ArticlePloS one2021
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) associated with reduced cognitive flexibility in both college and community samples.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Cognitive Control Across the Lifespan: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Prospective Studies.Trauma, violence & abuse · 2025Pooled it
- The Mediating Role of Cognitive Flexibility in the Relationship Between Self-Transcendence and Depression Symptom Level: A Sample of Health Department Students.Nursing open · 2026Article
- Adverse Childhood Experiences Exacerbate Neurobehavioral and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Among Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence-Related Head Trauma.Journal of neurotrauma · 2026Article
- Cognitive Enhancement Through Music Education: Affective Pathways to Executive Function Improvement in Musicians.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- A preliminary study of implicit statistical learning in non-clinical young adults exposed to early adversity.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- The effect of the "exposome" on developmental brain health and cognitive outcomes.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- The co-occurrence of social adversities in early adolescence and their relationship to cognitive outcomes later in development.JCPP advances · 2025Article
- Article
- Differential susceptibility effects of theFrontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Effects of chronic stress on cognitive function - From neurobiology to intervention.Neurobiology of stress · 2024Review
- Witnessing their mother's acute and prolonged stress affects executive functioning in children.Communications psychology · 2024Article
- Association of adverse childhood experiences with anemia in older Chinese: Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Exploring stress response's role in executive function impairments among adults with early adverse childhood experiences.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Adverse childhood experiences and stress among oral health students: a descriptive correlational study.Canadian journal of dental hygiene : CJDH = Journal canadien de l'hygiene dentaire : JCHD · 2023Article
- Early life adversity as a risk factor for cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.Translational neurodegeneration · 2023Review
- Photobiomodulation attenuates oligodendrocyte dysfunction and prevents adverse neurological consequences in a rat model of early life adversity.Theranostics · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex is sensitive to stress experiences and significantly impacted by early life adversity. Cognitive flexibility is an executive function that is associated with positive outcomes in adulthood and implicated in activity in the prefrontal cortex. The relationship between early life adversity and cognitive flexibility is underreported. Using the cumulative risk model, we conducted two studies to examine the association between early life adversity and cognitive flexibility in college students and adults (cumulative N = 510). Exposure to early life adversity was assessed using the adverse childhood experiences scale (ACEs). Cognitive flexibility was assessed using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Additionally, as perceived chronic stress is associated with impaired prefrontal cortex function, we measured that as well. Higher number of ACEs was correlated with lower number of completed categories on the WCST in both college students and adults. Perceived chronic stress was not associated with cognitive flexibility, but did correlate positively with ACEs. Individuals with a higher number of ACEs were also more likely to report higher levels of perceived chronic stress. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that exposure to adverse childhood experiences predicted lower scores on completed categories. Our findings provide further evidence that individuals with early life adversity exhibit reduced cognitive flexibility in adulthood.
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