Content area
Full text
Neuropsychol Rev (2007) 17:213233 DOI 10.1007/s11065-007-9040-z
The Elusive Nature of Executive Functions: A Review of our Current Understanding
Mara Beatriz Jurado & Mnica Rosselli
Received: 17 September 2006 / Accepted: 11 June 2007 / Published online: 5 September 2007 # Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2007
Abstract Executive functions include abilities of goal formation, planning, carrying out goal-directed plans, and effective performance. This article aims at reviewing some of the current knowledge surrounding executive functioning and presenting the contrasting views regarding this concept. The neural substrates of the executive system are examined as well as the evolution of executive functioning, from development to decline. There is clear evidence of the vulnerability of executive functions to the effects of age over lifespan. The first executive function to emerge in children is the ability to inhibit overlearned behavior and the last to appear is verbal fluency. Inhibition of irrelevant information seems to decline earlier than set shifting and verbal fluency during senescence. The sequential progression and decline of these functions has been paralleled with the anatomical changes of the frontal lobe and its connections with other brain areas. Generalization of the results presented here are limited due to methodological differences across studies. Analysis of these differences is presented and suggestions for future research are offered.
Keywords Executive Functions . Frontal lobe . Elderly . Children . Development
Despite the frequency with which it is mentioned in the neuropsychological literature, the concept of executive function is one that still awaits a formal definition. Research efforts aimed at exploring the different aspects
of this construct have often yielded contradictory findings, resulting in a lack of clarity and even controversy regarding the true nature of executive abilities. The main purpose of this article is to review some of the current knowledge surrounding executive functions and to present the contrasting views generated by this concept. An overview of the myriad definitions and subcomponents believed to make up executive functions is included along with a discussion of the methodological problems associated with the measurement of this construct. The proposed neural substrates of the executive system are examined as well as the evolution of executive functioning over the life-span, from development to decline. Our review on the effects of age on executive...