Publicación Oficial de la Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Neurología, de la Liga Ecuatoriana Contra la Epilepsia y de la Sociedad Iberoamericana de Enfermedad Cerebrovascular

Funciones Ejecutivas

 

Estrés Cotidiano, Funciones Ejecutivas y Rendimiento Académico en Escolares de Primaria. Daily Stress, Executive Functions, and Academic Performance in Elementary School Students.

The presence of stress has been linked to executive functions and academic performance; thus, the present research explored its relationship among primary students. The quantitative study included 62 participants between 8-12 years old, divided into late childhood and preadolescents groups.

A School Daily Stress scale was applied, with a report of academic averages and a battery of neuropsychological tests to measure executive functions and global cognitive capacity (CIT). The tests were the Trail making test, the colour and word Stroop test, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. The main results showed a significant and negative correlation between daily stress, cognitive flexibility, working memory and inhibitory control (p<.05).

Regression analysis showed that both the CIT and the perception of daily stress predict academic performance (R2= .35). It is concluded that daily stress is relevant for the development of executive functions in primary school children and can have a negative impact on both academic performance and school trajectories.

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Palabras clave: escolares, estrés cotidiano, Funciones Ejecutivas, rendimiento académico,

Keywords: academic performance, daily stress, Executive functions, school children,

Desarrollo psicomotor y funciones ejecutivas en la primera infancia: Un enfoque interdisciplinario para la educación integral. Psychomotor development and executive functions in early childhood: An interdisciplinary approach to comprehensive education.

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Palabras clave: Desarrollo psicomotor, Educación Inicial, Educación Parvularia, Funciones Ejecutivas, Trabajo Pedagógico Interdisciplinario,

Keywords: early childhood, Early Childhood Education, Executive functions, Interdisciplinary Pedagogical Work, Psychomotor development,

Relación entre el desarrollo psicomotor y funciones ejecutivas en la primera infancia de niños/as de 3 a 5 años. Relationship between psychomotor development and executive functions in early childhood of children from 3 to 5 years old

Psychomotor development is understood as the maturation of the central nervous system, which progresses as the child goes through stages in a linear and systematized manner. In relation to executive functions, these are known as a series of mental processes that allow managing and coordinating thoughts, emotional responses, and behavior. The main objective of the research was to analyze the relationship between psychomotor development and executive functions in children between 3 and 5 years old. For this, a bi bliographical systematic review study was carried out on psychomotor development and executive functions in children aged 3 to 5 years in the last 10 years. Likewise, the Scielo database was considered, and the observation technique was used to extract the information and bibliographic records were manipulated as a data collection instrument. The findings found that psychomotor development and executive functions are related, given that they have a predictive value in certain child development deficits. It can be concluded that language, social development, and motor skills are associated with cognitive processes, such as inhibition and working memory. In this sense, it is considered relevant that, in this age range, given the early psychomotor development and executive functions, nursery educators must be trained in this subject so that they can generate early intervention plans adapted for the promotion and prevention of certain deficits in early childhood development.

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Palabras clave: Desarrollo psicomotor, Funciones cognitivas superiores, Funciones Ejecutivas, Primera infancia,

Keywords: early childhood, Executive functions, Higher Cognitive Functions, Psychomotor development,

Construcción teórica neuropsicológica de las funciones ejecutivas. Theoretical neuropsychological construction of executive functions

Executive functions (EF) constitute a large conglomerate of cognitive abilities that, as their name indicates, carry out decisive actions in decision-making and human behavior. They are of a cognitive and socio-emotional nature, they coordinate the input and output information to regulate the behaviors, thoughts, and emotions of a task to be performed. Alexander Luria raises its conceptualization at the beginning of the seventies, being Muriel Lezak the one in charge of its scientific dissemination. In this article, a bibliographic compilation on EFs, their best known theoretical models, their neuropsychological evaluation process, the most common disorders and the most relevant studies in recent years is made.

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Palabras clave: Corteza prefrontal, flexibilidad mental, Funciones Ejecutivas, lóbulo frontal, Memoria de Trabajo,

Keywords: Executive functions, frontal lobe, mental flexibility, Prefrontal cortex, working memory,

Estructura Factorial del Funcionamiento Neuropsicológico en la Discapacidad Intelectual Leve en Niños. Factorial Structure Of Neuropsychological Functioning In Mild Intellectual Disability In Children.

