Evidencias de validez de la tarea de los dedos en una modalidad de administración asincrónica / Validity evidence of the finger task in an asynchronous administration modality

La batería de Autorregulación Cognitiva -TAC-es una herramienta informatizada para la evaluación de los principales procesos ejecutivos en una modalidad de administración presencial. Aunque sus características técnicas hacen viable su administración en una modalidad remota y asincrónica aún no cuenta con evidencias de validez y confiabilidad de sus puntuaciones en una modalidad de administración no presencial. Por ello, este estudio propone obtener evidencias de las propiedades psicométricas de la Tarea de los Dedos -TAC-en su modalidad de administración remota y asincrónica para la evaluación de la Inhibición comportamental y la flexibilidad cognitiva en personas adultas. Para cumplir con este objetivo, se analizó la presencia de dos efectos experimentales que aportan validez de constructo y se comparó su desempeño en las dos modalidades de administración. Finalmente, se analizó la confiabilidad de las puntuaciones a través del método de división por mitades. Los resultados obtenidos aportan evidencia empírica de las propiedades psicométricas del instrumento(AU)

The cognitive self-regulation battery -TAC-is a computerized tool designed to evaluate the work memory, three inhibitory processes and cognitive flexibility. There is still no evidence of validity and reliability of their scores in remote administration mode. The goal of this work is to obtain evidence of reliability and validity for the tac fingers task in remote and asynchronous administration mode for cognitive flexibility and behavioral inhibition evaluation in the adult population. It was analyzed iftwo experimental effects were detected. Its presence indicates the activation or participation of cognitive flexibility and behavioral inhibition in the resolution of activities proposed by the task. Also, the performance of the participants in both modalities was compared. The internal consistency was analyzed through the method of division by halves. The results obtained provide empirical evidence of psychometric properties of TAC fingers task for evaluation of cognitive flexibility and behavioral inhibition in the adult population(AU)

Inhibición de la respuesta: Entrenamiento y efectos vinculados al nivel inhibitorio de base, en niños / Response inhibition: training and effects linked to the level of inhibition in pre-test, in children

Resumen Desde el enfoque no-unitario de la inhibición, se identifican tres procesos inhibitorios: inhibición perceptual, cognitiva y de la respuesta. Esta última permite suprimir conductas prepotentes e inapropiadas para los objetivos en curso. En los últimos años se evaluaron diferentes intervenciones orientadas a optimizar la inhibición de la respuesta durante los inicios de la escuela primaria; sin embargo, los estudios resultan insuficientes para evaluar la eficacia de estas intervenciones sobre el proceso entrenado y otros procesos inhibitorios e identificar las características asociadas a los resultados. En este estudio se propuso analizar la eficacia de un entrenamiento de la inhibición de la respuesta en niños en los primeros años de escolaridad primaria, sobre este proceso y la inhibición perceptual, a corto y largo plazo; y estudiar si variables como la edad y el nivel inhibitorio de base de los participantes se relacionan con los resultados. Participaron 93 niños (de 6 a 8 años), asignados a un grupo de entrenamiento y otro de control, en un diseño experimental con pre-test y dos post-test. Se observaron efectos, atribuibles al entrenamiento, sobre el desempeño de una tarea de inhibición de la respuesta a corto plazo, siendo los niños con un nivel inhibitorio de base más bajo quienes presentaron mayores beneficios. Se discute sobre el aporte de los resultados al modelo no-unitario de la inhibición, el alcance de las intervenciones y el estudio de las características de los participantes en relación con los efectos del entrenamiento.

Abstract From non-unitary perspective of inhibition, three inhibitory processes are identified: perceptual, cognitive and response inhibition. Response inhibition allows suppressing prepotent and inappropriate responses for the current purposes. In the last years, different interventions targeted at optimizing it during the first years of school period. However, the studies are insufficient to understand the efficacy of the interventions on response inhibition and other inhibitory processes, both short- and long-term; and the characteristics that are linked to the results. The goals aims: to analyze the efficacy of a response inhibition training on this process and perceptual inhibition, both short- and long-term, in children in the first years of elementary school; and to analyze if the relationships of age and the level of inhibition in pre-test are related to the results. The participants (93 children, from 6 to 8 years old) were assigned to a training or a control group, in an experimental design, with a pre-test and two post-tests. We observed effects in the short term on children's performance on a response inhibition task. The children who benefited more from the intervention were those who started the intervention with a lower level of inhibition. We discuss the contribution of these results to non-unitary perspective, the scope of the interventions and the study of the participants' characteristics related to the results.

Desarrollo y validación del Cuestionario de Funciones Ejecutivas en niños de 9 a 12 años (CUFE) / Development and Validation of the Executive Function Questionnaire (CUFE) for Children aged 9-12 Years / Desenvolvimento e validação do Questionário de Funções Executivas em crianças de 9 a 12 anos (CUFE)

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo desarrollar y validar el Cuestionario de Funciones Ejecutivas (CUFE), un cuestionario accesible para evaluar las tres principales funciones ejecutivas (memoria de trabajo, inhibición y flexibilidad cognitiva) en niños de 9 a 12 años y, así, proporcionar valores descriptivos de referencia y evidencias acerca de su confiabilidad y validez. Para ello se analizó su funcionamiento en una muestra de 269 niños argentinos de 9 a 12 años de edad, alumnos del segundo ciclo de la escuela primaria. El análisis factorial exploratorio reveló una estructura de tres factores que explicaban 49.08 % de la varianza, con cargas factoriales unidimensionales y satisfactorias. Los factores retenidos presentaron buenos índices de confiabilidad y fueron llamados: memoria de trabajo, inhibición y flexibilidad y con-trol emocional. La memoria de trabajo se asoció con la comprensión lectora, el cálculo matemático y las calificaciones escolares de Prácticas del lenguaje y Matemática. Las restantes dos subescalas se asociaron con las calificaciones escolares de ambas asignaturas. Las dimensiones del cuestionario coinciden con los actuales modelos teóricos de funcionamiento ejecutivo. En función de las evidencias de validez y confiabilidad, el CUFE se presenta como un instrumento ecológico y valioso para la medición de las funciones ejecutivas en el contexto de la evaluación infantil

