You know, Catherine, in your book searches, you ought to include one on developing executive function gradually in young children. I've got one that probably falls into that category -- "Life Skills for Kids" by Christine Field -- but I wonder if there are any out there for teaching kids how to manage a home office, LOL.

-- BrendaM - 23 May 2006

I've been reading some interesting material suggesting that 'E.F.' can be improved.....(I have such fascinating stuff stacked up I need to get posted....)

-- CatherineJohnson - 20 May 2006

Sorry, I meant to get a definition up.

Off the top of my head, executive function is:

• impulse control (ADHD kids have relatively poor executive function)
• the ability to stop doing what you're doing and try something else (so autistic kids also have poor executive function, but for opposite reasons!)
• the ability to plan
• the ability to organize
• the ability to persist (i.e. motivation and the ability to remember the future)

and

• working memory

working memory has two facets (this is off the top of my head again, obviously):

• holding material in memory while you use it - e.g. remembering all 7 digits of a phone number while dialing
• finding the material you need in longterm memory

-- CatherineJohnson - 20 May 2006

Boy, this is definitely true (that IQ and exec function aren't the same thing). Iq seems to be somewhat innate, whereas it took 40 years for my executive function to catch up with my IQ. I don't know if exec function continues to develop all through life (I'm sure it's eventually overtaken by events such as waning memory) but it seems very different from IQ in that it can really improve a great deal during the lifespan. And thank heavens, else children would never, ever grow up.

-- CarolynJohnston - 20 May 2006

I wasn't sure exactly how to identify "executive function" so I went searching and found a definition / description:

"Executive functions are those capacities, most commonly linked to the frontal cortex, that guide complex behavior over time through planning, decision-making and response control."

I met lots of very smart people in college at Caltech. At least one stands out as substantially lacking in "executive function." Seth stood at one end of a long hallway while a friend drove a golf ball through his legs. Doesn't sound so bad? It was about a 100 foot hallway, the ball went through his legs on the fly, hit the wall over the stairwell behind him, and (still on the fly) passed outside his legs on the way back. Come to think of it, both parties to this seem to lack "executive function."

Seth would also seem like he wasn't paying attention much when you talked to him, but he was so smart I always attributed it to the fact that his brain was probably working on three other problems at the same time.

Aside from all the studying, Caltech students do plenty of things that demonstrate that "executive function" is not the same as IQ. And that continues to develop in early adulthood.

-- StephanieO - 20 May 2006

executive function, IQ, and hovering - part 1

Now that I've discovered MiddleWeb's article on the goodness of hovering, it's time for me finally to pull together my converging lines of evidence re:

• the brain

• the frontal lobes

• IQ

• executive function

• the importance of hovering

Let's start here:

IQ and executive function are two different things. I had read this many times, but I confirmed it two weeks ago with Eric Hollander.

They are separate functions of the brain. High IQ does not mean high executive function, and high executive function does not mean high IQ. You can certainly have high IQ along with high executive function, and low IQ along with low executive function. I'm guessing that if you have very low IQ - i.e. if you have mental retardation - you probably also have low executive function, but I don't know.

In any case, at present, neuroscientists believe that high IQ and high executive function are separate.


MORE LATER

In the meantime, Elkhonon Goldberg's book on the frontal lobes & executive function is a page-turner:







sources:
Teenage Brain: a work in progress (NIH)

frontal lobes, executive function, & IQ
hovering is good (MiddleWeb)
being your child's frontal lobes
organization is overrated
executive function, IQ, & hovering, part 1
the discovery of executive function, part 2
executive function self-test
presidents & criminals & the frontal lobes
ISIS initiate sustain inhibit shift

page splatter
page splatter & the frontal lobes

Dear Abby
Susan on dating
Catherine's brain-based dating rule



-- CatherineJohnson - 20 May 2006

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• Posted by: CatherineJohnson
• LogDate: May 20, 2006 @ 10:03