An exploratory factor analysis was performed to establish the factor structure of neuropsychological functioning in mild intellectual disability in children. It was a quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study. Eighty children with a diagnosis of mild intellectual disability were included. An extensive battery of neuropsychological tests was applied. An Exploratory Factor Analysis was performed to identify the main factors. The results showed that mild intellectual disability in children has a structure in which the neuropsychological functions associated with executive functioning explain 56% of the variance and have a factor priority over 13%, which explains the variables associated with two traditional tests for assess intelligence. Each factor is analyzed and discussed from clinical and experimental neuropsychology. The study findings have theoretical and clinical implications for differential diagnosis.

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Palabras clave: discapacidad intelectual leve, Funciones Ejecutivas, inteligencia, neuropsicología, Niños,

Keywords: Children, Executive functions, intelligence, mild intellectual disability, neuropsychology,

El Uso de Programas Computarizados y su Efectividad en la Rehabilitación de Funciones Ejecutivas en Daño Cerebral Adquirido. The Use Of Computer Programs And Their Effectiveness In The Rehabilitation Of Executive Functions In Acquired Brain Damage.

Given the increase in the offer of computerized programs for the neuropsychological rehabilitation of patients with acquired brain damage, it is important to know their efficacy and the advantages of their application on different processes. This article reviews the use of these programs in the neuropsychological rehabilitation of executive functions in patients with acquired brain damage.

The search was carried out in sources such as PUBMED, internet searches and some lists of bibliographic references. Controlled, randomized articles were reviewed, and due to the characteristics of the topic, quasi-experimental studies and a case study, adults, were also included, excluding only articles that included adults patients with acquired brain damage and who had executive function failure without specify one in particular and that they have received cognitive rehabilitation through computer programs. The results reflect weaknesses in the matching of the control groups, the size of their samples, and in the use of instruments for measuring executive functions to objectify efficacy. In general, the programs reviewed do not prove to be more effective than those of traditional pencil and paper interventions.

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Palabras clave: Daño cerebral adquirido, Funciones Ejecutivas, ordenador, rehabilitación neuropsicológica,

Keywords: Acquired brain damage, computer, Executive functions, neuropsychological rehabilitation,

Propuesta De Una Escala De Valoración De Las Funciones Ejecutivas En Universitarios. Proposal For An Evaluation Scale Of Executive Functions In University Students.

Introduction. The executive functions constitute a set of cognitive, affective and motivational processes, which allow the conscious control of thought, development of highly complex tasks, that is going to facilitate the adaptation to new situations, it is therefore necessary the contribution of new evaluation methodologies of executive functions centered on the university population, this is going to facilitate the access to check the cognitive processes of the pre-frontal cortex.

Objective. Evaluate executive functions in university students between 18 and 25 years of age using a self-report scale.

Subjects and method. 752 university students from Quito-Ecuador participated, aged between 18 and 25 years old, of whom 498 (66.2%) were female and 254 (33.8%) were male. As measuring reagent, the scale used to evaluate the executive functions in self-report was proposed in the project: Neuropsychological Systems for Supervision of Cognition and Behavior for the Benefit of Managing the Learning of Higher Education Students.

Results. Exploratory factor analysis reported an organization of 8 executive functions that explain 57% of the variance of the construct (p = <.001). An adequate level of reliability was obtained between α = .70 and .86, a factor was eliminated since its level of reliability was very low and did not improve under any statistical procedure. The correlation between the proposed factors was adequate at a median magnitude r = .67 and .39.

Conclusion. The results show that the proposed scale is based on situations in the student’s daily life, this scale design allows identifying both pathological situations and conditions that affect the quality of life and development in the university environment. Furthermore, psychometric indicators provide evidence in favor of their reliable use in the university context.

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Palabras clave: Escala de Auto reporte, estudiantes universitarios, Funciones Ejecutivas,

Keywords: Executive functions, Self-report Scale, university students,

Efectos del ajedrez en el funcionamiento neuropsicológico infantil de la memoria de trabajo y la planificación. 
Effects of chess on child neuropsychological functioning working memory and planning.

Introduction. Chess is a sport and game that benefits different cognitive capacities in the infant stage due to its actions of moving pieces, game rules, decision making and problem solving.

Objective. This article analyzes the benefit of chess in the working memory and planning of boys and girls between 7 and 11 years of age (Mage = 9.00, SD = 1.08).

Method. The design followed is of a comparative type with 30 chess players and 30 non-chess players.

Results. Statistically significant differences were found in the comparisons between the groups in: Labyrinth of Porteus t (58) = 2.38, p = .02, d = .30; ENFEN t (58) = 3.53, p = .001, d = .42, Color paths t (58) = 2.26, p = .03, d = .28 and Ring Test t (58) = 2.35, p = .02, d = .29. In the Parent Observation Questionnaire, no significant differences were found.

Conclusions. The results are discussed around previous research and underlining the positive impact that chess activity produces in the improvement of working memory and planning.