The present study aimed to develop and validate an accessible questionnaire to assess the three core execu-tive functions (working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility) in children aged 9-12 years: the Executive Function Questionnaire (CUFE), and to provide descrip-tive baseline values and evidence about its reliability and validity. The questionnaire was tested on a sample of 269 Argentinean children from 9 to 12 years old. Children attended elementary schools in Mar del Plata's city. The exploratory factorial analysis revealed a three-factor structure that explained 49.08% of the variance. The items were unidimensional and showed satisfactory factor loadings. The retained factors presented good reliability and were called working memory, inhibition and flexibility, and emotional control. Working memory was associated with reading comprehension, mathemat-ical skills, and school grades (language practices and mathematics). Inhibition and flexibility, and emotional control were associated with school grades. The factors were consistent with current theoretical models on executive functioning. Based on the evidence obtained, the cufe represents an ecological and valuable instru-ment for measuring executive functions on children

O presente estudo teve como objetivo desenvolver e validar um questionário acessível para avaliar as três principais funções executivas (memória de trabalho, inibição, flexibilidade cognitiva) em crianças de 9 a 12 anos: o Questionário de Funções Executivas (cufe); e fornecer valores de referência descritivos e evidên-cias sobre sua confiabilidade e validade. Para tanto, foi analisado seu funcionamento em uma amostra de 269 crianças argentinas entre 9 e 12 anos, estudantes do se-gundo ciclo do ensino fundamental. A análise fatorial exploratória revelou uma estrutura de três fatores que explicou 49.08% da variância, com cargas fatoriais unidi-mensionais satisfatórias. Os fatores retidos apresentaram bons índices de confiabilidade e foram denominados Memória de trabalho, Inibição e Flexibilidade e con-trole emocional. A memória de trabalho foi associada à compreensão de leitura, ao cálculo matemático e às notas escolares de Prática de Linguagem e Matemática. As duas subescalas restantes foram associadas às notas escolares de ambas as disciplinas. As dimensões do ques-tionário coincidem com os modelos teóricos atuais de funcionamento executivo. Com base nas evidências de validade e confiabilidade, o cufe apresenta-se como um instrumento ecológico e valioso para a mensuração das funções executivas no contexto da avaliação infantil

Cognitive flexibility in adulthood and advanced age: Evidence of internal and external validity.

Aging causes changes that affect functioning of cognitive processes such as cognitive flexibility (CF). Given it allows changing both behavior and thinking in dynamic contexts, it constitutes an essential trait of adaptive, goal-oriented behavior. Despite its importance, specific techniques to evaluate CF in older adults are lacking. The goal of this article is to describe and comparatively analyze the functioning of CF in a sample of 169 individuals representing three age groups-younger-age, middle-age and advanced-age adults-by obtaining evidence of internal and external validity. Using a correlational and cross-sectional research design, four studies were conducted in order to evaluate construct validity-fulfillment of experimental paradigm criteria and contrast between groups and tests with different methods. In addition to the Fingers Task, the study used the CAMBIOS Cognitive Flexibility Test, TAC's Conjunction Visual Search Task (which evaluates perceptual inhibition) and a verbal fluency task with changes. The results provide evidence of the functioning of CF in adulthood and advanced age, which has implications for neurocognitive clinical evaluation in these stages of life. Additionally, evidence was obtained in favor of the concurrent validity of the instruments used to measure CF, contributing to the solidity of future studies on this executive function.

El rol de las funciones ejecutivas en las estrategias cognitivas de regulación emocional no adaptativas en niños / O papel das funções executivas nas estratégias cognitivas de regulação emocional não adaptivas em crianças / The role of executive functions in maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies in children

El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar la relación de las funciones ejecutivas con las estrategias cognitivas de regulación emocional no adaptativas (ECRE-NA) en niños, controlando el género y los síntomas de ansiedad y depresión; así como analizar el posible efecto moderador de estos factores en dicha relación. Fueron evaluados 95 niños de 9 a 12 años de edad. Los resultados mostraron que menores niveles de memoria de trabajo y de flexibilidad cognitiva predijeron mayor rumiación; y que una menor capacidad de flexibilidad cognitiva predijo mayor autoculpabilización. El género moderó - marginalmente - las relaciones de la memoria de trabajo y la flexibilidad cognitiva con la rumiación, en el sentido de que un menor desempeño en ambas funciones ejecutivas predijo la rumiación en mayor proporción entre las mujeres que entre los varones. Se espera que estos resultados contribuyan a la mejora del diseño de programas de intervención de promoción de la salud mental infantil.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar a relação das funções executivas com as estratégias cognitivas de regulação emocional não adaptivas em crianças, controlando o gênero e os sintomas de ansiedade e depressão; bem como analisar o possível efeito moderador desses fatores. Um total de 95 crianças entre 9 e 12 anos foram avaliadas. Os resultados mostraram que níveis mais baixos de memória de trabalho e flexibilidade cognitiva predisseram maior ruminação; e que uma menor capacidade de flexibilidade cognitiva predisse maior autoculpabilização. O gênero influiu - marginalmente - nas relações de memória de trabalho e flexibilidade cognitiva com a ruminação, no sentido de que um desempenho inferior em ambas as funções executivas predisse ruminação em uma proporção maior entre as meninas que entre os meninos. Espera-se que estes resultados contribuam para a melhoria do desenho de programas de intervenção na promoção da saúde mental infantil.

