Development of and change in cognitive control: A comparison of children, young adults, and older adults

Friedman, David; Nessler, Doreen; Cycowicz, Yael M.; Horton, Cort · 2009 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3758/cabn.9.1.91

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Summary

This study investigates developmental and age-related changes in cognitive control and response-conflict detection by comparing children, young adults, and older adults. Motivated by the conflict-monitoring theory, which posits that executive processes monitor conflicts and upregulate control to manage interference, the researchers sought to determine how these processes evolve across the lifespan. Specifically, the study examined whether children and older adults recruit cognitive control and conflict detection mechanisms differently than young adults, particularly when facing combined sources of conflict. The researchers employed a response-compatibility task where participants responded to central arrows, either in the same direction (compatible) or opposite direction (incompatible). Conflict levels were manipulated by combining response incompatibility with posterror trials (trials following an error), creating conditions of low conflict (single source) and high conflict (combined sources). Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to measure two specific neural markers: pre-response time (pre-RT) activity, an index of cognitive control implementation, and medial frontal negativity (MFN), an index of response-conflict detection. The study included 15 children (mean age 10.2), 16 young adults (mean age 24.7), and 14 older adults (mean age 72.5), all screened for normal cognitive and neurological status. Behavioral results indicated that children and older adults exhibited the greatest performance decrements, including increased error rates and response time slowing, when response conflict was highest (posterror, incompatible trials). In contrast, young adults maintained relatively stable performance. ERP findings revealed distinct neural patterns: young adults implemented cognitive control (pre-RT activity) and detected increased conflict (MFN) only during high-conflict trials. Conversely, children and older adults recruited these processes even during lower-conflict trials, such as posterror compatible responses. This suggests that children and older adults engage control and conflict detection mechanisms in an undifferentiated and inefficient manner, activating them broadly rather than selectively in response to high-demand situations. The significance of these findings lies in the demonstration that developmental and age-related performance deficits in cognitive control are not merely due to a lack of capability, but rather to inefficient recruitment of neural resources. The study supports the view that the prefrontal cortex, critical for executive function, undergoes protracted development and age-related decline, leading to less differentiated processing in children and older adults. These results provide insight into the neural mechanisms underlying executive function across the lifespan, highlighting that inefficiency in regulating control processes contributes to behavioral impairments in both developing and aging populations.

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• executive function