executive functions

Law enforcement officers must possess high combat readiness and capability to successfully carry out their assigned missions. This study aimed to examine the role of cognitive skills in the sports success of military personnel in the self-defense discipline.

This study employed a descriptive-correlational research design. The statistical population included all MILITARY personnel athletes specializing in self-defense in Tehran and Alborz provinces in 2023, estimated at over 4,000 individuals. The required sample was selected using a cluster random sampling method. A total of 400 participants completed the short-form Sports Success Scale (SSS) questionnaire and a researcher-developed cognitive skills questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using Pearson correlation coefficient, linear regression, and multiple regression analysis.

The model summary results indicated a correlation coefficient of 0.829, a coefficient of determination (R² = 0.655), and an adjusted R² of 0.649, suggesting a suitable regression model. The best predictors of sports success were visual processing (Beta = 0.558), processing speed (Beta = 0.173), auditory processing (Beta = 0.128), and executive functions (Beta = 0.125), with a significance level of P < 0.0005.

Based on the study results, enhancing visual processing, processing speed, auditory processing, and executive functions, respectively, is crucial for improving sports success in self-defense training

Children with autism spectrum disorder have deficiencies in verbal or nonverbal communication skills. It seems that executive functions training using augmented reality can improve the communication skills of children with autism spectrum disorder.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of an executive functions training program using augmented reality on communication skills in children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder.

The present study was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group with a one-month follow-up period. The statistical population of the study included all children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder in Tehran in 2023-2024, from which 30 people were selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to two experimental (15 people) and control (15 people) groups. Participants answered the Gilliam Autism Diagnostic Scale - Second Edition (1995) for pre-test and post-test. After 21 45-minute sessions of executive functions training using augmented reality for children in the experimental group, the statistical method of analysis of variance with repeated measures and SPSS24 software were used to analyze the data.

The findings showed that the executive functions training program using augmented reality had a significant effect on the control group in the two stages of post-test and follow-up (p<0.001).

Executive functions training using augmented reality is effective on the communication skills of children with autism spectrum disorder and this training is recommended for children with autism spectrum disorder.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in children and adolescents, with widespread negative effects on the emotional, metacognitive, cognitive, and communication processes of individuals and their family members. This research aimed to determine the effectiveness of a multimodal intervention (motherchild-teacher) on the executive functions (self-motivation and emotion self-regulation) of children with ADHD.

This study employed a semi-experimental design with a pre-test-post-test approach, including a control group. The statistical population consisted of all elementary school children aged 9 to 11 with ADHD in Kerman city in 2023. Among them, 30 participants were selected using the available sampling method and randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group (15 participants each) through a lottery method. Participants completed the Children's Behavior Rating Scale (parent form) by Swanson et al. (2012) and the Executive Functions Scale for Children and Adolescents by Barkley (2012). The experimental group received the multimodal intervention (motherchild-teacher) over 10 sessions, with two sessions per week, each lasting 45 minutes. The research data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SPSS-27 software.

The results indicated that before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the mean scores of executive functions (self-motivation and emotion self-regulation) in the intervention and control groups. However, after the intervention, a statistically significant difference was observed between the mean scores of the two groups. The mean and standard deviation of self-motivation in the post-test were 29.30 ± 4.30, and for emotion self-regulation, they were 38.20 ± 2.70 (P < 0.001).

Based on the findings of this study, the use of multimodal intervention appears to be effective in improving executive functions (self-motivation and emotion self-regulation). Therefore, psychologists and therapists are encouraged to incorporate multimodal intervention (mother-childteacher) alongside other treatment methods to address the challenges faced by children with ADHD.

Developmental language disorder is a type of language disorder that starts in childhood and can involve all language levels. This disorder is not specific to language; other skills, such as cognitive skills, are also damaged in these children. Executive functions are one of the highest cognitive levels studied in these children in recent years. This study investigates the performance of two parts of executive functions, including selective attention and problem-solving/organization, and their relationship with language variables in these children.

This was a descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional comparative study. The participants of this research included 56 normal children and 20 children with developmental language disorders in the age range of 5 to 8 years. All the subjects were examined using the tower of London test, stroop task (the moon and the sun) to assess executive functions and verbal fluency test, and Persian language development battery to assess language functions. All analysis was done using the SPSS software, version 18.

