The term “executive function” originated in the 1970s with a neuroscientist named Karl Pribram, who used it to describe the role that the pre-frontal cortex in the brain has in organizing behavior. Since then, our knowledge of executive functions has developed to be defined as many different skills and abilities that stem from the prefrontal cortex. Executive functioning skills include the methods that allow us to make plans, solve problems, and adapt to new situations. Core to these abilities are the skills of working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition control. It is important to note that these skills are not fixed at a certain level, and they develop over time for all people. While we know that executive function abilities decline with aging, and individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD have impaired executive function, there are ways to keep and improve these skills.
Overall, executive function is the process through which we can set and achieve goals, often while managing competing demands. Not only do these skills help individuals with making plans, meeting deadlines, and achieving goals, but they also help manage and regulate emotions. Through research, we know that having strong executive functioning skills can improve both mental and physical health. Let’s look at the components that make up executive functioning:
Working Memory
How the brain holds information that it receives for immediate use. It holds information briefly at the forefront of our minds for any problem solving or thought processes that are necessary in the moment, and it also updates the information that we already have. Our working memory has a limited capacity, only allowing us to hold around 4 to 7 different items in this space at a time. It also helps people to control their attention and helps people focus on information that is useful to them at the moment. Things that use working memory are like remembering where you parked your car or left your homework, recalling small tasks you were asked to do, etc. When there are too many things in this working memory space, things that you want to remember might start to fall off, especially if you struggle with working memory deficits.
Cognitive Flexibility
The ability to adjust your thoughts and behaviors in response to changing circumstances. Some core components of cognitive flexibility are; task switching, being able to transition without difficulty between different tasks or activities, set shifting, being able to change a mindset or mental strategy when a current approach is not useful, and response inhibition, the ability to adapt to new information and respond appropriately to the new information. Cognitive flexibility also intertwines with working memory, because an individual needs to be able to hold new information and integrate it with past information to be cognitively flexible. Difficulties with cognitive flexibility could look like experiencing emotion dysregulation when switching between tasks, being rigid in approaches to problem solving, not being able to take the perspective of other people and having difficulties adapting to new plans or rules.
Inhibition Control
Allows people to resist impulses, automatic responses and irrelevant distractions to favor a more appropriate action or thought. Inhibition control filters distractions and blocks ineffective impulses which allow for more thoughtful decision making, greater emotion management, and greater attention abilities. The distractions that inhibition control helps people resist can be internal, like distracting or unrelated thoughts, or external, like noises or other activities going on in the area. If an individual is struggling with inhibition control, it could look like an inability to focus for a long period of time, difficulties resisting temptations, and interrupting or blurting out in conversations.
When these components of executive function aren’t performing up to the standard ability, these issues are understood as symptoms of executive dysfunction. Neurodevelopmental disorders can cause executive dysfunction, like Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).