Charo Rueda
Centro de Investigación Mente, Cerebro y Comportamiento
Universidad de Granada
Attention and self-regulation in development
The development of executive attention serves the child with mechanisms that allow an increased voluntary control of thoughts and feelings and is tightly linked to the development of self-regulation. In the past, we have shown that this function shows a protracted development along childhood and early adolescence with a major period of maturation during preschool years. Along development, attention shows a robust association with the capacity to regulate behavior, as examined by temperament questionnaires and behavioral observations. Evidence from cognitive neuroscience studies has helped to elucidate both genetic and environmental factors that contribute to individual differences in attention and self-regulation. Additionally, an increasing bulk of studies in the last years have shown that a variety of functions related to executive control and self-regulation, including executive attention, are amenable to training. Training programs lead to benefits at both the cognitive and brain function level. Altogether, this research provides a deeper understanding of the development of executive control, the factors that contribute to individual differences in efficiency, and the type of experiences that may promote children’s self-regulation skills.
Iria SanMiguel (Coordinator BLS 2016/17)
