Daniel E Gustavson1, Matthew S Panizzon1, Carol E Franz1, Naomi P Friedman2, Chandra A Reynolds3, Kristen C Jacobson4, Hong Xian5, Michael J Lyons6, William S Kremen1. 1. Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging, University of California, San Diego. 2. Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder. 3. Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside. 4. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago. 5. Department of Biostatistics, St. Louis University. 6. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Research on executive functions (EFs) has revealed evidence for general abilities that underlie performance across multiple EF tasks and domains. This Common EF factor is highly stable in adolescence through young adulthood, correlates with other important cognitive abilities, and is explained largely by genetic influences. However, little is known about Common EF beyond young adulthood. This study examines 3 hypotheses regarding the latent structure, genetic/environmental etiology, and cognitive correlates of Common EF in middle age. METHOD: We examined data from 1,284 middle-aged twins (51-60 years) in the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging who completed 7 neuropsychological measures of EFs, as well as measures of general cognitive ability and processing speed. RESULTS: Our confirmatory factor analysis indicated that Common EF explained variation across all 7 EF tasks. Inhibition and shifting were subsumed entirely under the Common EF factor, and there was an additional working memory span-specific factor. Common EF was heritable in midlife (a2 = .46), with additional evidence for both shared environmental influences (c2 = .41) and nonshared environmental influences (e2 = .13). Higher Common EF was moderately associated with higher general cognitive ability, measured both in early adulthood and midlife, and faster processing speed in midlife. These correlations were primarily driven by shared genetic influences. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the hypothesis that Common EF captures similar EF abilities in midlife as in adolescence and young adulthood. However, environmental influences may explain a larger portion of variance in this construct as individuals age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
OBJECTIVE: Research on executive functions (EFs) has revealed evidence for general abilities that underlie performance across multiple EF tasks and domains. This Common EF factor is highly stable in adolescence through young adulthood, correlates with other important cognitive abilities, and is explained largely by genetic influences. However, little is known about Common EF beyond young adulthood. This study examines 3 hypotheses regarding the latent structure, genetic/environmental etiology, and cognitive correlates of Common EF in middle age. METHOD: We examined data from 1,284 middle-aged twins (51-60 years) in the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging who completed 7 neuropsychological measures of EFs, as well as measures of general cognitive ability and processing speed. RESULTS: Our confirmatory factor analysis indicated that Common EF explained variation across all 7 EF tasks. Inhibition and shifting were subsumed entirely under the Common EF factor, and there was an additional working memory span-specific factor. Common EF was heritable in midlife (a2 = .46), with additional evidence for both shared environmental influences (c2 = .41) and nonshared environmental influences (e2 = .13). Higher Common EF was moderately associated with higher general cognitive ability, measured both in early adulthood and midlife, and faster processing speed in midlife. These correlations were primarily driven by shared genetic influences. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the hypothesis that Common EF captures similar EF abilities in midlife as in adolescence and young adulthood. However, environmental influences may explain a larger portion of variance in this construct as individuals age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
Authors: Daniel E Gustavson; Matthew S Panizzon; Jeremy A Elman; Carol E Franz; Chandra A Reynolds; Kristen C Jacobson; Naomi P Friedman; Hong Xian; Rosemary Toomey; Michael J Lyons; William S Kremen Journal: Psychol Aging Date: 2018-03
Authors: Daniel E Gustavson; Matthew S Panizzon; Carol E Franz; Chandra A Reynolds; Robin P Corley; John K Hewitt; Michael J Lyons; William S Kremen; Naomi P Friedman Journal: J Exp Psychol Gen Date: 2019-03-21
Authors: Daniel E Gustavson; Matthew S Panizzon; Jeremy A Elman; Carol E Franz; Asad Beck; Chandra A Reynolds; Kristen C Jacobson; Hong Xian; Rosemary Toomey; Michael J Lyons; William S Kremen Journal: Behav Genet Date: 2018-06-19 Impact factor: 2.805
Authors: Daniel E Gustavson; Carol E Franz; Matthew S Panizzon; Chandra A Reynolds; Hong Xian; Kristen C Jacobson; Rosemary Toomey; Michael J Lyons; William S Kremen Journal: Clin Psychol Sci Date: 2018-11-13
Authors: William S Kremen; Asad Beck; Jeremy A Elman; Daniel E Gustavson; Chandra A Reynolds; Xin M Tu; Mark E Sanderson-Cimino; Matthew S Panizzon; Eero Vuoksimaa; Rosemary Toomey; Christine Fennema-Notestine; Donald J Hagler; Bin Fang; Anders M Dale; Michael J Lyons; Carol E Franz Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2019-01-22 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Daniel E Gustavson; Jeremy A Elman; Matthew S Panizzon; Carol E Franz; Jordan Zuber; Mark Sanderson-Cimino; Chandra A Reynolds; Kristen C Jacobson; Hong Xian; Amy J Jak; Rosemary Toomey; Michael J Lyons; William S Kremen Journal: Neurology Date: 2020-06-30 Impact factor: 9.910
Authors: Madhura Baxi; Maria A Di Biase; Amanda E Lyall; Suheyla Cetin-Karayumak; Johanna Seitz; Lipeng Ning; Nikos Makris; Douglas Rosene; Marek Kubicki; Yogesh Rathi Journal: Cereb Cortex Date: 2020-11-03 Impact factor: 5.357
Authors: Daniel E Gustavson; Amy J Jak; Jeremy A Elman; Matthew S Panizzon; Carol E Franz; Katherine A Gifford; Chandra A Reynolds; Rosemary Toomey; Michael J Lyons; William S Kremen Journal: J Alzheimers Dis Date: 2021 Impact factor: 4.472
Authors: Elizabeth L Glisky; Gene E Alexander; Mingzhu Hou; Kevin Kawa; Cindy B Woolverton; Erika K Zigman; Lauren A Nguyen; Kari Haws; Aurelio J Figueredo; Lee Ryan Journal: Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn Date: 2020-10-08