Modifying Brain Networks Underlying Self-Regulation

Abstract

Abstract This chapter begins with a review of the anatomy and function of attentional networks, with special emphasis on the executive network, the one most clearly related to self-regulation. It shows that deficits in the executive attention system are a critical part of a number of mental disorders in children and adults. A specific educational intervention is described that improves the executive attention of children. The data provide support for the idea that training of executive attention during its development can improve performance and generalize to cognitive challenges far removed from the training. Attention training moves the underlying network toward adult levels and that differences in genes related to dopamine function might help us choose which children are most likely to benefit from attention training.