The aim of this work was to analyze the relationship of executive functions with maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies in children, controlling for gender and for symptoms of anxiety and depression; as well as analyzing the possible moderating effect of these factors. A total of 95 children between 9 and 12 years old were evaluated. The results showed that lower levels of working memory and cognitive flexibility predicted greater rumination; and that a lower capacity for cognitive flexibility predicted greater self-blaming. Gender moderated - marginally - the relationships of working memory and cognitive flexibility with rumination, in the sense that a lower performance in both executive functions predicted rumination in a higher proportion among girls than among boys. It is expected that these results will contribute to the improvement in the design of intervention programs for promotion of mental health in children.

The Change Processes in Selective Attention during Adulthood. Inhibition or Processing Speed?

Selective attention is involved in multiple daily activities. Several authors state that it experiences a decline after 20 years, although there is no agreement regarding the cognitive processes that explain it. Two theories dominate the discussion: The theory of inhibitory inefficiency and the theory of processing speed. At the same time, it has been suggested that there could be complementary relations between both; however, it is not clear what the contribution of inhibition and processing speed is on the changes of selective attention. Therefore, the present study proposes to analyze this contribution, in adults between 20 and 80 years old. To assess selective attention and inhibitory control, two indices of a visual search task were obtained in which participants must identify a target stimulus among a set of distracting stimuli. To evaluate the processing speed, a response speed task was used. The main results indicate that, from the age of 60, a gradual decrease in selective attention begins and that this decline can be largely explained by a decrease in processing speed and inhibitory control. We discuss about the literature on the development of selective attention, the contribution of processing speed, and the inhibitory inefficiency hypothesis.

Inhibitory Processes and Fluid Intelligence: a Performance at Early Years of Schooling.

Inhibition constitutes one of the main executive functions and it is important to more complex skills such as fluid intelligence. Actually, there is an agreement on distinguishing three inhibitory types: perceptual, cognitive and response inhibition. Several studies show the differential engagement of these inhibitory types in different skills. However, there is no registered evidence about the differential relation of inhibitory types with fluid intelligence. This inquiry is especially important during the first school years, since in this stage, inhibitory processes would already be differentiated, and inhibitory processes and fluid intelligence are linked to the performance of children in the school setting. For these reasons, the goal of this work is to study the relation and contribution of perceptual, cognitive, and response inhibition with fluid intelligence, in children in the first years of primary school. For that purpose, a sample of children from six to eight years old (N = 178) was tested with a perceptual inhibition task (perception of similarities and differences task); a cognitive inhibition task (proactive interference task); a response inhibition task (stop signal task); and a fluid intelligence task (progressive matrices task). We observed significant correlations between perceptual and response inhibition and fluid intelligence (controlling for age), but only perceptual inhibition explains significantly part of the performance in the fluid intelligence task. This study provides data about the specific contribution, during childhood, of an inhibitory type to fluid intelligence and contributes empirical evidence in support of the non-unitary approach of inhibition.

La inhibición constituye una de las principales funciones ejecutivas, siendo fundamental para otras habilidades más complejas, tales como la inteligencia fluida. Actualmente, existe acuerdo en distinguir tres procesos inhibitorios: inhibición perceptual, cognitiva y de la respuesta. Distintos estudios muestran que los tipos inhibitorios participan de manera diferencial en diversas habilidades, aunque no se registra evidencia sobre la relación diferencial de los mismos con la inteligencia fluida. Su estudio es especialmente importante durante los primeros años de la escuela primaria, donde los procesos inhibitorios estarían diferenciados y tanto ellos como la inteligencia fluida se vinculan con el desempeño de los niños en el ámbito escolar. Por estos motivos, este trabajo se propuso analizar la relación y contribución de la inhibición perceptual, cognitiva y de la respuesta con la inteligencia fluida en niños en los primeros años de la escuela primaria. Para ello, una muestra de niños de seis a ocho años de edad (N = 178) fue evaluada con una tarea de inhibición perceptual (test de percepción de diferencias y similitudes), una tarea de inhibición cognitiva (tarea de interferencia proactiva), una tarea de inhibición de la respuesta (basada en el paradigma stop signal ) y una tarea de inteligencia fluida (test de matrices progresivas). Se encontraron correlaciones significativas entre la inhibición perceptual y de la respuesta con la inteligencia fluida (controlando la edad), pero solo la inhibición perceptual explica de manera significativa parte del rendimiento en la tarea de inteligencia fluida. Este estudio aporta datos específicos sobre la contribución de un tipo inhibitorio a la inteligencia fluida durante la niñez, así como evidencia empírica a favor del modelo no-unitario de la inhibición.

Perceptual inhibition of emotional interference in children.

In daily life, when a bee approaches us while we are sitting in the garden, we must pay attention to that threatening stimulus and give an appropriate response. However, if this bee approaches us while riding a bike, we must inhibit that distractor to avoid an accident. In this case, avoiding the interference of an emotional stimuli and continuing with the task should be preferential. In general, perceptual inhibition is responsible for controlling and suppressing the environmental distractions that interrupt the course of the realization of a goal. In this study, 435 children performed a modified flanker task with entirely irrelevant emotional and neutral stimuli in order to assess perceptual inhibition in contexts with high and low emotional salience. The results showed that entirely irrelevant distractors affected performance, but that there were no significant differences according to whether these distractors were emotionally salient or neutral. These results constitute a first approach to the problem of emotional interference in children considering the multidimensional approach of inhibition.

Working Memory Training in Children: A Review of Basic Methodological Criteria.