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Palabras clave: ajedrez, Funciones Ejecutivas, Memoria de Trabajo, planificación,

Keywords: chess, Executive functions, Planning, working memory,

The Role Of Inhibitory Control In The Ability To Solve Problems Of University Students. El Rol Del Control Inhibitorio en la Habilidad Para Resolver Problemas de Estudiantes Universitarios

The aim of the present study was to analyze the role of inhibitory control in the ability to solve problems of university students. The sample consisted of 90 young people with typical development (Mage= 20.58, SD= 1.27), 39 females (43.33%) and 51 males (56.7%). The Stroop and the Anillas’ Test tasks were applied as instruments. As results, it was found a directly proportional and predictive relationship between inhibitory control and problem-solving of university students (correlation between: r= .34 and .47, p= <.01; prediction: r2= .14, F(1,88)= 13.88, p= <.01). It concludes by reflecting on the contribution of conscious control to solve problems faced by the university student on a day-to-day basis in an efficient way and invites future research in order to train inhibitory control.

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Palabras clave: control inhibitorio, Funciones Ejecutivas, monitorización, planificación, resolución de problemas,

Keywords: Executive functions, inhibitory control, Monitoring, Planning, Problem-solving,

Desempeño en Funciones Ejecutivas de Adultos Mayores: Relación Con su Autonomía y Calidad de Vida. Executive Functions Performance In Old Adults: Relationship With Autonomy And Quality Of Life

Throughout the life cycle, the human being is able to consciously control his thoughts, emotions and behavior in a way that adjusts to the demands of the environment, which is lost with old age, affecting the independent and autonomous life of people, negatively impacting their quality of life. The purpose of this review is to determine the executive functions that are most impaired over the years. The narrative review method was used to collect articles that addressed the relationship between executive functions and quality of life in older adults without severe cognitive impairment. The results show that the executive functions that are most affected over the years are attention, working memory and verbal fluency, involved in the search and updating of information; cognitive flexibility, responsible for generating modifications in behavior, thinking and reasoning, fundamental in efficient cognitive functioning. In addition, a slowdown in reasoning, inhibitory deficit, transmission deficit and sensory-perceptive is reported. It is concluded that executive functions are sensitive to the aging process and progressively affect the autonomy and quality of life of older adults. It is considered relevant to generate a maintenance program for these cognitive functions, as a way to promote successful aging.

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Palabras clave: adulto mayor, autonomía en adultos mayores, calidad de vida, Funciones Ejecutivas,

Keywords: autonomy in older adults, Executive functions, older adults, quality of life,

Evaluación de las Habilidades de la Corteza Prefrontal: La Escala Efeco II-VC y II-VR. Evaluation Of The Skills Of The Prefrontal Cortex: The Efeco II-VC And II-VR.

The pre-frontal cortex is the basis of the most complex mental abilities of human development. In its evaluation process, the EFECO scale provides an important contribution to assess its status. In previous investigations this scale has been studied with its configuration of 67 items, narrative focused on the deficit and evaluation of 8 executive functions. This research presents a new version of the scale, centered on its narrative in executive ability, proposed items to assess executive verification function and a summarized version of 42 items. The study included 118 healthy adults between 18 and 25 years of age (Mage = 20.72, SD = 1.65). In the results it was found that the EFECO II-VC scale (modified and complete version) obtained as internal consistency α = .96 and its sub-scales internal consistency between α = .64 and .81. The EFECO II-VR scale (modified and summarized version) obtained α = .94 and its sub-scales between α = .68 and .79. The internal consistency of the factors in which the executive functions are included were adequate: the supervisory system of cognition II-VC α = .93 and II-VR α = .70, while the supervisor system of behavior II- VC α = .93 and II-VR α = .81. The correlations between the executive functions assessed with both scales were between medium and large r = .36 and .94. The work is closed discussing the clinical and scientific contribution of the modification of the EFECO scale.

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Palabras clave: Corteza prefrontal, escala EFECO, evaluación neuropsicológica, Funciones Ejecutivas,

Keywords: EFECO scale, Executive functions, Neuropsychological Evaluation, Prefrontal cortex,

Las Funciones Ejecutivas del Lóbulo Frontal y su Asociación con el Desempeño Académico de Estudiantes de Nivel Superior. The Executive Functions Of The Frontal Lobe And Its Association With The Academic Performance Of Students In Higher Education.

