Desarrollo cognitivo en niños: formando las funciones ejecutivas
1. El desarrollo cognitivo en niños: formando las funciones ejecutivas Steve Hughes, PhD, LP, ABPdN Profesor adjunto de Pediatría y Neurología Universidad de Minnesota, Escuela de Medicina diapositivas disponibles para descarga en: www.goodatdoingthings.com
12. Tales como… Demostrar liderazgo – Estableciendo metas grupales y hacer que otros persigan las mismas metas Demostrar que puedes seguir a los demás – encontrar tu lugar en un proyecto sin la necesidad de instrucciones detalladas Identificar obstáculos o recursos que afecten la obtención global Raven (1994)
13. Tales como… Movilización de emociones al servicio de la obtención de metas Involucramiento en interacciones vivenciales con el ambiente Tolerar el miedo, la ansiedad, la ambigüedad y la frustración mientras se trabaja hacia un objetivo Raven (1994)
17. Age-Related Changes in Frontal and Temporal Lobe Volumes in Men A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study. George Bartzokis, MD; Mace Beckson, MD; Po H. Lu, MA; Keith H. Nuechterlein, PhD; Nancy Edwards, MA; Jim Mintz, PhD. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001;58:461-465.
22. “ Coloca las flores aquí.” 24 Meses: Puede responder a solicitudes o directrices http://aboutkidshealth.ca/News/Executive-Function-Part-Two-The-development-of-executive-function-in-infancy-and-early-childhood.aspx?articleID=8036&categoryID=news-type
23. “ Coloca las flores aquí y los coches allá.” 30 Meses: Repite la primera regla Puede describir ambas reglas... ¡Pero no puede detener su mano de repetirlas! http://aboutkidshealth.ca/News/Executive-Function-Part-Two-The-development-of-executive-function-in-infancy-and-early-childhood.aspx?articleID=8036&categoryID=news-type
24. “ Coloca las flores aquí y los coches allá.” 36 Meses: ¡Prueba superada! http://aboutkidshealth.ca/News/Executive-Function-Part-Two-The-development-of-executive-function-in-infancy-and-early-childhood.aspx?articleID=8036&categoryID=news-type
25. “ Coloca las azules aquí, y las rojas acá.... Bien, ahora coloca las flores aquí y los coches allá.” 36 Meses: Repite la primera regla ¡Puede describir las reglas, sabe dónde deben ir pero no lo hace de manera correcta! http://aboutkidshealth.ca/News/Executive-Function-Part-Two-The-development-of-executive-function-in-infancy-and-early-childhood.aspx?articleID=8036&categoryID=news-type
26. “ Coloca las azules aquí y las rojas acá… Bien, ahora coloca las flores aquí y los coches allá” 48 Meses: ¡Prueba superada! http://aboutkidshealth.ca/News/Executive-Function-Part-Two-The-development-of-executive-function-in-infancy-and-early-childhood.aspx?articleID=8036&categoryID=news-type
37. Prueba de Stroop red blue orange purple orange blue green red blue purple green red orange blue red green purple orange red blue green red blue purple orange blue red green green purple orange red
38. Prueba de Stroop red blue orange purple orange blue green red blue purple green red orange blue red green purple orange red blue green red blue purple orange blue red green green purple orange red
39. Prueba de Juego Iowa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WIN.GIF
42. Memoria que trabaja Estrategia de síntesis Auto-instrucción Auto-regulación Asignación de categorías Planeación Conjuntos alternados Coordinación de actividades Razonamiento causa-efecto Comportamiento gobernado por reglas
43. ...¡son la base para los cimientos de un comportamiento humano efectivo!
44. Según Barkley (2006) Inhibición en el comportamiento Memoria que trabaja Discurso interno Auto-control emocional Simulación mental Comportamiento exitoso, efectivo y dirigido hacia la meta
51. Publicado en línea antes de su impresión el 13 de septiembre de 2006 doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000239836.26142.c5) Exposición de plomo ambiental y función cognitiva en conjuntos habitacionales de adultos mayores R. A. Shih PhD, T. A. Glass PhD, K. Bandeen-Roche PhD, M. C. Carlson PhD, K. I. Bolla PhD, A. C. Todd PhD, y B. S. Schwartz MD, MS * Resumen-- Objetivo: Para determinar si una exposición al plomo de largo plazo está asociada con decrementos en la habilidad cognitiva en adultos mayores americanos. Métodos: Realizamos un análisis cruzado utilizando una regresión lineal múltiple para evaluar las asociaciones de una dosis reciente (en sangre) y acumulativa (en la tibia) con la función cognitiva en 991 adultos mayores entre 50 y 70 años, seleccionados aleatoriamente de 65 barrios contiguos en Baltimore, MD. El plomo en la tibia fue medido con rayos X fluorescentes 109 Cd. Se crearon siete medidas de función cognitiva con base en las pruebas estánda en esta áreas: lenguaje, velocidad de coordinación ojo-mano, funcionamiento ejecutivo, memoria verbal y aprendizaje, memoria visual y construcción visual. Resultados: La media (DS) del nivel de plomo en sangre fue de 3.5 (2.2) µg/dL y el nivel de plomo en la tibia fue de 18.7 (11.2) µg/g. Los niveles más elevados de plomo en la tibia se asociaron consistentemente con un peor funcionamiento cognitivo después de ajustar la edad, sexo, APOE-4 y las pruebas técnicas (seis áreas p 0.01, un área p 0.05). El plomo en sangre no se asoció con un área cognitiva. Las asociaciones con el plomo en tibia fueron atenuadas después de un ajuste de años de educación, riqueza y raza/etnicidad. Conclusiones: Independientemente de la dosis reciente de plomo, retuvieron una dosis acumulativa de plomo derivada de exposiciones ambientales previas que pueden tener efectos persistentes en la función cognitiva. Una porción de los decrementos relacionados con la edad en la función cognitiva en esta población pueden asociarse con una exposición al plomo anterior.
