Executive Functions In Health And Disease

Executive Functions in Health and Disease provides a comprehensive review of both healthy and disordered executive function. It discusses what executive functions are, what parts of the brain are involved, what happens when they go awry in cases of dementia, ADHD, psychiatric disorders, traumatic injury, developmental disorders, cutting edge methods for studying executive functions and therapies for treating executive function disorders. It will appeal to neuropsychologists, clinical psychologists, neuroscientists and researchers in cognitive psychology. Encompasses healthy executive functioning as well as dysfunction Identifies prefrontal cortex and other brain areas associated with executive functions Reviews methods and tools used in executive function research Explores executive dysfunction in dementia, ADHD, PTSD, TBI, developmental and psychiatric disorders Discusses executive function research expansion in social and affective neuroscience, neuroeconomics, aging and criminology Includes color neuroimages showing executive function brain activity

Executive Functions in Health and Disease provides a comprehensive review of both healthy and disordered executive function. It discusses what executive functions are, what parts of the brain are involved, what happens when they go awry in cases of dementia, ADHD, psychiatric disorders, traumatic injury, developmental disorders, cutting edge methods for studying executive functions and therapies for treating executive function disorders. It will appeal to neuropsychologists, clinical psychologists, neuroscientists and researchers in cognitive psychology. Encompasses healthy executive functioning as well as dysfunction Identifies prefrontal cortex and other brain areas associated with executive functions Reviews methods and tools used in executive function research Explores executive dysfunction in dementia, ADHD, PTSD, TBI, developmental and psychiatric disorders Discusses executive function research expansion in social and affective neuroscience, neuroeconomics, aging and criminology Includes color neuroimages showing executive function brain activity

The concept of executive functioning has become central in understanding normal and abnormal cognitive processes. This timely volume analyzes the diverse conditions that can result in executive function disturbances, providing research about underlying causes, exploring the differences between developmental and acquired executive "dysfunctions," and providing approaches for the assessment of executive dysfunction both in children and in adults. In doing so, it addresses a gap in the literature in its analysis of executive function deficits and their link with psychopathology in psychiatric patients for the management of clinical symptoms and social adjustment. Among the specific topics examined: Theoretical approaches for the analysis of the diverse dysexecutive syndromes Common executive dysfunction syndromes found during childhood development: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorders Consequences of executive function deficits in the use of information technology Executive dysfunction and personality disorders Common executive function tests, assessment issues in executive dysfunction, and cross-cultural and bilingual questions in assessment of executive dysfunction Dysexecutive Syndromes: Clinical and Experimental Perspectives expertly extends the analysis of executive functions and dysfunctions from a fundamental and clinical perspective. It is essential reading for clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists, neurologists, and psychiatrists, and graduate and post-graduate students in psychology, neurology, and the health neurosciences, as well as clinicians, counselors, and psychometricians working with neuropsychiatric assessment.

This open access book is a systematic update of the philosophical and scientific foundations of the biopsychosocial model of health, disease and healthcare. First proposed by George Engel 40 years ago, the Biopsychosocial Model is much cited in healthcare settings worldwide, but has been increasingly criticised for being vague, lacking in content, and in need of reworking in the light of recent developments. The book confronts the rapid changes to psychological science, neuroscience, healthcare, and philosophy that have occurred since the model was first proposed and addresses key issues such as the model’s scientific basis, clinical utility, and philosophical coherence. The authors conceptualise biology and the psychosocial as in the same ontological space, interlinked by systems of communication-based regulatory control which constitute a new kind of causation. These are distinguished from physical and chemical laws, most clearly because they can break down, thus providing the basis for difference between health and disease. This work offers an urgent update to the model’s scientific and philosophical foundations, providing a new and coherent account of causal interactions between the biological, the psychological and social.

This book is the first comprehensive and state-of-the-art review of the relationship between executive function skills and writing. It explores its role across the lifespan, addressing all groups of writers, from children and those with learning and language difficulties, to adults and elders.

Executive Function: Development Across the Life Span presents perspectives from leading researchers and theorists on the development of executive function from infancy to late adulthood and the factors that shape its growth and decline. Executive function is the set of higher-order cognitive processes involved in regulating attention, thoughts, and actions. Relative to other cognitive domains, its development is slow and decline begins early in late adulthood. As such, it is particularly sensitive to variations in environments and experiences, and there is growing evidence that it is susceptible to intervention – important because of its link to a wide range of important life outcomes. The volume is made up of four sections. It begins with an overview of executive function’s typical development across the lifespan, providing a foundation for the remainder of the volume. The second section presents insights into mechanisms of executive function, as provided by a variety of methodological approaches. The third and fourth sections review the current research evidence on specific factors that shape executive function’s development, focusing on normative (e.g., bilingualism, physical activity, cognitive training) and clinically relevant (e.g., substance use, neurodegenerative disease) developmental pathways.

The Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS) is an empirically based tool for evaluating dimensions of adult executive functioning in daily life. Evidence indicates that the BDEFS is far more predictive of impairments in major life activities than more time-consuming and costly traditional EF tests. The BDEFS offers an ecologically valid snapshot of the capacities involved in time management, organization and problem solving, self-restraint, self-motivation, and self-regulation of emotions. It comprises both self- and other-reports in a long form (15-20 minutes) and a short form (4-5 minutes). Special features include an adult ADHD risk index in the long form. Complete instructions for scoring and interpreting the scale are provided. See also the Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale--Children and Adolescents (BDEFS-CA) and Barkley's authoritative book on EF development and deficits, Executive Functions. Also available: Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale--IV (BAARS-IV) and Barkley Functional Impairment Scale (BFIS for Adults). Includes Permission to Photocopy Enhancing the convenience and value of the BDEFS, the limited photocopy license allows purchasers to reproduce the forms and score sheets and yields considerable cost savings over other available scales. The large format and sturdy wire binding facilitate photocopying.

Impulsive, scattered, lost, unfocused, unprepared, disorganized: These are just a few of the words used to describe kids with executive functioning deficits, which commonly affect many children already diagnosed with ADHD, learning disabilities, and autism. The Impulsive, Disorganized Child: Solutions for Parenting Kids with Executive Functioning Difficulties helps parents pinpoint weak executive functions in their children, then learn how to help their kids overcome these deficits with practical, easy solutions. Children who can't select, plan, initiate, or sustain action toward their goals are children who simply struggle to succeed in school and other aspects of life. Parents need the helpful, proven advice and interactive surveys and action plans in this book to empower them to take positive action to teach their disorganized, impulsive child to achieve independence, success, and a level of self-support.