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Related Experiment Videos

The central executive does not exist

A J Parkin1

  • 1Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, U.K. alp@biols.sussex.ac.uk

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS
|September 24, 1998
PubMed
Summary
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The concept of the central executive lacks rigorous evidence and is unfalsifiable. Neuropsychological and neuroradiological data suggest diverse neural substrates for executive tasks, not a single executive function.

Area of Science:

  • Neuropsychology
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

  • The central executive is a theoretical component of working memory.
  • Its existence and function are debated within cognitive psychology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Critically review the concept of the central executive.
  • Evaluate the experimental, neuropsychological, and neuroradiological evidence.
  • Propose an alternative perspective on executive function assessment.

Main Methods:

  • Critical review of existing literature.
  • Analysis of neuropsychological and neuroradiological data.
  • Examination of experimental evidence for the central executive.

Main Results:

  • Experimental evidence for a central executive is deemed insufficiently rigorous and unfalsifiable.

Related Experiment Videos

  • No specific brain region or neural substrate for a central executive was identified.
  • Executive tasks are associated with heterogeneous and distinct neural substrates.

    • Conclusions:

    • The concept of the central executive should be abandoned.
    • Executive function tests should adopt a qualitative approach.
    • Avoid assuming a unitary dimension of performance for executive functions.