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54. Thorell, L B, Lindqvist S, Bergman S, Bohlin G, Klingberg T (2008) Training and transfer effects of executive functions in preschool children. Developmental Science, 11(6): 969–976.
90. Download these slides at www.goodatdoingthings.com “ Si la educación se concibe siempre junto con las mismas directrices anticuadas de una mera transmisión del conocimiento, hay poco que esperar de ella en cuanto al mejoramiento del futuro del hombre.” -Maria Montessori
Cognitive Development in Children: Forming the Executive Functions
Dr. Cecil Reynolds Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology, Professor of Neuroscience, Distinguished Research Scholar, Texas A&M University Dr. Philip Zelazo Professor of Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada Research Chair in Developmental Neuroscience www.aboutkidshealth.ca
How did you get here? Did you weigh options for different flights or routes? Did you have to decide if you had room in the budget for this trip? Did you make arrangements for someone to cover for you while while you are away? Who did you pick? Why that person? How did you select the clothes you brought?
Executive Functions: Decision-making; Planning complex cognitive behaviors; Moderating correct social behavior; Sequencing Motor planning
Frontal lobes
Prefrontal cortex
The basic activity in this brain region is the orchestration of thoughts and actions in accordance with internal goals.
It is what makes us most human. Here we see a chimpanzee and the chimpanzee brain. compared to him, a human has more brain in proportion to body size, but especially more frontal lobe relative to body size
Frontal Lobes: Manage active, adapting processes; Mediate interpretations and perceptions; Alter emotional responses to situations or stimuli; Determine cause and effect
Executive Functions: Often impaired in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Especially self-regulation / response inhibition; Help the brain function as a coordinated system; Responsible for coordination of complex, higher mental processes
Such as… Demonstrating leadership - Setting group goals and getting others to pursue them; Demonstrating followership - finding your place in a project without needing detailed instructions; Identifying obstacles or resources that affect goal attainment;
Such as… Mobilizing emotions in the service of goal attainment; Engaging in experimental interactions with the environment; Tolerating fear, anxiety, ambiguity and frustration while working towards a goal
They are called “Executive functions” because it is these mental operations that act as the “Chief Executive Officer” of yourself -- or of a nation
The frontal lobes are the latest maturing part of the brain
Development of Executive Functions Among last parts of the cortex to develop; Develop from early childhood well into the 20s; Affected by experience
There is evidence that the density of the connections within the frontal lobe actually continues until the mid 40s, and then somewhat decreases in later life
Executive Functions across the lifespan: Infancy / toddlerhood; Early childhood; Adolescence; Young adulthood
Infancy 8 Months: Search for toy hidden under a blanket: Working memory: Conscious control But they make “A not B” errors
“ A-not-B” Error Might look at other towel (a long time!) But will pick wrong towel!
Toddlerhood 24 Months: No more “A-not-B” errors But will occur if we add steps or locations! Begin using language as an organizing tool Self-instruction Simple“Rule-governed” behavior
“ Put the flowers here.” 24 Months: Can respond to requests or directives
“ Put the flowers here and the cars here.” 30 Months: Perseverates on first rule Can describe both rules... But can’t stop hand from perseverating!
“ Put the flowers here and the cars here.” 36 Months: Mastered.
“ Put the blue ones here, and the red ones here.… Okay, now put the flowers here and the cars there.” 36 Months: Perseverate on first rule; Can describe the rules, knows where it should go but can’t do it reliably!
“ Put the blue ones here, and the red ones here.… Okay, now put the flowers here and the cars there.” 48 Months: Mastered.