Working memory is a process of great relevance during childhood due to its role in diverse complex skills. Like the rest of executive functions, it is highly sensitive to environmental influences, so it is assumed that it could be modified through targeted interventions. A large number of working memory training studies in children aim to achieve transfer effects both on this process and on those with which it is related. Although some promising results have been found, the efficacy of working memory training cannot be affirmed; methodological quality of studies is one of the main reasons for this. Compliance with basic methodological criteria (inclusion of a control group that must preferably be active, random assignment of participants to groups) has a great impact on the internal validity of the studies. Furthermore, the need to control for the effects of motivational factors associated with the intervention is added and emphasized. This study reviews the fulfillment of these criteria in process-based working memory training literature in children, analyzing its impact on internal validity. Limitations of the field in relation to the lack of compliance with the proposed criteria are discussed and alternatives are suggested in order to improve the quality of future studies.

Resistencia a la Interferencia de Distractores: Diseño y Aplicación de una Tarea de Entrenamiento para Niños / Resistance to Interference Distractor: Design and Application of a Training Task for Children

Resumen Desde la perspectiva no unitaria de la inhibición, la resistencia a la interferencia de los distractores refiere al proceso inhibitorio que participa en la atención selectiva; experimenta durante la infancia importantes cambios en su desarrollo y resulta fundamental para el desempeño de los niños en diversas actividades. Este trabajo se propuso diseñar una tarea de entrenamiento -informatizada, con un abordaje basado en procesos y a partir del paradigma de Flancos (Eriksen & Eriksen, 1974)- de este proceso inhibitorio, para niños con desarrollo típico de 6 a 8 años de edad; administrarla y analizar los efectos del entrenamiento sobre el proceso entrenado y otros no entrenados. Se trabajó con 54 niños, en 1º, 2º y 3º año de la escolaridad primaria. Se aplicó un diseño experimental con medidas pre y post-test (donde se administraron tareas de evaluación de resistencia a la interferencia de los distractores, inhibición de la respuesta y memoria de trabajo viso-espacial), un grupo experimental (que recibió el entrenamiento de la resistencia a la interferencia de distractores) y un grupo control activo. Luego de la intervención el grupo experimental presentó un mejor desempeño en una tarea que demanda el proceso entrenado. No se encontraron efectos sobre el rendimiento en otras tareas. Los efectos hallados son bajos, pudiendo deberse a la baja intensidad y duración de la intervención. Sin embargo, podrían constituir un aporte a la diferenciación de procesos inhibitorios, específicamente de la resistencia a la interferencia de distractores respecto y de la inhibición de la respuesta, en tanto el entrenamiento genera efectos en el proceso entrenado pero no el otro.

Abstract From the non-unitary perspective of inhibition, resistance to distractor interference is an inhibitory process related to selective attention, has developmental improvements throughout childhood and plays an important role in the children's performance in multiple activities. This work is aimed to design and administrate a resistance to interference distractor training task for children with typical development, between 6 and 8 years of age (a processes-based computerized flanker task). Also, this work is aimed to analyze the effects of the intervention on trained process and non-trained processes. We recruited children (n= 54) in the first three years of primary-school education. The study consisted of an experimental pre-test, post-test design (resistance to distractor interference, response inhibition and visuospatial working memory were administered), with experimental group (training resistance to distractor interference group) and active control group. After intervention, experimental group performed better in a resistance to distractor interference task. No effects on performance in other tasks were found. These small effects could be explained by the duration and the intensity of the intervention. However, these results contribute to non-unitary perspective about the differentiation of inhibitory processes, especially, to differentiation of resistance to distractor interference and response inhibition, because effects on trained process and absence of transfer to non-trained process were observed.

Mecanismos de desarrollo de la atención selectiva en población infantil / The development mechanisms of selective attention in child population

Resumen La atención selectiva es la función cognitiva que orienta la atención hacia los objetos o estímulos que resultan relevantes evitando la distracción frente a aquellos que son irrelevantes. En general, la literatura indica que el desempeño de la atención selectiva mejora notablemente con la edad, sin embargo, las diferencias vinculadas a esta variable no se cumplen para todas las condiciones de cantidad de estímulos distractores ni para todos los grupos de edad. Asimismo, aún no se ha explorado la contribución del control inhibitorio y la velocidad de procesamiento a esta mejora progresiva. Por este motivo, y debido a la escasez de estudios en población infantil, se propuso analizar la contribución relativa de la velocidad de procesamiento y de la inhibición al desempeño en una tarea de atención selectiva y búsqueda visual en esta etapa evolutiva. Para ello, se administró una tarea de búsqueda de conjunciones y una tarea simple de velocidad de respuesta a 295 niños de 6 a 13 años de edad. Los resultados permitieron plantear dos conclusiones principales: por un lado, que la atención selectiva mejora consistentemente durante la niñez y, por otro lado, que no existe un mecanismo general y exclusivo capaz de explicar estas diferencias durante esta etapa vital. Así, tanto la velocidad de procesamiento como el control inhibitorio contribuyen al desarrollo de la atención selectiva y ambos mecanismos cognitivos actúan de manera complementaria más que excluyente.

Abstract Selective attention allows directs attention to relevant objects or stimuli, while avoiding distraction from those that are irrelevant. The literature indicates that performance in CVS tasks improves markedly with age. However, age-related differences are not met neither for every number of distractor conditions nor for all age groups. In addition, the contribution of inhibitory control and processing speed to this progressive improvement has not yet been explored. For this reason, and due to the scarcity of studies using CVS paradigm to evaluate selective attention in children, the present study aimed to analyze the relative contribution of processing speed and inhibition to performance during this evolutionary period in a selective attention and CVS task. To do this, a CVS and a simple response speed task were administered to 295 children aged 6-13 years old. Results offered two conclusions: first, selective attention improves during childhood; second, there is no general and exclusive mechanism capable of explaining these differences during this period. Thus, both processing speed and inhibitory control contribute to development of selective attention, and they seem to be more complementary mechanisms than excluding ones.

