Executive Functions in Health and Disease

Executive Functions in Health and Disease
Author: Elkhonon Goldberg
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 614
Release: 2017-07-04
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0128037059

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 Function and Dysfunction

Executive Function and Dysfunction
Author: Scott J. Hunter
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2012-10-04
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1139576682

Executive dysfunction occurs in many clinical conditions and has significant impact on multiple facets of life. This book summarizes executive function and dysfunction for practitioners, researchers and educators, covering lifespan development, assessment, impact and interventions. Drawing together clinical, neurobiological and developmental viewpoints, the authors summarize the latest research findings in practical and applied terms, and review conceptual approaches to assessing and identifying executive function and dysfunction. Several chapters are devoted to practical aspects of executive dysfunction, including research-based treatment strategies, educational implications, forensic cautions and intervention resources. Executive dysfunction in ADHD, LD, MR, autism, mood disorders, epilepsy, cancer and TBI is covered, with test performance, neuroimaging and clinical presentation for these clinical conditions. The book concludes with anticipation of future work in the field. This is a key reference for medical, psychological and educational professionals who work with children, adolescents and young adults in clinical and educational settings.

A New Understanding of ADHD in Children and Adults

A New Understanding of ADHD in Children and Adults
Author: Thomas E. Brown
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2013-07-18
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1135079471

For over 100 years, ADHD has been seen as essentially a behavior disorder. Recent scientific research has developed a new paradigm which recognizes ADHD as a developmental disorder of the cognitive management system of the brain, its executive functions. This cutting-edge book pulls together key ideas of this new understanding of ADHD, explaining them and describing in understandable language scientific research that supports this new model. It addresses questions like: - Why can those with ADHD focus very well on some tasks while having great difficulty in focusing on other tasks they recognize as important? - How does brain development and functioning of persons with ADHD differ from others? - How do impairments of ADHD change from childhood through adolescence and in adulthood? - What treatments help to improve ADHD impairments? How do they work? Are they safe? - Why do those with ADHD have additional emotional, cognitive, and learning disorders more often than most others? - What commonly-held assumptions about ADHD have now been proven wrong by scientific research? Psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and other medical and mental health professionals, as well as those affected by ADHD and their families, will find this to be am insightful and invaluable resource.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Author: Charles B. Nemeroff
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 841
Release: 2018-08-15
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0190259450

This volume brings together the leaders in the field of PTSD research to present an up-to-date summary and understanding of this complex disorder. All of our current knowledge and controversies concerning the diagnosis, epidemiology, course, pathophysiology and treatment are described in detail. The evidence for efficacy for each of the different forms of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy is reviewed. Particular attention is paid to at-risk groups, including minorities, and coverage of PTSD throughout the world is reviewed as well. The authors present state-of-the-art findings in genetics, epigenetics, neurotransmitter function and brain imaging to provide the most current and comprehensive review of this burgeoning field.

Autism as an Executive Disorder

Autism as an Executive Disorder
Author: James Russell
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 313
Release: 1997
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9780198523499

Autism continues to fascinate researchers because it is both debilitating in its effects and complex in its nature and origins. The prevalent theory is that autism is primarily characterised by difficulties in understanding mental concepts, but the contributors to this book present new andcompelling arguments for an alternative theory. Their research points strongly to the idea that autism is primarily a disorder of "executive functions", those involved in the control of action and thought. As such, the book provides a new and controversial perspective on this importantquestion.

Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS)

Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS)
Author: Russell A. Barkley
Publisher: Guilford Press
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2011-02-01
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1606239341

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.