According to the findings of this research, both groups of participants showed significant differences in the linguistic variables of syntactic complexity and syntactic comprehension (P<0.05); however, no significant difference was seen in other language variables, including verbal fluency, type-token ratio, number of utterances, and repetition. In executive function skills, an important difference was observed in the number of errors made during the tower of London test (P<0.05). However, in other components of this test, including total score, total time, delay time, and task completion time, as well as selective attention skills, there was no difference between the two groups. On the other hand, there was a correlation between selective attention and verbal fluency, as well as between problem-solving/organization skills and the linguistic variables of type-token ratio, number of utterances, syntactic comprehension and verbal fluency (P<0.05).

Children with developmental language disorder performed weaker than their normal peers at different language levels as well as in some executive function skills. There is a causal relationship between some language deficits and executive function deficits. More research is needed to confirm or reject this hypothesis.

Academic procrastination has negative consequences for academic achievement and motivations, cognitions, behaviors, and emotions related to education. One of the most effective structures in academic procrastination is executive functions. Executive functions include the abilities that children will need in the future for school learning. Another factor affecting academic procrastination is addiction to the Internet, especially dependence on cyberspace. Dependence on cyberspace is a new issue that the whole society, many people, and families are involved in today. One of the factors that causes dependence on cyberspace to lead to academic procrastination is a lack of time management due to being involved with cyberspace. Determining the role of dependence on cyberspace, executive functions, and time management in academic procrastination requires field research in Iran. Thus, this research benefits from structural equations modeling for academic procrastination based on dependence on cyberspace and executive functions with the mediation of time management in junior female high school students.

This research method was of the correlation analysis type based on the structural equation modeling. The statistical population of the research was made up of all the female junior high school students in Kerman City, Iran, numbering 8150 people in the academic year 2022–2023. Among them, 384 people were selected as samples by a stratified random sampling method. The sample size was based on the rule proposed by researchers in structural equation modeling, which states that the number of samples should be 15 to 20 times the number of observed variables. In this research, considering 20 obvious variables, 400 people were considered, and after distributing 450 questionnaires among students, 384 people answered thoroughly. Data were gathered via the Internet Addiction Test (Widyanto & Mcmurran, 2004), the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) (Gioia et al., 2000), the Time Management Questionnaire (TMQ) (Truman & Hartley, 1995) and Procrastination Assessment Scale–Students (PASS) (Solomon & Rothbloom, 1984). Data were analyzed at a significance level 0.05 using structural equation modeling in SPSS version 25 and AMOS version 24.

The results showed that the model for predicting academic procrastination based on dependence on cyberspace and executive functions with the mediation of time management is an acceptable fit for junior female high school students in Kerman. Thus, the direct effects of dependence on cyberspace on time management (β=–0.76, p<0.001), executive functions on time management (β=0.24, p=0.012), dependence on cyberspace on academic procrastination (β=0.69, p<0.001), executive functions on academic procrastination (β=–0.46, p<0.001), and time management on academic procrastination (β=–0.56, p<0.001) were significant. On the other hand, time management plays a mediating role in the relationship between dependence on cyberspace (β=0.381, p<0.001) and executive functions (β = 0.24, p<0.001) and students' academic procrastination. The goodness–of–fit indices indicated a good fit of the model (χ2/df=3.53, GFI=0.907, IFI=0.925, CFI=0.924, RMSEA=0.079).

According to the findings, dependence on cyberspace and weakness in executive functions reduces the ability to time management and naturally lead to an increase in academic procrastination among students.

Specific learning disorders are neurodevelopmental disorders with biological origin. This origin includes the interaction of genetic, paragenetic, and environmental factors. At the same time, the symptoms of this disorder occur at the cognitive level. Specific learning disorders include problems in academic abilities such as fluency in reading, reading comprehension, writing, and mathematical reasoning. The most common learning disorder seems to be dyslexia. Learning disabilities are one of the main problems in children's academic performance and progress in the educational system of the United States and probably other countries around the world. One increasingly prominent and well–documented treatment for this developmental impairment has recently been the executive functions training approach. This study is intended to be a systematic review of the effectiveness of executive functions training on reading and writing skills of students with learning difficulties as a scientific ground for selecting more efficacious treatments.

