Inhibitory Control Training Improves Cold but Not Warm Cognition in Typically Developing Preschoolers

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Inhibitory control is a fundamental executive function crucial for various cognitive processes.
• Understanding how to enhance inhibitory control is vital for cognitive development and function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance inhibitory control in typically developing children using a targeted training program.
• To assess the impact of this training on attention, executive function, delay discounting, and risky decision-making.

Main Methods:

• A randomized clinical trial involving 32 children (mean age 6.89 years) with intervention and active control groups.
• The intervention group received the Program for Attentive Rehabilitation of Inhibition and Selective Attention (PARISA) for 12 sessions.
• Assessments included Go/No-Go, Flanker, continuous performance, delay discounting, and balloon analogue risk tasks at baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in sustained attention, interference control, and prepotent inhibition in the intervention group.
• No significant changes were found in delay discounting or risky decision-making tasks.
• Improvements were specific to 'cold cognition' and attentional processes, not 'warm cognition' or reward processing.

Conclusions:

• Targeted inhibitory control training effectively enhances specific attentional and executive functions in children.
• The training's benefits appear limited to cognitive control and do not significantly influence reward-based decision-making or complex risk assessment.