Introduction. Executive functions (EF) are a set of mental skills that allow to regulate the behavior, metacognition and emotions; executing a conscious control of the own thought. The development is progressive along the vital cycle of the human being, therefore, they meet involved in the social, emotional and academic development of the persons. There exist studies that affirm that the academic performance meets influenced by the level of development of the EF (inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility, monitoring and self-regulation) which relation has been progressively studied in diverse ages ranges and educational levels. Method. This article, has the aim to define and explain principal EF that they influence in the academic performance in university students. For it, there was realized a method of systematic review that allows to compile the investigations that affirm the above mentioned relation. Results and Conclusions. The scopes of the studies affirm that the principal EF involved in the academic performance of the university students is the working memory and in minor measure, the skills of planning, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility. Finally, there are discussed the limitations and projections that this study allows to approach; considering the EF to be a key factor for the academic university success and the implementation of instances of pedagogic supports that should favor the professional development of the students. 

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Palabras clave: Funciones Ejecutivas, Memoria de Trabajo, rendimiento académico, universitarios,

Keywords: academic performance, Executive functions, university students, working memory,

Funciones Ejecutivas en Niños Preescolares con y sin Trastorno del Lenguaje. Executive Functions In Preschool Children With And Without Language Disorders.

The objectives of this study were to compare the executive functions (attention, flexibility, inhibitory control, planning and working memory) of preschool children with and without language disorder and to define a profile of executive functions. The design is non-experimental for descriptive/comparative purposes. The sample consisted of 105 children. The group with language disorder was composed of 31 children and 19 girls, average age 4.68 years, of Special Language Schools. The group without language disorder was composed of 15 children and 24 girls, average age 4.98 years, of Public Schools of the city of Concepcion in Chile.

The results show that there is statistically significant evidence to state that the scores obtained by children with language disorders are lower than their peers without language disorder in all the executive functions evaluated, which supports the current literature on the subject. Regarding the profile of executive functions, the function that could predict the presence of language disorder in a preschool is the executive planning function.

It is interesting to continue deepening the profile of executive functions in children with language disorder and their specific relationship with the linguistic problems that these children have.

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Palabras clave: Funciones Ejecutivas, funciones neuropsicológicas, Trastorno del lenguaje, trastornos de la comunicación,

Keywords: communication disorders, Disorders of language, Executive functions, neuropsychological functions,

Futbolistas Talentosos, el Gran Secreto Está en el Cerebro: La Gran Tragedia del Marshal y la Suerte de los Magos con un Sistema Nervioso Indemne. Talented Soccer Players, The Big Secret Is In The Brain: The Great Tragedy Of The Star Player And The Fate Of Magicians With A Preserved Nervous Systems.

In previous work, we have presented case studies from fascinating films for the eye of the neuropsychologist;1,2,3 continuing with this line of research, we describe here for your consideration a critical analysis of the role of brain functions in one of the most fascinating sports, soccer. In this analysis, we will look more closely at the brain damage suffered by the great footballer Salvador Cabañas and the role of the highly complex brain functions that allow the magical players to stand out in this sport. In the next pages, we present the case of Salvador Cabañas, both before and after his cerebral accident, and later we analyze the cerebral functions that are activated in brilliant players like Messi or Ronaldinho. We conclude this article by reflecting on the role of the brain in our normal human activities, and how catastrophic it becomes on a daily basis when our brain tissue is damaged so that as a result of this condition we can lose everything.

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Palabras clave: Daño cerebral adquirido, funcionamiento cerebral en deportistas, Funciones Ejecutivas, lóbulo frontal, rehabilitación neuropsicológica, traumatismo craneoencefálico,

Keywords: Brain damage, cerebral functioning in athletes, Executive functions, frontal lobe, neuropsychological rehabilitation, traumatic brain injury,

Tratamiento Neuropsicológico del TDAH en Preescolares: Entrenamiento de la Función Ejecutiva

Preschoolers who have symptoms of impulsivity, hyperactivity and attention deficit manifest alterations in the executive functions: inhibitory control, working memory, monitoring and self-directed speech. It is essential in the preschool classroom to identify children who have difficulty regulating their behavior. The importance of this early detection is the possibility of avoiding a picture of ADHD with greater complexity in the child’s future. Training of executive function in children who could present these symptoms has been described as a highly effective strategy. Researches affirm that training of executive function would decrease the likelihood that a child will have ADHD at school age if he had received early attention from preschool. From the clinical experience it has witnessed the evolution of cases of children identified preschool with symptoms of ADHD, and then do a training executive functions for periods of one to two years better, and even at the beginning of schooling have a less severe psychopathology, unlike children who have not received this early intervention. In this paper I will describe the clinical picture of ADHD in initial preschool, the relationship between this disorder and executive function and some strategies in the training of executive functions.