To this end, this research was done as a systematic literature review, scoping various techniques and different treatment approaches that have been applied so far to enhance the academic performances of students with reading and writing difficulties. Three online databases were searched: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Only research studies published in English were accounted for. No limitations were exerted but on the subject's country or language. The time duration for all search was from 2010 to 2022. All papers were to be first–order research; this study did not include other literature reviews and meta–analytic research in its study sample. It also excluded interventions for other learning problems, such as dyscalculia. Furthermore, interventions for adult problems were excluded.
A total of 1172 potentially relevant papers were found at the primary searching activities. However, after different levels of elimination, only 14 papers were decided to meet the criteria fully.

There were few relevant treatments, but they were divergent regarding the techniques used and the cognitive functions trained. Among them, however, those who were found to be more decisively influential were Computerized Executive Functions Training (CEFT), Computerized Working Memory Training (CWMT), Action Video Games Training (AVG), and Visual Spatial Attention training. Careful examination of these treatments shows that most computerized training tasks could have been executed in non–computerized versions. Indeed, computerization for most tasks is only a methodological strategy to implement training in exact timing. Meanwhile, some negative evidence was also found, suggesting that some of the executive functions training that has been frequently claimed to be effective were completely useless on children with learning disabilities. Although this evidence is relatively negligible, subsequent work is needed to determine the effectiveness of each treatment. On the other hand, some of the most effective intervention programs were organized in such a way as to take, explicitly or implicitly, a central or supervisory system of executive functions for granted.

Despite the lack of certainty regarding the effectiveness of each of the interventions individually in improving learning problems, it seems that to improve children's reading and writing skills, using programs based on executive functions as a combination of several designed components is a more practical approach.

Attention–deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in school children. There is growing evidence that a problem particularly associated with ADHD is the inability of this group of children to executive functions. In recent years, many interventions, such as working memory training programs, have been effective in alleviating the symptoms of ADHD and have attracted considerable attention. While working memory has a fixed structure, we can hope for more effective and changeable training to strengthen working memory in an emotional context. Considering this point, in the current study, researchers used a modified sample of traditional working memory training derived from Schweizer et al.'s (2013) protocol called emotional working memory training. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of emotional working memory training on the executive functions of students with ADHD.

This research method was quasi–experimental and employed a pretest–posttest design with a control group. The study's statistical population included elementary school students of Ardabil City, Iran, with ADHD in 2022–2023. Of whom, 30 qualified candidates were selected by available sampling after meeting the inclusion criteria. The study was conducted in two groups of 15 people, experimental and control. The tools used in this research were Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Scale–Fourth edition (SNAP–IV scale) (Swanson et al., 2001) and Barkley Deficits in Executive Function Scale–Children and Adolescents (BDEFS–CA) (Barkley, 2012). Emotional working memory training with the software was implemented during 15 sessions of 30–40 minutes only for the experimental group. The obtained data was analyzed using SPSS27 software at two levels of descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential (univariate covariance analysis) statistics. The significance level was set at 0.05.

Univariate covariance analysis showed that emotional working memory training effectively improved executive functions of students with attention–deficit/hyperactivity disorder in the experimental group (p=0.002). Also, 30.5% of the changes in executive functions in the posttest phase are explained by receiving emotional working memory training.

According to the results, emotional working memory training effectively improves the executive functions of students with ADHD by influencing the brain areas related to emotional regulation to enhance the performance of neurocognitive–emotional circuits.

Since older people suffer from many physical and psychological problems due to their age, improving physical and psychological health is essential for planners and practitioners in any country's social health field. Among the risk factors in old age is the increased concentration of lipids in the plasma, which can increase the problems of patients in the health field. Another problem for older people is the reduction of their cognitive abilities, which can lead to emotional and behavioral problems. In this regard, finding low–cost and low–risk ways to reduce older people's problems is one of society's main and important issues. On the other hand, nowadays, paying attention to psychological treatments as an alternative without complications and high costs to reduce the problems of patients has gained particular importance. Therefore, the present study compared the effectiveness of cognitive–behavioral therapy combined with self–compassion and cognitive–motor activities with cognitive–motor therapy alone on the plasma lipoproteins and executive functions of older people.