El conocimiento de las fracciones. Una revisión de su relación con factores cognitivos / Fraction Knowledge. A Review Of Their Relationship With Cognitive Factors

Resumen El objetivo de este trabajo es realizar una revisión de la literatura que permita comprender la relación del conocimiento de las fracciones con los factores cognitivos en estudiantes de escolaridad primaria y secundaria. Se realizó una búsqueda de artículos empíricos en las bases de datos Education Research Complete, ERIC, MEDLINE, Primary Search, PsycARTICLES y PsycINFO. Los criterios de inclusión fueron: (a) trabajos empíricos, (b) efectuados con niños de escolaridad primaria o secundaria (de 6 a 18 años de edad), (c) publicados en revistas científicas con referato y (d) redactados en español o inglés. Las investigaciones seleccionadas coinciden respecto de que: (a) la atención predice el conocimiento conceptual y procedimental de las fracciones, (b) el lenguaje y la inteligencia fluida explican el conocimiento conceptual de las fracciones en la etapa inicial de su enseñanza sistemática y (c) el ejecutivo central contribuye a la predicción del conocimiento conceptual de las fracciones en años avanzados de la escolaridad. Se discuten las implicaciones teóricas y prácticas de estos resultados y se señalan posibles líneas de investigaciones futuras.

Abstract Learning fractions presents large difficulties for many children and adults. This is a serious problem, because different studies have shown that fraction knowledge predicts advanced mathematics, like algebra. Adult mathematic knowledge is related to employment opportunities, participation in high-skills occupations and economic and social well-being. Therefore, since fractions represent a backbone in mathematics achievement, understanding the factors that explain fractions learning is very important. Some theories of numerical cognition propose that general cognitive factors, like attention or working memory, contribute to learning mathematics. However, recent research has shown different and contradictory results about which cognitive factors are involved in fraction learning. Identifing the cognitive factors that explain fraction knowledge could lead to early identification of children with potential math learning difficulties and the development of interventions to improve their achievement. Therefore, the aim of this article is to perform a systematic literature review to analyze the relationship among some cognitive factors and fraction knowledge. A systematic literature search could define the state of the art on this topic, identify possible sources of controversy among studies, analyze those reasons to recognize points of agreement and discrepancy among studies and direct all this information towards future research lines. A systematic search of empirical articles was done on Education Research Complete, ERIC, MEDLINE Primary Search, PsycARTICLES, and PsycINFO databases. Search was carried out on September of 2017, with keywords in Spanish and their translation into English. Search terms were "fractions" ("fracciones") and "cognitive ability" ("habilidad cognitiva"), "cognitive processes" ("procesos cognitivos"), "working memory" ("memoria de trabajo"), "attention" ("atención"), "intelligence" ("inteligencia"), "speed of processing" ("velocidad de procesamiento"), "inhibition" ("inhibición") and "language" ("lenguaje"). Articles inclusion criteria were: (a) empirical studies, (b) with scholar age samples (6-18 years old), (c) published on peer review journals, (d) written in spanish or english. Thirteen publications were selected. They agree about attention predicting conceptual and procedural knowledge of fractions between fourth and sixth grade, (b) language and fluid intelligence explains conceptual knowledge of fractions in the initial stage of its systematic teaching, (c) central executive predicts fractions concepts in advanced levels of fraction instruction but not in the initial stages of learning, (d) central executive and fluid reasoning does not predict procedural fraction knowledge when other cognitive factors and mathematical abilities, like attention or whole number calculation skills, are included in the explanation models. In broad terms, these results are in line with some theoretical models of numerical cognition and suggested that cognitive processes and abilities are important to learn fractions. There are some practical implications to these results. Fraction learning could be improved by using pedagogical strategies and didactic materials which maximize cognitive performance. For example, employing novelty and ludic materials for teaching fractions could enable students to focus, maintain attention and improve their learning. Also, short instructions with low linguistic complexity would help students with attention, working memory or language difficulties to afford fractions activities and achieve a meaningful learning. On the other hand, working memory load to perform complex fraction activities would be reduced if basic fraction concept and procedures are consolidated in long term memory. Therefore, before advancing to more complex fractions activities in higher grades, the teacher should verify that the basic notions of fractions have been learnt and memorized by students. To develop theoretical cognitive models of mathematics learning, future research might analyze if cognitive factors contribute to fractions knowledge mainly through direct or indirect effects (that is, via their effects on others areas of math knowledge which affect fraction learning). On the other hand, the tasks used to measure cognitive factors are not always pure, that is, different cognitive operations are involved in their execution. Future studies might work with latent variables that allow the identification of the share variance between cognitive task, and consequently, the main cognitive factors involved in fractions learning.

Flexibilidad cognitiva y tres procesos inhibitorios durante los primeros años de la escolaridad primaria / Cognitive flexibility and three inhibitory processes during the first years of school period

La inhibición y la flexibilidad cognitiva son funciones ejecutivas principales, mientras la primera aportaría al funcionamiento de la segunda. Actualmente, se identifican distintos procesos inhibitorios -inhibición perceptual, cognitiva y de la respuesta- que presentarían relaciones diferenciales con diversas habilidades. Sin embargo, no se registran estudios sobre tales relaciones con la flexibilidad cognitiva durante los primeros años escolares, donde estas funciones están en desarrollo y contribuyen con el desempeño escolar. Este trabajo se propuso estudiar la relación y contribución de cada proceso inhibitorio a la flexibilidad cognitiva en niños escolares de 6 a 8 años. Los participantes (N=171) efectuaron tareas inhibitorias y de flexibilidad cognitiva. Los resultados muestran una relación baja entre la inhibición perceptual y la flexibilidad cognitiva y ausencia de relaciones con los otros procesos inhibitorios. Ello aporta evidencia al modelo no-unitario de la inhibición y permite discutir sobre la relación de los procesos durante el desarrollo(AU)

