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Executive Functions and the Prefrontal Cortex: Genetic and Neurochemical Influences, Gender Differences, and Practical Activities and Approaches to Help
(VTC)
Adele Diamond, PhD
Canada Research Chair Professor in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Psychiatry
University of British Columbia
Vancouver
Disturbances in cognitive-control functions that depend on the prefrontal cortex--the "executive functions," such as attentional control, self-regulation, working memory, and cognitive flexibility--are found in a great many mental disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression. In this research seminar, Dr. Adele Diamond will address:
* What executive functions are.
* Bidirectional relations between the prefrontal cortex (executive functions) and the amygdala (stress). Even mild stress selectively impacts the prefrontal cortex (PFC). At the same time, PFC can help in the management of stress. Translating an emotional experience into coherent prose alters the way it is represented and understood in our minds and our brains.
* Genetic influences. The special properties of the dopamine neurons that project to PFC make PFC especially sensitive to variations in certain genes that have much less effect on other brain regions.
* Executive function deficits in people with phenylketonuria. Because of the unusually high baseline rate of firing of the dopamine neurons that project to PFC and because of the unusually high rate of dopamine turnover in PFC, PFC is unusually sensitive to small reductions in the availability of tyrosine, a dopamine precursor. Hence, people with a polymorphism of the PAH gene causing phenylketonuria are vulnerable to selective deficits in the executive functions that depend on PFC if too little tyrosine reaches their brains because of slightly elevated plasma levels of phenylalanine.
* Gender differences. Because PFC has a paucity of dopamine transporter protein, it is more dependent on secondary mechanisms for clearing released dopamine, such as the COMT enzyme. Hence variations in the COMT gene selective affect PFC. Since estrogen downregulates COMT transcription, however, there are gender (and menstrual phase) differences in effects of variations in the COMT gene.
* Implications for the classroom. Behavioral interventions with young children may head off problems before they lead to diagnoses of impairments in frontal lobe functions. This talk will provide evidence that executive functions can be improved even in very young children in regular classrooms, with regular teachers, and without special equipment. Educational practices that improve executive functions may not only lead to better academic outcomes, but may also head off problems before they lead to a diagnosis of an executive function impairment such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Many issues are not simply education issues or mental or physical health issues; they are all of those at once.
Webcast: http://research.vtc.vt.edu/live-webcast/
This event is part of the Distinguished Visiting Scholars Series.
Hosted by: Michael J. Friedlander, PhD, Executive Director, VTCRI
More information...
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540-526-2013