An fNIRS Study of Applicability of the Unity-Diversity Model of Executive Functions in Preschoolers

Sha Xie; Chaohui Gong; Jiahao Lu; Hao Zhang; Dandan Wu; Xinli Chi; Hui Li; Chunqi Chang

doi:10.3390/brainsci12121722

An fNIRS Study of Applicability of the Unity-Diversity Model of Executive Functions in Preschoolers

Brain Sci. 2022 Dec 16;12(12):1722. doi: 10.3390/brainsci12121722.

Authors

Sha Xie¹, Chaohui Gong², Jiahao Lu², Hao Zhang², Dandan Wu³, Xinli Chi⁴, Hui Li^{5

6}, Chunqi Chang^{2

7}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Education, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
² School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
³ Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
⁴ School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
⁵ Shanghai Institute of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200233, China.
⁶ Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney 2109, Australia.
⁷ Peng Cheng Laboratory, Nanshan District, Shenzhen 518055, China.

Abstract

Executive function (EF) includes a set of higher-order abilities that control one's actions and thoughts consciously and has a protracted developmental trajectory that parallels the maturation of the frontal lobes, which develop speedily over the preschool period. To fully understand the development of EF in preschoolers, this study examined the relationship among the three domains of executive function (cognitive shifting, inhibitory control, and working memory) to test the applicability of the unity-diversity model in preschoolers using both behavioral and fNIRS approaches. Altogether, 58 Chinese preschoolers (34 boys, 24 girls, M_age = 5.86 years, SD = 0.53, age range = 4.83-6.67 years) were administered the Dimensional Card Change Sort (DCCS), go/no-go, and missing scan task. Their brain activations in the prefrontal cortex during the tasks were examined using fNIRS. First, the behavioral results indicated that the missing scan task scores (working memory) correlated with the DCCS (cognitive shifting) and go/no-go tasks (inhibitory control). However, the latter two did not correlate with each other. Second, the fNIRS results demonstrated that the prefrontal activations during the working memory task correlated with those in the same regions during the cognitive shifting and inhibitory control tasks. However, the latter two still did not correlate. The behavioral and neuroimaging evidence jointly indicates that the unity-diversity model of EF does apply to Chinese preschoolers.

Keywords: cognitive shifting; early childhood; executive function; fNIRS; inhibitory control; working memory.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61971289), the Guangdong Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science, China (No. GD21YJY09), the Shenzhen Education Science Planning Project, China (No. zdzz21002), the Shenzhen Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science (No. SZ2022B031), Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science—Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions (No. 2022SHIBS0003), and SZU Top Ranking Project (No. 86000000210). The APC was funded by Shanghai Normal University, China.