The research method was quasi–experimental, with a pretest–posttest and follow–up design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of older people over 60 living in Mashhad Cirt, Iran, in 2021. Among these, 42 volunteers (21 women and 21 men) who met the inclusion criteria were recruited and randomly assigned to the three groups: the first experimental group (cognitive–behavioral therapy combined with self–compassion and cognitive–motor activities), the second experimental group (cognitive–motor activities), and the control group (without intervention). The experimental groups were subjected to 18 sessions of 90 minutes during 9 weeks of interventions. The research tool was the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) (Gioia et al., 2000(. To analyze the research data, descriptive statistics indices, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used. Also, inferential statistics, including analysis of covariance to examine blood lipoproteins, analysis of variance with repeated measurements to investigate scores of executive functions, and Bonferroni post hoc test for intergroup comparison and variable measurement steps, were used. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 software, and the significance level of the tests was set at 0.05.

The results indicated that only the two variables of triglyceride (p<0.001) and high–density lipoprotein (HDL) (p=0.003) had a significant difference between the three research groups in the posttest after removing the effect of the pretest. However, there were no significant differences between study groups regarding cholesterol (p=0.233) and low–density lipoprotein (LDL) (p=0.408). Both interventions significantly changed the amount of triglyceride (p=0.007) and HDL (p=0.006). Also, the effect of time, group, and the interaction effect of time and group on the variable of executive functions were significant (p<0.001). The difference between the averages in the first and second test groups between the pretest, posttest, and follow–up was significant (p<0.001). In both experimental groups, the difference between the average scores of the posttest and the follow–up was not significant, which indicated the persistence of the intervention's effect (p>0.05).

Based on the research findings, cognitive–behavioral therapy combined with self–compassion, cognitive–motor activities, and cognitive–motor therapy alone are effective and efficient in reducing plasma lipoproteins and improving the executive functions of older people. In comparison, cognitive–behavioral therapy combined with self–compassion and cognitive–motor activities has more effectiveness in triglyceride and HDL variables.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of joint attention training on basic social communication, anxiety and executive functions of children with autism.

The research design was quasi-experimental and pre-test and post-test with control group. The statistical populations of children with autism spectrum were referred to the psychiatric and psychological centers in Urmia City during the year 2021-2022. 30 individuals (15 ones from the shared attention group and 15 from the control group) were selected as a statistical sample using the available and targeted method. Data via questionnaires of basic social communication (Zabov, 2010), anxiety (Spence, 1999), executive functions of the parents' brief form (Balster Gerard et al., 2000) were collected during the intervention therapy method of joint attention training (Vakilizad and Abedi, 2015) (12 sessions, 3 days a week, each session was an hour and a half, each session was divided into 3 parts of 25 minutes with a 5 minute break for the child). Then the data were analyzed with Software SPSS V. 16 and multivariate analysis of covariance test.

The results showed that joint attention training increased basic social communication and executive functions and reduced anxiety in children with autism spectrum. The differences between the investigated groups and the conducted tests were significant (P≤0.01).

Interventional treatment methods such as joint attention training should be developed for the treatment of autistic patients, so that with the help of these methods, the individual and collective life of these patients can be improved.

 Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can impair psychological, emotional, and cognitive processes. The present study aims to investigate the effect of beta neurofeedback on executive functions and problem-solving skills of elementary school male children with ADHD.

This is a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test/post-test/two-month follow-up design. The participants were 24 elementary school male children with ADHD referred to psychology and psychiatry clinics in Mashhad, Iran, in 2020. They were selected using a purposive sampling method and randomly divided into intervention and control groups. The children in the intervention group received beta neurofeedback at 30 sessions for 2.5 months. The data collection tools were Brock and Clinton’s ADHD questionnaire, the children’s problem-solving exploratory test of Johnson, and Coolidge et al.’s executive functions questionnaire. The data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA.

