A canonical trajectory of executive function maturation from adolescence to adulthood

Brenden Tervo-Clemmens (), Finnegan J. Calabro, Ashley C. Parr, Jennifer Fedor, William Foran and Beatriz Luna
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Brenden Tervo-Clemmens: University of Minnesota
Finnegan J. Calabro: University of Pittsburgh
Ashley C. Parr: University of Pittsburgh
Jennifer Fedor: University of Pittsburgh
William Foran: University of Pittsburgh
Beatriz Luna: University of Pittsburgh

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: Abstract Theories of human neurobehavioral development suggest executive functions mature from childhood through adolescence, underlying adolescent risk-taking and the emergence of psychopathology. Investigations with relatively small datasets or narrow subsets of measures have identified general executive function development, but the specific maturational timing and independence of potential executive function subcomponents remain unknown. Integrating four independent datasets (N = 10,766; 8–35 years old) with twenty-three measures from seventeen tasks, we provide a precise charting, multi-assessment investigation, and replication of executive function development from adolescence to adulthood. Across assessments and datasets, executive functions follow a canonical non-linear trajectory, with rapid and statistically significant development in late childhood to mid-adolescence (10–15 years old), before stabilizing to adult-levels in late adolescence (18–20 years old). Age effects are well captured by domain-general processes that generate reproducible developmental templates across assessments and datasets. Results provide a canonical trajectory of executive function maturation that demarcates the boundaries of adolescence and can be integrated into future studies.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42540-8

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