ABSTRACT

Developmental changes in the brain networks involved in emotion regulation are thought to contribute to vulnerability to mental health problems during adolescence. Executive control is often viewed as allowing top-down regulation of emotional responses. However, while associations between executive control and mental health are commonly observed in both clinical and non-clinical populations, the direction of these associations remains unclear. Low, or immature, cognitive control could limit emotion regulation. Reversely, high emotionality could impede cognitive functioning. The scarcity of longitudinal studies testing for bi-directional effects, particularly in adolescence, has made it difficult to draw conclusions. This study analysed data from 1,445 participants of a longitudinal cohort in a cross-lagged panel design to understand bi-directional longitudinal associations between executive function and emotional behaviours across adolescence. Executive function was assessed using experimental working memory and inhibitory control tasks, emotional behaviours through parental report of internalising and externalising behaviours. Cross-sectional associations were replicated. Controlling for cross-sectional associations, early executive functions were not found to predict later emotional behaviours. Instead, early emotional behaviours predicted later executive function, with the strongest link observed between early externalising and later working memory. These results suggest that emotional well-being may affect the maturation of executive function during adolescence.

摘要

人们认为，涉及情绪调节的大脑网络的发育变化会导致青春期期间容易出现心理健康问题。执行控制通常被视为允许对情绪反应进行自上而下的调节。然而，虽然在临床和非临床人群中普遍观察到执行控制与心理健康之间的关联，但这些关联的方向仍不清楚。低或不成熟的认知控制可能会限制情绪调节。相反，高度情绪化可能会阻碍认知功能。由于缺乏测试双向效应的纵向研究，尤其是在青春期，因此很难得出结论。本研究采用交叉滞后小组设计分析了纵向队列中 1,445 名参与者的数据，以了解青春期执行功能和情绪行为之间的双向纵向关联。使用实验工作记忆和抑制控制任务来评估执行功能，通过父母对内化和外化行为的报告来评估情绪行为。横截面关联被复制。在控制横向关联的情况下，未发现早期执行功能可以预测后来的情绪行为。相反，早期的情绪行为预测了后来的执行功能，在早期外化和后来的工作记忆之间观察到最强的联系。这些结果表明，情绪健康可能会影响青春期执行功能的成熟。