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Palabras clave: Funciones Ejecutivas, preescolar, trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad,

Keywords: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Executive functions, preschool,

La Memoria de Trabajo y su relación con otras funciones cognitivas en la Enfermedad de Parkinson.

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a neurological illness due to degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons of the nigro-striatal pathway. Each of the five frontal-subcortical circuits contributes in a different way to PD’s symptoms. The clinical manifestations are variable; they include non cognitive deficits like: rigidity, tremor, bradykinesia, and other motor deficits like hypomimic (mask-like face), hypophonia, dysarthria, dystonia and abnormal postures among others. The emotional disorders in PD include depression and anxiety. The frontotemporal dementia in PD has been described. The neuropsychological examination of the PD patient is done considering whether the main symptoms are bradykinesia and rigidity, since these patients show more severe cognitive decline. We must examine the attention, which is between the normal limits in simple tasks, but it shows deficits in more complex tasks; memory and learning are disturbed, orientation is intact; in verbal functions we evaluate vocabulary, syntaxes and grammar which are relatively intact, although the sentence length tend to be reduced; the visuospatial disorders are frequent in PD; thinking and reasoning must also be examined, in both of them there is normal performance and they show a realistic appreciation of their condition and limitations; the executive functions are evaluated, there are consistent failures in tests that require concept formation and thinking flexibility. PD treatment can be medical using L-Dopa, or surgery through techniques by lesion or stimulation to different surgical targets like the internal globus pallidus, the subthalamic nucleus, or the ventral medial thalamic nucleus, unilateral or bilaterally. The PD repercussions in working memory (WM) will be studied related to executive functions, speech, cronometraje, saccades and attention.

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Palabras clave: Atención, Cronometraje, deterioro cognitivo, enfermedad de Parkinson, Funciones Ejecutivas, Habla, Memoria de Trabajo, Sacadas,

Keywords: Attention, Cognitive decline, Cronometraje, Executive functions, Parkinson’s disease, Saccades, Speech, working memory,

Influencia de la Reserva Cognitiva en la Función Ejecutiva en Sujetos Sanos y con enfermedad tipo Alzheimer de Inicio Tardío en una Muestra Portuguesa.

The Cognitive Reserve concept, generally understood as the acquired protective effect, is considered by many authors as an active mechanism that is based on the application of previously learned resources, due to a good education, profession and/or premorbid intelligence. The Stroop Test has been used in the neuropsychological assessment of executive functions in aging-related disease, such as Alzheimer’s Disease.

Objectives: We intend to study the influence of cognitive reserve in executive functions in subjects with late onset Alzheimer´s disease, and in healthy subjects in a Portuguese sample.

Method: We used two samples, one consisting of 91 healthy subjects and a second sample of 32 subjects diagnosed with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Results: The group of healthy subjects showed better performance on the test, than the pathologic group. Significative differences were found in the healthy group between high and low cognitive reserve subgroups.

Conclusions: The Stroop Test, shows a high sensitivity in determining alterations in executive functions and the influence of cognitive reserve in that function.

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Palabras clave: Enfermedad de Alzheimer, Envejecimiento normal, Envejecimiento patológico, Funciones Ejecutivas, Reserva Cognitiva, Test de Colores y Palabras de Stroop,

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease. Cognitive reserve, Executive function, Normal aging, Pathological aging, Stroop Color and Word Test,

Adaptación del Test de Colores y Palabras de Stroop: Su Importancia en la Detección Precoz de los Déficits en las Funciones Ejecutivas.

Neuropsychological assessment is increasingly used as complementary diagnostic test for different brain pathologies, and Portugal is not an exception. Therefore urges that the instruments used for the evaluation present adequate psychometric criteria and normative data adjusted to the same population. Aging is a dynamic and progressive process, leading to greater vulnerability and incidence of pathological processes. Within these processes included neurodegenerative diseases, the most common, Alzheimer’s Disease.1 Executive functions seem to be the most involved in the overall functioning of the individual and the Stroop Test, is frequently used to evaluate these functions. We present a study of adaptation of this instrument in a Portuguese sample, trying to verify the importance of sociodemographic variables on test performance and whether there were significant differences between healthy subjects and with neuropathology. The results have allowed verifying the importance of adaptation of populations where tests are used. Thus, the Stroop Test seems a test to take into account when establishing a neuropsychological evaluation protocol, as well unlike the patterns of performance between normative and pathological aging.

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Palabras clave: Enfermedad de Alzheimer, Envejecimiento normal, Funciones Ejecutivas, Test de Colores y Palabras de Stroop,

Keywords: Alzheimer’s Disease, Executive functions, Normal aging, Stroop Color and Word Test,
 
 
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