cross-sectional studies imply a relationship...Show moreAdolescence is a peak age of onset for many psychiatric disorders and a period for development of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Previous cross-sectional studies imply a relationship between executive function and problem behaviour. However, to understand these relationships and how they develop, more evidence is required and prospective designs are essential. Current prospective study explored the relationships between age, sex, executive function and problem behaviour. In addition, it studied whether executive functions (inhibition, cognitive flexibility, working memory and planning and organizing) predict problem behaviour. A community sample of 175 adolescents between 8-16 years old underwent an MRI scan three times, with a two-year interval. Problem behaviour was measured by the Dutch translated version of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) (Verhulst et al., 1996) and the executive functions were measured by the Dutch translated parent-report version of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) (Smidts & Huizinga, 2009). Pearson correlations, Analyses Of Variance (ANOVA), Independent-samples T-tests and Multiple Regression Analyses were performed. The analyses showed strong associations between cognitive flexibility and internalizing problem behaviour, and between inhibition and externalizing problem behaviour. In addition, when comparing sex difference, a significant difference was found between sex and internalizing problem behaviour, and between sex and planning and organizing. Other sex differences were not found. Results from this study suggest that there is an association between poorer executive function skills and the severity of internalizing and externalizing problem behaviour. Our findings also suggest a relationship between sex and internalizing problem behaviour, and between sex and planning and organizing. Effective interventions could be developed in the future to enhance executive functions and decrease the development of clinical problems.Show less
Life History Theory is an evolutionary theory claiming that early life circumstances help us develop abilities and behaviors beneficial to those specific conditions. This study aimed to investigate...Show moreLife History Theory is an evolutionary theory claiming that early life circumstances help us develop abilities and behaviors beneficial to those specific conditions. This study aimed to investigate the effects of childhood poverty on cognitive abilities such as switching and visuospatial memory in current financially difficult situations. We hypothesized that people who grew up poor would score better on a task measuring switching and visuospatial memory, but only in current financially difficult situations. Conversely, their counterparts in the low financial difficulty situations would underperform due to the dissimilarity of the circumstances the cognitive abilities adapted to in childhood. Our results provided support for the hypothesis as participants who grew up poor performed better at switching and visuospatial memory in current financially difficult situations compared to their peers in the low difficulty situation. These findings indicate that difficult circumstances in childhood could improve cognitive abilities needed to persist in those circumstances.Show less
Objective: Patients with psychiatric disorders often experience problems with executive functioning, including cognitive flexibility, planning, and working memory. Prior results on healthy subjects...Show moreObjective: Patients with psychiatric disorders often experience problems with executive functioning, including cognitive flexibility, planning, and working memory. Prior results on healthy subjects suggest that a low Socio-Economic Status (SES) might be related to such problems. However, little research has been done regarding the relationship between deficits in executive functioning and SES within psychiatric populations. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the possible relationships between the SES and three executive functions in patients with psychiatric disorders using a transdiagnostic approach. We also tentatively explored the relationship between SES and executive functions as a function of the different diagnostic groups to evaluate whether this relationship itself is transdiagnostic. Method: A total of 298 patients diagnosed with different psychiatric disorders were included in this study: schizophrenia and psychosis (103), major depressive disorders (100), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (95). The participants’ cognitive flexibility, planning, and working memory was evaluated using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). The area-level SES (an index for SES) data were obtained from the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP). Results: Area-level SES was significantly negatively related to cognitive flexibility (β = -.043, p = .007). However, area-level SES was not related to planning (p =.072) nor to working memory (p = .412). The relationship between area-level SES and executive functioning by diagnostic category was non-significant (p = .355). Conclusion: The results of the current study indicated that a high area-level SES was associated with a higher degree of cognitive flexibility. The study also suggests that the relationship between area-level SES and cognitive flexibility cuts across psychiatric disorders and could be considered as a transdiagnostic mechanism. Healthcare providers could use area-level SES to predict which patients might require extra attention regarding deficits in cognitive flexibility. This study can also function as a steppingstone for future research into the relationship between SES and executive functions in psychiatric populations as it provides insight into the pitfalls and possible remedies for applying aggregate (area-level) data at the individual level.Show less
ABSTRACT This thesis examined the possibility of a relationship between exploratory behaviour and executive functions (i.e. cognitive development) in 137 children (76 boys and 61 girls (Mpre = 5.3...Show moreABSTRACT This thesis examined the possibility of a relationship between exploratory behaviour and executive functions (i.e. cognitive development) in 137 children (76 boys and 61 girls (Mpre = 5.3 years; SD = .6; Mpost = 6.3 years; SD = .6)). Additionally, the effect of an intervention, aimed at improving children’s executive functioning, on their exploratory behaviour was examined using a pretest posttest intervention design. This question was tested on a sample of 247 children containing 137 boys and 110 girls (Mpre = 5.3 years; SD = .6; Mpost = 6.3 years; SD = .6). Parents were randomly assigned to the intervention- or control group. Parents of forty children were trained on how to stimulate their children’s social- and cognitive functioning, with a major focus on executive functioning, and parents of 207 children were not. Executive functions are known to be trainable and believed to be related to the development of exploratory behaviour. Playhouse, a newly developed task, assesses the quality of exploration. The executive functions; inhibition, working memory and attention, were measured with the Amsterdam Psychological Tasks. The results suggest that a relationship between children’s executive functioning and their quality of exploratory behaviour exists. However, these relationships had a small effect. Additionally, it was found that children’s executive functioning and quality of exploratory behaviour depend on their age. However, it remains unclear whether the improved executive functions with increasing age affect the increasing quality of exploratory behaviour with increasing age. Furthermore, the results in this study suggest that training parents to stimulate their children’s social- and cognitive functioning, with a major focus on executive functioning does not affect their quality of exploratory behaviour. Further research in this area is necessary in order to get a more accurate understanding of the relationship between children’s executive functioning and their explorative behaviour, and the psychometric properties of Playhouse.Show less
