Argentinean Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ).

The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) is a self-report measure designed to assess the two most widely studied strategies of Gross' model: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Even though there are two Spanish adaptations of the ERQ, region-specific linguistic factors and dialects must also be considered when adapting a test for another country in order to ensure equivalent evaluations across cultures. The present work developed an Argentinean adaptation of the ERQ. Additionally, the study evaluated its psychometric properties and associations with theoretically related constructs. Study 1 consist of the translation the ERQ into Argentinean Spanish and the analysis of its internal structure and reliability in a sample of 2957 participants. The results supported a two-factor structure with good data fit, adequate factor loadings, and good test-retest reliability and internal consistency. Expected age and gender differences in the use of reappraisal and suppression were also observed. Study 2 analyzed the external validity (concurrent and convergent) of the ERQ adaptation in a sample of 2160 participants. Theory-consistent associations were found with emotion regulation mechanisms, anxiety, depression, and personality traits. In summary, the findings support the validity of a new ERQ adaptation and its use in Argentina.

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

Inhibición comportamental en contextos emocionales y neutrales: un estudio en población infantil / Response inhibition in emotional and neutral contexts: a study in children

Introducción: Recientemente se ha demostrado que las emociones interfieren con la eficacia de la inhibición comportamental. La inhibición comportamental es el proceso encargado de suprimir, de forma deliberada respuestas automáticas, dominantes o prepotentes que resultan inapropiadas en función de los objetivos. Debido a la relevancia de los estímulos emocionales para la supervivencia, diferentes estudios han indicado que el rendimiento de la inhibición comportamental puede variar según el contexto, es decir, en contextos neutrales o emocionalmente relevantes. Objetivo: Por este motivo, el objetivo del estudio fue analizar el funcionamiento de la inhibición comportamental en contextos con distinta temperatura emocional en una muestra de niños de 8 a 12 años de edad. Material y métodos: Los niños realizaron una tarea experimental de Simon Afectivo con estímulos emocionales y neutrales para evaluar la inhibición comportamental en contextos con alta y baja importancia emocional. Resultados y discusión: Los resultados mostraron que no hubo diferencias significativas dependiendo del contexto como se esperaba. Se discuten los resultados a la luz de otros estudios, y se enfatiza que estos resultados constituyen un enfoque para el problema de la interferencia del contenido emocional en población infantil.(AU)

Introduction: The literature has recently shown that emotions interfere with the efficacy of response inhibition. Response inhibition is the process that deliberately suppresses automatic, or dominant responses that are inappropriate to achieve personal goals. Due to the relevance of emotional stimuli for survival, different studies have suggested that the performance of response inhibition can vary depending on the context, that is, in neutral or emotionally salience contexts. Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the functioning of behavioral inhibition in contexts with different emotional temperatures in a large sample of children from 8 to 12 years-old. Methods and materials: Inhibition was assessed using an experimental Simon Affective task with emotional and neutral stimuli simulating contexts with high and low emotional salience respectively. Results and discussion: Contrary to expectations, the results showed that there were no significant differences in response inhibition depending on the context. The results are discussed in relation to other studies. These results constitute a contribution to the study of the interference of emotional content in children.(AU)

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.

Drug-induced subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus associated with abatacept.

Numerous drugs have been linked to the induction or exacerbation of systemic cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE). This report presents the third case of the biologic abatacept as an exacerbating medication for SCLE. A 73-year old woman with a remote history of subacute cutaneous lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, well controlled on hydroxychloroquine, presented with worsening annular erythematous, slightly scaly plaques on her forearms and hands. She had been started on abatacept a month prior. She was diagnosed with SCLE exacerbated by abatacept given the clinical findings, time course, and skin biopsy with interface dermatitis. Her skin eruption cleared completely several months later after discontinuing abatacept and switching to tociluzumab, while remaining on hydroxychloroquine. This case highlights the need to consider abatacept as a potential exacerbating medication for SCLE in any patient with a new photodistributed papulosquamous eruption.

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.

