Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33446798›Full record

Trial reportScientific reports2021

The developmental trajectories of executive function from adolescence to old age.

Heather J Ferguson, Victoria E A Brunsdon, Elisabeth E F Bradford

Abstract readClinical Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 259 papers, 14 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
259citing papers in PubMed, 14 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

259 citing papers in PubMed, 14 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  4. A Meta-Analytical Review of Executive Function Skills in Adults Who Stutter.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR · 2026
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  11. Cognitive and Cerebral Aging Research in Autism: A Systematic Review on an Emerging Topic.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2025
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199 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Heather J FergusonSchool of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK. h.ferguson@kent.ac.uk.
Victoria E A BrunsdonSchool of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
Elisabeth E F BradfordSchool of Psychology, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK.

Funding

European Research Council 636458
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Executive functions demonstrate variable developmental and aging profiles, with protracted development into early adulthood and declines in older age. However, relatively few studies have specifically included middle-aged adults in investigations of age-related differences in executive functions. This study explored the age-related differences in executive function from late childhood through to old age, allowing a more informed understanding of executive functions across the lifespan. Three hundred and fifty participants aged 10 to 86 years-old completed a battery of tasks assessing the specific roles of inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and planning. Results highlighted continued improvement in working memory capacity across adolescence and into young adulthood, followed by declines in both working memory and inhibitory control, beginning from as early as 30-40 years old and continuing into older age. Analyses of planning abilities showed continued improvement across adolescence and into young adulthood, followed by a decline in abilities across adulthood, with a small (positive) change in older age. Interestingly, a dissociation was found for cognitive flexibility; switch costs decreased, yet mixing costs increased across the lifespan. The results provide a description of the developmental differences in inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility and planning, above any effects of IQ or SES, and highlight the importance of including middle-aged adults in studies seeking to establish a more comprehensive picture of age-related differences in executive function.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAgingChildExecutive FunctionFemaleHumansMaleMemory, Short-TermMiddle Aged

Identifiers

PMID33446798
PMCPMC7809200

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.