Executive Functions in Psychiatric Disorders

Executive Functions in Psychiatric Disorders
Author: Leandro Fernandes Malloy-Diniz
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2017-10-17
Genre:
ISBN: 2889453065

Executive Functions comprise a range of neuropsychological processes related to intentional behavior and cognitive control. There are several theoretical models defining and explaining the concept of Executive Functions. Most of these models consider that the term Executive Functions encompasses cognitive process as working memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control and other complex functions as planning, problem-solving and abstract reasoning. Other models argue that motivational and emotional functions, such as affective decision-making, reside under the concept of Executive Function. Much evidence supports how complex cognitive functions are related to the physiological activity of brain networks, including the frontal cortex and its connections with subcortical structures. Several psychiatric disorders related to impairment in these brain networks (eg., bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and drug addiction) leading to deficits in Executive Functions. These cognitive deficits affect patients’ everyday functioning, worsening the clinical course of the disease. For example, deficits in Executive Functions are related to suicide behavior in bipolar disorder patients. Furthermore, these deficits also relate to obesity, a lack of adherence to treatment and an underperformance in the workplace and educational settings. The understanding of the role of deficits in Executive Functions, including its neurobiological basis, developmental trajectories, and relationship with clinical outcomes, is fundamental to improve clinical management of psychiatric patients. This research topic includes 13 articles with interdisciplinary contributions related to the understanding of the deficits in Executive Functions and its relationship with clinical manifestations in psychiatric disorders.

Handbook of Executive Functioning

Handbook of Executive Functioning
Author: Sam Goldstein
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 565
Release: 2013-11-19
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1461481066

Planning. Attention. Memory. Self-regulation. These and other core cognitive and behavioral operations of daily life comprise what we know as executive functioning (EF). But despite all we know, the concept has engendered multiple, often conflicting definitions and its components are sometimes loosely defined and poorly understood. The Handbook of Executive Functioning cuts through the confusion, analyzing both the whole and its parts in comprehensive, practical detail for scholar and clinician alike. Background chapters examine influential models of EF, tour the brain geography of the executive system and pose salient developmental questions. A section on practical implications relates early deficits in executive functioning to ADD and other disorders in children and considers autism and later-life dementias from an EF standpoint. Further chapters weigh the merits of widely used instruments for assessing executive functioning and review interventions for its enhancement, with special emphasis on children and adolescents. Featured in the Handbook: The development of hot and cool executive function in childhood and adolescence. A review of the use of executive function tasks in externalizing and internalizing disorders. Executive functioning as a mediator of age-related cognitive decline in adults. Treatment integrity in interventions that target executive function. Supporting and strengthening working memory in the classroom to enhance executive functioning. The Handbook of Executive Functioning is an essential resource for researchers, scientist-practitioners and graduate students in clinical child, school and educational psychology; child and adolescent psychiatry; neurobiology; developmental psychology; rehabilitation medicine/therapy and social work.

Essentials of Executive Functions Assessment

Essentials of Executive Functions Assessment
Author: George McCloskey
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2012-11-30
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1118285174

Written by experts in the area of executive functioning, Essentials of Executive Functions Assessment equips mental health practitioners (school, clinical, developmental/pediatric, neuropsychologists, educational diagnosticians, and educational therapists) with all the information they need to administer, score, and interpret assessment instruments that test for executive functions deficits associated with a number of psychiatric and developmental disorders.

Assessment and Intervention for Executive Function Difficulties

Assessment and Intervention for Executive Function Difficulties
Author: George McCloskey
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 377
Release: 2008-12-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1135906106

In Assessment and Intervention for Executive Function Difficulties, McCloskey, Perkins, and Diviner provide a unique blend of theory, research, and practice that offers clinicians an overarching framework for the concept of executive functions (EFs) in educational settings. The conceptual model of executive functions is detailed, including their role in behavior, learning, and production across all settings. The heart of the book focus on the practical issues involved in the use of assessment tools, tests, report writing, and the implementation and follow-up of targeted interventions using the EF model. Six case studies are introduced in Chapter 1 and followed throughout the book, building understanding of the executive function difficulties of each child, assessment for identifying the difficulties, and interventions for dealing with the difficulties. An additional case study is discussed in detail in one of the concluding chapters, and a companion CD will provide the practitioner with a wealth of assessment forms, parent and teacher handouts, behavior tracking charts, and report/documentation forms.