Inhibition and cognitive flexibility are basic executive functions, and inhibition would contribute to performance of cognitive flexibility. Actually, different inhibitory processes are identified ­perceptual, cognitive and response inhibition. They engagement differentially in diverse skills; however, studies about differential relationships between inhibitory processes and cognitive flexibility during first years of school period are not registered. At this stage, all of these functions are in development and are essential for children's academic performance. The goal of this work is to study the relation and contribution of each inhibitory process with the cognitive flexibility, in scholar children from 6 to 8 years-old. The participants (N=171) carried out inhibitory and cognitive flexibility tasks. The results show low relation between perceptual inhibition and cognitive flexibility, and absence of relations with other inhibitory processes. The study contributes evidence in support of the non-unitary approach of inhibition, and allows discuss about relationships between these functions during the development(AU)

Inhibitory Processes Training for School-age Children: Transfer Effects.

Inhibition refers to a basic executive component that can be conceptualized as consisted of different inhibitory processes (i.e., perceptual, cognitive and response inhibition). These processes emerge during the first years of life, and since then are involved in different relevant every day activities. Different individual and contextual factors can modulate their developmental trajectories. The possibility of train in separate ways each inhibitory process is a subject of analysis. In such a context, the aims of this work were: (a) to design, implement and evaluate training of perceptual, cognitive and response inhibition processes, in a sample of school-aged children (6 to 8 years old); and (b) to analyze near, far, short- and long-transfer effects. An experimental design with three training groups (one for each inhibitory process) and an active control group was implemented. Near transfer effects were not observed. We found effects on a visuospatial working memory task in the short term, after the training in the response and cognitive inhibition, and effects on a fluid intelligence task in both the short and long term after the training in cognitive inhibition. The results contribute to a conceptualization of multidimensional inhibitory processes and the plausibility of training them during childhood.

Desarrollo de la inhibición perceptual en contextos emocionales y neutrales población infantil / Development of perceptual inhibition in emotional and neutral contexts in children

La inhibición perceptual es el proceso encargado de suprimir la interferencia de distractores externos. A pesar del rol central que juega la inhibición en dominios heterogéneos (como la salud mental, las habilidades académicas, o el desarrollo), la investigación en la temática muestra una comprensión limitada del desarrollo de este proceso, que además ha focalizado su estudio en contextos neutrales. Por ello, el objetivo del estudio fue analizar el desarrollo de la inhibición perceptual en contextos emocionales y neutrales en población infantil. Participaron del estudio 407 niños/as de 8 a 12 años, que fueron evaluados con una tarea informatizada basada en el paradigma de flancos y del distractor enteramente irrelevante. Los resultados mostraron que este proceso se desarrolla de manera progresiva y gradual, sin diferencias en función del contexto o dominio de aplicación. De este modo, permiten extender los resultados hallados principalmente en contextos neutrales, al contexto emocional. Este estudio constituye un aporte a la comprensión del desarrollo de este proceso inhibitorio, en ambos contextos (emocionales y neutrales)

Perceptual inhibition is the process responsible for suppressing the interference generated by external distractors. Despite the fact that inhibition plays a central role in heterogeneous domains (such as mental health, well-being, academic skills, and even development), research shows a limited understanding of the development of this process and has also focused mostly on neutral contexts. For this reason, this work aims to analyze the development of perceptual inhibition in emotional and neutral contexts in children. To this end, 407 children aged 8 to 12 years participated in the study. They were evaluated with a computerized task based on the flanker paradigm and the entirely irrelevant distractor paradigm. The results showed that perceptual inhibition develops gradually, and shows no differences depending on the context or domain. These findings allow the extension of previous results found in neutral contexts to the emotional context. This study constitutes a contribution to the understanding of development of this inhibitory process in both contexts (emotional and neutral)

Cognitive functioning: is it all or none?

Under various circumstances, the cognitive system operates in a global manner that is not very precise and barely discriminatory. This form of operating has been described via a general principal that Diamond (Developmental Psychology 45:130-138, 2009) has denominated the All or None Hypothesis. This author has described a set of corollaries derived from this hypothesis that make it possible to verify it in each one of these domains. Although there is evidence of the global and non-discriminate way in which the cognitive system operates in populations of children, to date, there are no studies that have examined whether this mode of operation is also present in populations of adults. Researchers have yet to determine whether these corollaries apply to middle-aged adults. For this reason, this is the current study's principal objective. A sample of 73 participants with ages ranging from 18 to 57 of both genders was evaluated. A modified version of the arrows test in Davidson et al. (Neuropsychologia 44:2037-2078, 2006) was used to analyze the three corollaries. The results obtained in this study can be interpreted as evidence in favor of the corollaries analyzed herein. Furthermore, they indicate that adult populations have a global response mode that is barely differentiated and that is activated by default in the face of problems and situations that demand behaviors and/or thoughts that are not very analytical and differentiated. However, in contexts that demand greater discrimination, this global mode is substituted by a controlled mode that requires greater cognitive effort and more differentiated processing.

