The proposed study is aimed at developing a better understanding of factors involved in the development of executive function and self-regulation. Difficulties with self-regulation are an important factor in the development of psychopathology, and an understanding of the development of attentional mechanisms will allow researchers to better design interventions for children and adults who have difficulties associated with attention and self-regulation. The proposed study will first investigate the possibility that rules expressed in a context that provides information relevant to the instructed response will be easier to follow than rules that are expressed arbitrarily, or in a context that does not provide response relevant information. Second, it will identify which cognitive and neural processes are affected by the ways the rules are expressed. Specifically, we predict that expressing rules in a context relevant to the response reduces the amount of executive attentional resources needed to perform a subdominant, instructed response. A better understanding of these issues can be applied to design self-regulation training programs that can be used to help children and adults who have disorders related to difficulties with self-regulation. ? ?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F31)
Project #
5F31MH075345-02
Application #
7126758
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-F12B (20))
Program Officer
Ferrell, Courtney
Project Start
2005-09-16
Project End
2006-12-20
Budget Start
2006-09-16
Budget End
2006-12-20
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$11,658
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Oregon
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
948117312
City
Eugene
State
OR
Country
United States
Zip Code
97403