Adaptación y evidencias de validez de la Escala de Estilos de Respuesta en niños argentinos / Adaptation and evidence of validity of the Response Styles Scale in Argentinian children

La rumiación se considera un marcador estable de la aparición de la depresión, la recurrencia de episodios depresivos y el mantenimiento del afecto negativo. A pesar de su importancia clínica, esta cuestión no es abordada en profundidad en población infantil. Entre los factores relacionados con la falta de estudios, se encuentra la escasez de instrumentos para evaluar estas variables en niños. Por este motivo, este trabajo se propuso traducir la Escala de Estilos de Respuesta para Niños de Ziegert y Kistner (CRSS, 2002), adaptarla en población infantil con desarrollo típico de Argentina (Escala de Estilos de Respuesta en Niños-Argentina, EERN-A) y analizar sus propiedades psicométricas. Para ello, se evaluó a 434 niños argentinos de 8 a 12 años de edad y se analizó la estructura factorial de la escala y su confiabilidad. También se evaluó la validez concurrente del instrumento mediante su asociación con otras medidas de rumiación y distracción, y su validez convergente con medidas teóricamente relacionadas (ansiedad y depresión). Los resultados apoyan la multidimensionalidad e independencia de la rumiación y la distracción. Asimismo, las subescalas muestran relaciones con variables relacionadas, así como una adecuada estructura interna y fiabilidad. De este modo, este estudio supone un aporte para la evaluación de los estilos de respuestas en población infantil, debido a que permite contar con un instrumento válido para la evaluación de la rumiación y la distracción en niños

Rumination is considered a stable marker of the onset of depression, the recurrence of depressive episodes and the maintenance of negative affect. Despite its clinical importance, this issue is not properly addressed in children. Among the factors related to the lack of studies, is the lack of instruments to evaluate these variables in children. For this reason, this work had the aim to translate the Children's Response Styles Scale of Ziegert and Kistner (CRSS, 2002), adapt it in children with typical development of Argentina (Escala de Estilos de Respuesta en Niños-Argentina-EERN-A-) and analyze its psychometric properties. To this end, 434 Argentinian children aged 8 to 12 were evaluated. The factorial structure of the scale and its reliability were analyzed. The concurrent validity of the instrument was also evaluated through its association with other measures of rumination and distraction. Its convergent validity was evaluated through relationships with theoretically related variables (anxiety and depression). The results support the multidimensionality and independence of rumination and distraction. Likewise, the subscales show relationships with related variables as well as an adequate internal structure and reliability. Thus, this study is a contribution to the evaluation of response styles in children, because it provides a valid instrument for the assessment of rumination and distraction in children

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.

Dificultades de regulación emocional e intolerancia a la in-certidumbre en estudiantes universitarios / Difficulties in emotional regulation and intolerance of uncertainty in university students

Este estudio tuvo como objetivo determinar si las dificultades que las personas pueden experimentar para regular sus emociones negativas poseen un efecto sobre la intolerancia a la incertidumbre, en-tendiendo a esta última como la capacidad para tolerar el malestar asociado a estímulos inciertos. Para ello, se aplicó a 152 estudiantes universitarios la Escala de Dificultades en la Regulación Emocional y la Escala de Intolerancia a la Incertidumbre. Los resultados obtenidos muestran la asociación efectiva entre ambas variables indicando que, mientras mayores son las dificultades que la persona experimenta para regular eficazmente las emociones negativas, mayores resultan también los niveles de intolerancia a la incertidumbre. Específicamente, las dificultades que resultaron predictoras fueron: Falta de aceptación emocional, Dificultad en conducta dirigida a metas y Acceso limitado a estrategias de regulación emocional. El estudio reviste interés en términos de implicaciones clínicas, especialmente para la población universitaria

The aim of the study was to determine if the difficulties that people may experience to regulate their negative emotions have an effect on intolerance of uncertainty (the ability to tolerate the distress associated with uncertain stimuli). To do this, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale were applied to 152 Argentine university students. Multiple linear regression analyzes were performed, uncertainty intolerance being the dependent variable. The emotional regulation difficulties that were predictors were nonacceptance of emotional responses, difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior and limited access to emotion regulation strategies. Finally, results showed a relationship between both variables, indicating that the greater the difficulties that the person experiences to effectively regulate negative emotions, the greater the levels of intolerance of uncertainty. This study has clinical implications, especially for the university population

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

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Dificultades de regulación emocional y bienestar psicológico en estudiantes universitarios / Difficulties of emotional regulation and psychological well-being in university students

El bienestar psicológico de la población universitaria supone una preocupación creciente, debido a la gran exigencia académica que propicia el desarrollo de malestar y psicopatologías. Por eso, el objetivo del presente estudio fue indagar acerca del efecto de las dificultades de regulación emocional sobre los niveles de bienestar psicológico, en estudiantes universitarios. Se trabajó con 127 estudiantes de la Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (83.5% mujeres y 16.5% hombres; edad: M = 24.21; DE = 3.86), quienes completaron la Escala de Dificultades de Regulación Emocional y la Escala de Bienestar Psicológico. Los resultados mostraron correlaciones entre las variables, sugiriendo que mientras menos dificultades de regulación emocional reportan los estudiantes, mayores son sus niveles de bienestar. En particular, las variables de regulación emocional que fueron predictoras del bienestar psicológico fueron las dificultades en la conducta dirigida a metas cuando se experimentan emociones negativas, y las dificultades en la aceptación, claridad y conciencia emocional(AU)