Regulación emocional y desempeño académico: revisión sistemática de sus relaciones empíricas / Regulação emocional e desempenho acadêmico: uma revisão sistemática de relações empíricas / Emotion regulation and academic performance: a systematic review of empirical relationships

Se ha propuesto que laregulación de la emoción (RE) constituye un factor con capacidad predictiva sobre el desempeño académico. Sin embargo, los estudios empíricos son escasos y aún se conoce relativamente poco sobre la relación específica de las estrategias y habilidades de RE con diferentes indicadores del desempeño académico. El objetivo de este trabajo fue identificar el estado del arte de la relación de la regulación emocional (RE) con el desempeño académico. Se realizó una búsqueda sistemática de artículos en las bases Google Scholar, ERIC y PsyArticles combinando los términos regulación de la emoción y autorregulación de la emoción con: habilidades, competencia, logro, éxito, desempeño, aprendizaje (académico), escolar/escuela, alfabetización, aula/aúlico, educación, lectura, matemáticas. Se seleccionaron 17 artículos. El análisis permitió conformar dos grupos. En el primer grupo, fueron consideraron los artículos que evaluaron estrategias de RE. Entre estos estudios predominaron los diseños experimentales y los indicadores comportamentales como medidas de RE. En el segundo grupo, fueron considerados los estudios que evaluaron habilidades de RE. En este grupo, predominaron los estudios con diseños transversales y medidas de autoinforme o de informes de terceros para evaluarRE. Se concluye señalando recomendaciones para futuros trabajos.

Foi proposto que a regulação da emoção (ER) é um fator com uma capacidade preditiva de desempenho acadêmico. No entanto, estudos empíricos são escassos e ainda relativamente pouco se sabe sobre a relação específica das estratégias e habilidades RE com diferentes indicadores de desempenho acadêmico. O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar o estado da arte sobre a relação entre regulação emocional e desempenho acadêmico. Uma pesquisa sistemática de artigos empíricos foi realizada nas bases de dados Google Scholar, ERIC e PsycArticles combinando os termos regulação de emoção ou auto-regulação emocional com: (acadêmico) habilidades, competência, realização, sucesso, desempenho, aprendizagem, escola, alfabetização, sala de aula, educação, leitura, matemática. Foram selecionados 17itens. Análise possível formar dois grupos. No primeiro grupo, foram considerados os artigos que avaliaram estratégias de RE. Nestes estudos predominaram projetos experimentais e indicadores comportamentais como medidas de RE. No segundo grupo, foram considerados estudos que avaliam habilidades RE. Neste grupo predominaram estudos com projetos transversais e medidas de auto-relato ou de relatórios de terceiros para avaliar RE. Concluiu-se apontando algumas recomendações para trabalhos futuros.

It has been proposed that emotion regulation (ER) is a factor with a predictive capacity for academic performance. However, empirical studies are scarce and relatively little is still known about the specific relationship of RE strategies and abilities with different indicators of academic performance. The aim of this study was to identify the state of the art regarding the relationship of emotional regulation with academic performance. A systematic search of empirical articles was conducted in the databases Google Scholar, ERIC and PsyArticles combining the terms emotion regulation or emotion self-regulation with: (academic) abilities, competency, achievement, success, performance, learning, school, literacy, classroom, education, reading, math. There were selected 17 items. The analysis allowed two groups to be formed. In the first group, articles evaluating ER strategies were considered. Among these studies, experimental designs and behavioral indicators predominated as ER measures. In the second group, studies evaluating ER skills were considered. In this group, studies with cross-sectional designs and measures of self-report or other reports to evaluate ER were predominant. It concludes with recommendations for future work

Contribuciones empíricas para la validez de grupos contrastados de la Batería de Tareas de Autorregulación Cognitiva (TAC) / Empirical contributions for contrasting groups validity of the Tareas de Autorregulación Cognitiva (TAC) Battery

Los déficit de las funciones ejecutivas (FE) suelen estar presentes en el Trastorno por Déficit de Atención e Hiperactividad (TDAH). Distintos trabajos mostraron algunas falencias vinculadas a la medición de las FE, como la participación de otros procesos que no constituyen objeto de la evaluación. En el trabajo que se informa se analizaron las diferencias existentes en las FE de niños con y sin diagnóstico de TDAH y se buscó identificar y establecer aquellas variables con mayor poder discriminante para la probabilidad de pertenencia a ambos grupos. Se utilizaron las tareas de la batería denominada Tareas de Autorregulación Cognitiva (TAC), diseñadas ad-hoc para evaluar específica y relativamente en forma independiente cada FE. Se trabajó con una muestra de 49 niños escolarizados de 7 a 12 años de edad, de ambos géneros, divididos en dos grupos, uno clínico de 19 niños con diagnóstico de TDAH, con una media de edad igual a 9.84 años (DE = 1.83) y uno control de 30 niños sin diagnóstico de TDAH con una media de edad igual a 10.27 años (DE = .82), equiparados por género, edad, niveles socioeconómico y educacional. Los resultados mostraron que el análisis discriminante permitió clasificar correctamente al 98% de los participantes. Las tareas mejor discriminadas fueron la de Flexibilidad cognitiva y Control inhibitorio comportamental, con un 98.9% y 97.8%, respectivamente, de casos correctos. Esto muestra que la TAC constituye una batería con adecuada sensibilidad y especificidad para discriminar y detectar casos de TDAH con un elevado nivel de confiabilidad y porcentaje de correctos clasificados.

