Electrophysiological neural correlates of the unity and diversity of executive functions

• Grant number: 21/14742-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: May 24, 2022
• End date: May 03, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Physiological Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Sabine Pompéia
• Grantee: Isis Angelica Segura
• Supervisor: Mario Alfredo Parra Rodriguez
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Strathclyde, Scotland
• Associated to the scholarship: 19/19709-6 - Sociocultural and pubertal effects on the development of unity and diversity of executive functions, BP.DR

Abstract

Executive Functions (EF) are cognitive skills that regulate cognition, thoughts and behavior that are associated with mental and physical health outcomes. According to the well-known unity and diversity model of EF, these abilities include at least three correlated but separable EF domains (Inhibition, Updating and Switching). This has been shown in adults and adolescents, mainly from developed nations. However, the neural correlates that underlie EF are yet not well understood. Although studies on the neuroanatomic and functional correlates of EF are not uncommon, these studies usually investigate only one or two domains from those proposed in the unity and diversity model of EF and usually involve data on only one task per domain, which provides little information on what is truly specific to each type of EF. The aim of the present proposal is to investigate the neural correlates of the EF using electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings during assessment of EF with a test battery that: 1) was developed to be culturally adaptable (Free Research Executive Evaluation battery: FREE) so that it can be used in samples from culturally/socioeconomically diverse contexts, which are underrepresented in the literature; 2) has good psychometric properties; and 3) contains two tasks that are representative of each EF domain so that common brain activity can be determined within domains. To accomplish this, we will first adapt the battery using online questionnaires to ensure the adequacy of stimuli and task instructions of the test battery for the British context. Next, 30 adults in the UK will carry out the tasks while their EEG activity is registered. With the results we expect to find patterns of neural activity that are common across all tasks (unity) but also domain-specific (diversity) so as to provide objective EEG markers of the seminal theoretical model under investigation. (AU)