Resumo

GONZALEZ OSORNIO, María Guadalupe  e  OSTROSKY, Feggy. Structure of Executive Functions in Preschool Age. Acta de investigación psicol [online]. 2012, vol.2, n.1, pp.509-520. ISSN 2007-4719.

One way to understand the structure of executive functions (EF) is their study in early development and use of advanced statistical methods that allow us to understand the interrelationship of various components. The findings in the adult age, support the idea multifactorial of related components, but separable, while recent evidence in the preschool years suggest that the structure of the FE, can be described by a single factor. The structure of the EF was examined in 128 children aged 3 to 6 years of age, using a confirmatory factor analysis. Preschoolers completed a battery of EF tasks, assessing processes of inhibition and working memory with age-appropriate sensitivity. In the preschool the structure of executive functioning can be differentiated into two related but independent processes: working memory and inhibition. The relationships between the components seem to change in development. The structural unit of the FE at very early ages, it changes through the development, becoming more multifaceted, which is associated with the maturation and integration of different frontal-subcortical circuits.

Palavras-chave : Neuropsychological development; Executive functions; Frontal lobes; Factor analysis.