The executive functions (EF) multidimensional approaches state that EFs consist of a set of processes with relative autonomy and independence: working memory (WM), cognitive flexibility (CF), and inhibition. Regarding the inhibitory operation, three dimensions are distinguished, each with distinct operative features: perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral inhibition. Perceptual inhibition is the process that allows the focus on relevant environmental stimuli through the attenuation of the interference generated by other stimuli present in the context. Cognitive inhibition is involved in the decreased level of activation of the prepotent mental representations of intrusive and irrelevant to the achievement of current goals. Finally, behavioral inhibition handles suppress or cancel behaviors and strong, prepotent and un suitable behaviors. While this last type contributes to the inhibitory control of behavior, the other two processes (cognitive and perceptual inhibition) apply to cognition, as involved in regulating the perceptions and representations. Regarding executive operation in general, empirical evidence suggests that these dimensions are involved in such diverse fields as psychopathology, personality, emotion, attentional control and cognitive development. It has been found that deficits in EFs are usually present in the Attention Deficit Hyper activity Disorder (ADHD). The common practice of treating children with ADHD as an undifferentiated group of participants in behavioral and neuropsychological research may have adverse methodological consequences. Relying on group averaging in comparing the performance of ADHD and control groups may produce misleading results, as it conceals possible effects that may characterize some but not all ADHD participants. According to the previous assumptions, the objectives of this work were (1) analyzing the EF performance in children with or without diagnosed ADHD and (2) identifying and setting the variables with greater discriminant power between the normal and clinical groups. Battery tasks called Tareas de Autorregulación Cognitiva (TAC) ad-hoc and designed to assess EFs operation specifically and with relative independence with each other were used. The sample consisted of 49 school-attending children, aged 7-12 years, of both sexes, divided into two groups: (1) a clinical group of 19 children diagnosed with ADHD combined subtype (M age = 9.84 years, SD =1.83), and (2) a control group of 30 children without ADHD diagnosis (M age = 10.27 years, SD = .82), matched by gender, age, socioeconomic and educational level. By analyzing the results, significant differences were found between verbal and visuospatial WM, CF, behavioral and perceptual inhibition indices. Then, a discriminant analysis was made in order to use the index values with significant differences and make predictions about the probability of a subject to be a member of a certain criteria variable value (clinical or control group condition). Results show that discriminant analysis allows to correctly classifying 98% of the participants. The results indicated that the average RT of the mixed block (Cognitive Flexibility) and the Stop Signal RT (Behavioral Inhibition) are the indices with better sensitivity and specificity for detecting the presence of ADHD in this sample. Considering that the area under the curve indicates the probability to classify correctly a couple of healthy and ill individuals randomly selected, then it is possible to conclude that the values of Cognitive Flexibility and Behavioral Inhibitory control tasks had better discriminant power, as they correctly classified 98.9% and 97.8% of the total cases, respectively. This result shows that the TAC Battery presents adequate sensitivity and specificity to discriminate and detect ADHD with a high level of reliability and classification accuracy. Summarizing, we highlight the importance of having an assessment battery such as the totally computerized TAC, which allows the assessment of EFs independently, with an attractive design and straightforward administering and scoring procedures.

Analysis of internal and external validity criteria for a computerized visual search task: A pilot study.

Inhibition is one of the main executive functions, because of its fundamental role in cognitive and social development. Given the importance of reliable and computerized measurements to assessment inhibitory performance, this research intends to analyze the internal and external criteria of validity of a computerized conjunction search task, to evaluate the role of perceptual inhibition. A sample of 41 children (21 females and 20 males), aged between 6 and 11 years old (M = 8.49, SD = 1.47), intentionally selected from a private management school of Mar del Plata (Argentina), middle socio-economic level were assessed. The Conjunction Search Task from the TAC Battery, Coding and Symbol Search tasks from Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children were used. Overall, results allow us to confirm that the perceptual inhibition task form TAC presents solid rates of internal and external validity that make a valid measurement instrument of this process.

Perspectivas Teóricas y Evidencia Empírica sobre la Inhibición / Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Evidence on Inhibition / Perspectivas Teóricas e Evidência Empírica sobre a Inibição

La evidencia empírica muestra que la inhibición es un proceso fuertemente implicado en el dominio y la adquisición de competencias sociales, emocionales y comportamentales. Sin embargo, a pesar del acuerdo respecto a su importancia en distintos ámbitos, aún existen divergencias en cuanto a su definición conceptual y operativa. Principalmente, existe un profundo debate en torno a si la inhibición es un constructo unitario o debería fragmentarse en un conjunto de procesos. El objetivo de este trabajo es describir los hallazgos y las posturas más significativas en relación con el estudio de dicho constructo, para lo cual, en primer lugar se hace una propuesta explicativa del control de la interferencia, basada en un enfoque no inhibitorio; en segundo lugar, se describen los modelos más representativos, de 1, 2 y 3 factores para, finalmente, enumerar algunos de los aportes y hallazgos planteados como principal fuente de evidencia a favor del enfoque fragmentado.

Empirical evidence shows that inhibition is a process strongly implicated in the dominion and acquisition of social, emotional and behavioral skills. However, despite the agreement on its importance in various areas, there is still divergence in terms of its conceptual and operational definition. Mainly, a deep debate exists whether inhibition is a unitary construct or must be fragmented into a set of processes. The objective of this study is to describe the findings and the most significant positions in relation to the study of this construct by first, making an explanatory proposal for interference control, based on a non-inhibitory approach; and secondly, describing the most representative 1, 2 and 3 factor models, to finally list some of the contributions and findings proposed as the main source of evidence for the fragmented approach.

A evidência empírica mostra que a inibição é um processo fortemente vinculado ao domínio e à aquisição de competências sociais, emocionais e comportamentais. Contudo, apesar da concordância a respeito de sua importância em diferentes âmbitos, ainda existem divergências quanto a sua definição conceitual e operativa. Principalmente, existe um profundo debate sobre se a inibição é um construto unitário ou deveria fragmentar-se num conjunto de processos. O objetivo deste trabalho é descrever os achados e os posicionamentos mais significativos no que se refere ao estudo desse construto; para isso, em primeiro lugar, faz-se uma proposta explicativa do controle da interferência, baseada num enfoque inibitório; em segundo lugar, descrevem-se os modelos mais representativos, de 1, 2 e 3 fatores para, finalmente, enumerar algumas das contribuições e constatações apresentadas como principal fonte de evidência a favor do enfoque fragmentado.