Nonverbal Executive Function is Mediated by Language: A Study of Deaf and Hearing Children

Overview

Journal Child Dev

Specialty Pediatrics

Date 2016 Nov 19

PMID 27859007

Citations 45

Authors

Nicola Botting

Anna Jones

Chloe Marshall

Tanya Denmark

Joanna Atkinson

Gary Morgan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Studies have suggested that language and executive function (EF) are strongly associated. Indeed, the two are difficult to separate, and it is particularly difficult to determine whether one skill is more dependent on the other. Deafness provides a unique opportunity to disentangle these skills because in this case, language difficulties have a sensory not cognitive basis. In this study, deaf (n = 108) and hearing (n = 125) children (age 8 years) were assessed on language and a wide range of nonverbal EF tasks. Deaf children performed significantly less well on EF tasks, even controlling for nonverbal intelligence and speed of processing. Language mediated EF skill, but the reverse pattern was not evident. Findings suggest that language is key to EF performance rather than vice versa.

Citing Articles

A Virtual Reality Platform for Evaluating Deficits in Executive Functions in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children-Relation to Daily Function and to Quality of Life.

Hamed-Daher S, Josman N, Klinger E, Engel-Yeger B Children (Basel). 2024; 11(9).

PMID: 39334655 PMC: 11430522. DOI: 10.3390/children11091123.

How word meaning structure relates to executive functioning and theory of mind in children with developmental language disorder: A multiple case study.

Camminga T, Hermans D, Segers E, Vissers C Autism Dev Lang Impair. 2024; 9:23969415241268245.

PMID: 39170103 PMC: 11337180. DOI: 10.1177/23969415241268245.

The roles of language and executive function in Mandarin-speaking children's theory of mind development.

Li H, Leung M Front Psychol. 2024; 15:1354207.

PMID: 38933593 PMC: 11199786. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1354207.

Research of visual attention networks in deaf individuals: a systematic review.

Gioiosa Maurno N, Phillips-Silver J, Daza Gonzalez M Front Psychol. 2024; 15:1369941.

PMID: 38800679 PMC: 11120974. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1369941.

Assessment of Executive Functions in Children with Sensorineural Hearing Loss and in Children with Specific Language Impairment: Preliminary Reports.

Lauriello M, Mazzotta G, Mattei A, Mulieri I, Fioretti A, Iacomino E Brain Sci. 2024; 14(5).

PMID: 38790469 PMC: 11119259. DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14050491.

References

Gau S, Shang C . Executive functions as endophenotypes in ADHD: evidence from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Battery (CANTAB). J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2010; 51(7):838-49. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02215.x. View

Dye M, Hauser P . Sustained attention, selective attention and cognitive control in deaf and hearing children. Hear Res. 2013; 309:94-102. PMC: 3928356. DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2013.12.001. View

Bishop D, Nation K, Patterson K . When words fail us: insights into language processing from developmental and acquired disorders. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2013; 369(1634):20120403. PMC: 3866430. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0403. View

Marshall C, Jones A, Denmark T, Mason K, Atkinson J, Botting N . Deaf children's non-verbal working memory is impacted by their language experience. Front Psychol. 2015; 6:527. PMC: 4419661. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00527. View

Kuhn L, Willoughby M, Wilbourn M, Vernon-Feagans L, Blair C . Early communicative gestures prospectively predict language development and executive function in early childhood. Child Dev. 2014; 85(5):1898-914. PMC: 4165687. DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12249. View

Hughes C, Russell J, Robbins T . Evidence for executive dysfunction in autism. Neuropsychologia. 1994; 32(4):477-92. DOI: 10.1016/0028-3932(94)90092-2. View

Stevenson J, McCann D, Watkin P, Worsfold S, Kennedy C . The relationship between language development and behaviour problems in children with hearing loss. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2009; 51(1):77-83. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02124.x. View

Henry L, Messer D, Nash G . Executive functioning in children with specific language impairment. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2011; 53(1):37-45. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02430.x. View

Im-Bolter N, Johnson J, Pascual-Leone J . Processing limitations in children with specific language impairment: the role of executive function. Child Dev. 2006; 77(6):1822-41. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00976.x. View

10.

Surowiecki V, Sarant J, Maruff P, Blamey P, Busby P, Clark G . Cognitive processing in children using cochlear implants: the relationship between visual memory, attention, and executive functions and developing language skills. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol Suppl. 2002; 189:119-26. DOI: 10.1177/00034894021110s524. View

11.

Elliott R . Executive functions and their disorders. Br Med Bull. 2003; 65:49-59. DOI: 10.1093/bmb/65.1.49. View

12.

Baddeley A . Working memory: looking back and looking forward. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2003; 4(10):829-39. DOI: 10.1038/nrn1201. View

13.

Willcutt E, Doyle A, Nigg J, Faraone S, Pennington B . Validity of the executive function theory of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a meta-analytic review. Biol Psychiatry. 2005; 57(11):1336-46. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.02.006. View

14.

Kronenberger W, Colson B, Henning S, Pisoni D . Executive functioning and speech-language skills following long-term use of cochlear implants. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ. 2014; 19(4):456-70. PMC: 4146384. DOI: 10.1093/deafed/enu011. View

15.

Funahashi S . Neuronal mechanisms of executive control by the prefrontal cortex. Neurosci Res. 2001; 39(2):147-65. DOI: 10.1016/s0168-0102(00)00224-8. View

16.

Baron R, Kenny D . The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1986; 51(6):1173-82. DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.51.6.1173. View

17.

Kyle F, Harris M . Concurrent correlates and predictors of reading and spelling achievement in deaf and hearing school children. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ. 2006; 11(3):273-88. DOI: 10.1093/deafed/enj037. View

18.

Oberg E, Lukomski J . Executive functioning and the impact of a hearing loss: performance-based measures and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). Child Neuropsychol. 2011; 17(6):521-45. DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2011.555760. View

19.

Figueras B, Edwards L, Langdon D . Executive function and language in deaf children. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ. 2008; 13(3):362-77. DOI: 10.1093/deafed/enm067. View

20.

Mueller S, Piper B . The Psychology Experiment Building Language (PEBL) and PEBL Test Battery. J Neurosci Methods. 2013; 222:250-9. PMC: 3897935. DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2013.10.024. View