The psychological well-being of the university population is a growing area of concern, due to the high academic pressure that contributes to the development of distress and psychopathology. For this reason, this study aimed to determine the effect of difficulties in emotion regulation on psychological well-being in university students. We worked with 127 students from the National University of Mar del Plata (83.5% women and 16.5% men; age: M = 24.21; DE = 3.86), who completed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and the Ryff's Psychological Well-being Scale. The results showed correlations among the variables, suggesting that the fewer the difficulties in emotion regulation, the higher the levels of well-being. In particular, the emotion regulation variables that predicted psychological well-being were difficulties in goal-directed behavior when experiencing negative emotions, and difficulties in emotional acceptance, emotional clarity, and emotional awareness(AU)

Efecto del uso de estrategias cognitivas de regulación emocional sobre las habilidades de cálculo y comprensión lectora en adolescentes / Effect of the use of cognitive emotion regulation strategies on reading comprehension and calculation skills in adolescents

El objetivo del presente estudio fue indagar acerca del efecto del uso de estrategias cognitivas de regulación emocional sobre las habilidades académicas de cálculo y comprensión lectora en población adolescente. Para ello, se administró el Cuestionario de Regulación Emocional Cognitiva, la Prueba de Competencia Lectora para Educación Secundaria y el sub-test de aritmética de la Prueba de Logro de Amplio Rango, a 65 participantes (género: F: 40, M: 25; ME = 15.52, DE = .69) de una escuela concertada de la ciudad de Valladolid, España. Los resultados indican que el uso de estrategias desadaptativas ­y no así el uso de estrategias adaptativas­ explica el rendimiento en las pruebas de habilidades académicas. Los resultados se discuten en relación a la literatura, señalando los efectos negativos sobre el aprendizaje del uso de estrategias desadaptativas como Rumiación, Catastrofización y Autoculparse

The aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of the use of cognitive emotion regulation strategies on the academic skills (calculation and reading comprehension) of adolescent population. To this end, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Reading Competency Test for Secondary Education and the arithmetic subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test, were administered to 65 participants (gender: F: 40, M: 22; age: ME = 15.52, DE = .69). Students belonged to a concerted school from the city of Valladolid, Spain. The results indicate that the use of maladaptive strategies -and not the use of adaptive strategies- explains the performance on academic skills tests. The results are discussed in relation to the literature, highlighting the negative effects of the use of maladaptive strategies such as Rumination, Catastrophizing and Self-blaming, on learning

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.

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)

Diseño, Implementación y Análisis de Transferencia de una Tarea de Entrenamiento de Inhibición Cognitiva para Niños Escolares. Un Estudio Piloto / Design, implementation, and transfer analysis of a cognitive inhibition training task for school children. A pilot study

Dentro de un enfoque no unitario de la inhibición, se identifica a la inhibición cognitiva como la capacidad para eliminar información irrelevante de la memoria de trabajo que interfiere con la actividad en curso. Se entiende que su desarrollo experimenta cambios no durante los años de escolaridad primaria y que participa en habilidades fundamentales para dicha etapa. Por ello, este trabajo se propuso analizar los efectos de transferencia de una actividad de entrenamiento de la inhibición cognitiva en niños en los primeros años de educación primaria, con desarrollo típico. Se trabajó con una muestra no probabilística de 39 niños de 6 a 8 años y se implementó un diseño experimental con medidas pre y posttest y grupo control. Luego del entrenamiento se encontraron efectos bajos en el rendimiento en una tarea de inhibición cognitiva y memoria de trabajo viso-espacial

Within a non-unitary approach to inhibition, cognitive inhibition is identified as the ability to remove from working memory irrelevant information which interferes with ongoing activity. Cognitive inhibition undergoes remarkable changes in development during elementary school age and is involved in core skills. Therefore, this work aimed to design, implement, and the transfer effects of a training activity of cognitive inhibition in children over the first years of elementary school with typical development. The sample consisted of 39 children aged 6 to 8 years. An experimental design with pre- and post-test measures and a control group was implemented. After training, low performance effects on a cognitive inhibition task and visual-spatial working memory task were found

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.