 The results showed that beta neurofeedback had significant effects on executive functions (F=33.42; Eta squared=0.60; P=0.0001) and problem-solving skills (F=29.81; Eta squared=0.57; P=0.0001). It led to significant improvement in the intervention group.

 Beta neurofeedback can improve executive functions and problem-solving skills of children with ADHD through providing biological feedback and increasing awareness of mental and cognitive processes.

Dysgraphia causes some serious problems in writing which is an abstract and complex activity. Given the relationship between dysgraphia and various cognitive functions, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of perceptual-motor skills training on the executive functions in students with dysgraphia.

This research was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest control group design. The population included all the students with dysgraphia and aged 8 to 12 who had referred to the learning disability centers in Rasht during the academic year 2023-2024. From this population, a sample of 26 students was selected by convenience sampling and then randomly assigned to the experimental (n=13) and control group (n=13). The experimental group received twelve 45-min sessions of the Werner-Rini perceptual-motor skills program training, while the control group underwent the routine training provided by the learning disability center; however, they received a summary of the intervention at the end of the study. Data were collected by Minnesota Handwriting Test (1993) and Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale--Children and Adolescents (BDEFS-CA) (2012). The data were analyzed using analysis of covariance in SPSS-26.

The results of the data analysis indicated that perceptual-motor skills training led to the improvement of executive functions (F=28.87, P<0.05) and its components, including self-management of time (F=8.21, P<0.05), self-organization/problem-solving (F=5.77, P<0.05), self-control/inhibition (F=6.50, P<0.05), self-motivation (F=11.04, P<0.05), and emotional self-regulation (F=5.17, P<0.05) in the students with dysgraphia (P<0.05).

Perceptual-motor skills training can enhance brain growth and development by stimulating neural pathways. Also, it can lead to the improvement of executive functions such as self-management of time, self-organization/problem-solving, self-control/inhibition, self-motivation, and emotional self-regulation in students with dysgraphia by increasing the function of the neural system. Therefore, it can be considered as one of the key intervention strategies for the rehabilitation of these students.

The current research is a semi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. Population statistics of all students referring to educational and clinical centers in Isfahan city in the third quarter of 2000, 200 people answered the Connors parent questionnaire (hyperactivity). 45 people out of 60 people were selected as a sample and were placed in three groups randomly, and during three stages of evaluation, they were evaluated by Connors Parent Questionnaire, Continuous Performance Test (CPT), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Barat Impulsivity Scale Children's Wechsler Intelligence Scale Numerical Spacing Scale-Revised Form answered.The results with the help of spss-26 statistical software showed that the average age of the participating students in the cognitive rehabilitation groups was 10.33, sensory integration was 9.86, and the control group was 10.46 years old. Also, there is a difference between the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation training and sensory integration on executive functions and memory. that there is a significant difference between both intervention groups and the control group, but there is no difference between the intervention groups (cognitive rehabilitation training and sensory integration) post-test and follow-up in terms of the effect on attention.As a result, students with hyperactivity/attention deficit often face problems with memory and executive functions. The treatment of sensory integration and cognitive rehabilitation by involving different senses, improving executive functions, memory and performing game-like activities causes coherence and organization in the central nervous system of the brain and controls and regulates sensory processing and behavior management.

This study aimed to compare the Stroop test scores between older adults with and without sleep problems in Maragheh, Iran.

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Using a convenience sampling method, 100 older adults aged ≥58 years referred to the adult day care centers in Maragheh City, East Azerbaijan province, Iran in 2023, were selected. Based on the sleep quality index score, they were divided into two groups without sleep problems (n=42) and with sleep problems (n=58). Data analysis was conducted in SPSS software, version 24.

The mean age of older adults without sleep problems was 67±5 years, while it was 66±5 years for older adults with sleep problems. In the Stroop test, the results showed that the mean difference between the two groups was significant in the percentage of incorrect answers (P=0.028) and response time (P=0.004). The difference in the percentage of correct answers was not significant (P=0.080). There was a significant relationship between age and Stroop test score (P<0.001), but there was no significant relationship between BMI and Stroop test.

There are impaired inhibitory control and selective attention in older adults with sleep problems. Therefore, sleep quality may be one of the factors affecting executive functions of older adults.