Measuring EF in children and adults Categorical Fluency: Ability to retrieve words within a category (e.g., animals, foods) and fluency of ideation Classification: A verbal measure of set shifting and rule induction (a language-based analog to the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test) Letter Naming: Word retrieval by initial sound and fluency of ideation Trail making: Sequencing, visual search, ability to coordinate high attentional demands, and ability to shift rapidly between numerals and words representing numbers
Adolescence: “That awkward period between sexual maturation and the attainment of adult roles and responsibilities.” - Dr. Ron Dahl
EF in Adolescence: New bodies, new emotions Adult-like “desired goals” Child-like problem-solving skills
EF in Adolescence: EF development occurs throughout adolescence and well into young adulthood ….slowly
EF in Adolescence: “Cool” cognitive tasks: abstract reasoning and problem solving; “Hot” cognitive tasks: Emotional and behavioral self-control
...are the foundation of effective human behavior!
Behavioral Inhibition; Working Memory; Internalized speech; Emotional self-control; Mental simulation All are prerequisites for successful, effective goal-directed behavior
...are the foundation of effective human behavior! For example:
Competent senior managers: Demonstrate initiative Set goals ; Influence people and organizations ; Build teams ‘ Listen & demonstrate empathy ; Control impulses (especially annoyance) ; Help others analyze problems; Help develop strategies ; Reward and recognize contributions
What affects development of EF?
Unhealthy physical and emotional environments Trauma affects development of EF Malnutrition affects development of EF Exposure to toxins affects development of EF
Direct Instruction on specific skills: “Brains learn what you teach them!” Working memory training ; Practicing working memory yields observable changes in brain and behavior www.cogmed.com
Imaginative Play: Self-regulating language is highest during make-believe play; The more structured the play, the less self-instruction
Instructional methods that focus on self-regulation: “Tools of the Mind” curriculum ; Created with executive functions in mind
Montessori education: Hands-on learning ; Emphasis on independent problems solving ; Focus on independent problem solving skills and self-regulation ; Materials conceptually not so different from some kinds of EF assessment tools! www.montessori-science.org
Here we see about 15 years of brain development compressed into this animation. See the changing colors, Darker colors reflect myelination. The darker the more functional. Some of what you see here is “automatic” but much is a consequence of the environment. Research on animals, and even some case studies of children who have been deprived of enviornmental stimulation show that brain development is fostered by opportunies for
That’s how brains develop. There are sensitive periods during which critical aspects of brain development are ready to occur. For example, if there is not proper exposure to language during that critical period in early childhood, language abilities fail to fully develop.
There are some areas that are responsible for specific functions. Here for example, is what is called a sagittal or cross-sectional view of the brain. I’d like to draw your attention to the areas marked B and C here. These are the motor and sensory strips. These are bands of tissue along each of the brains hemispheres.
Anyway, as you study this diagram you’ll come to see the most interesting part--the mapping of function is not proportional to the size of the area. In fact, if you make a model of a person that was proportional to the amount of brain dedicated to each area, you get something that looks like this:
Pretty wild! What is his most striking feature? Yes--the hands. We don’t realize it as adults, but the hands are like “information pipelines” to the brain. Human beings are all about exploring and learning about the world through hands-on activity--especially in childhood! Why do young children, whose ability to understand language is still developing, spend so much time sitting and listening to teachers in school? Wouldn’t it be a good idea to design education around hand’s-on engagement with materials in the world?
Here Isabele is completing the pink tower. She is going to get it, and when she is done she’ll return to this task over and over, as she experiences her brain becoming increasingly competent at solving this puzzle. It feels good to learn it. To develop the ability to solve it with the fewest possible neurons. So she’ll return to it, over and over.
Here we see nature’s most perfect child learning to recognize the symbol that makes the /d/ sound with sandpaper letters. She is tracing the shape with her fingers, learning the muscle pattern.
Cylinder work-like this boy at Bambino Montessori House of Children, in Lucknow, India
Here is the work done by a child’s whose phonological processor is coming on-line. The moveable alphabet allows a child to express him or herself with written language before they have the have the ability to form letter shapes with a pencil.
A child can water the plants when they are dry, not because they are directed to do so, or allowed to do so as a reward, but because he has the freedom to check to see if they need watering, and the developing knowledge of how to care for another living thing.
Here we see Lillian on her birthday, carrying the earth around a candle, to mirror her own journey around the sun. It is her special day, and each of the other children know that when it is their turn, they will have this experience, too. What would it be like to spend every day in such a place?
These girls are making a snack for their friends. More importantly, they are learning the steps necessary to prepare and serve a snack. They are making progress toward their goal, they are thinking about what their next move is going to be. They are doing this work independently, learning to solve problems (such as an upside down knife) by themselves.
Here is Laura working to refine her sense of texture. We’re forming a sophisticated neural network! Each sense must be experienced and formed.
And lays the foundation for a child to make that discovery for him or herself
pause
As they get older, learning occurs outside the classroom, and into the environment
And in adolescence, at the land school--by working at and actually operating a farm. Maybe this keeps them grounded.
Critical to effective goal directed behavior ; Develop from early childhood to adulthood ; Critical basic skills are at the foundation of advanced human abilities ; Cannot be taught in the sense that you teach math or history
Develop naturally and in response to specific developmental opportunities (inside and outside of the home) ; Montessori environments provide rich opportunities for development of executive functions
“ If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of man's future.” -Maria Montessori