THE TEST OF THE PATHERS AS AN EVALUATION METHOD FOR THE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS

Authors

  • Augusto Méndez Decano de la Facultad de Desarrollo Humano y Ciencias de la Educación, docente universitario e investigador de la Universidad Latina de Panamá https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6649-6246

Keywords:

Trail test -TESEN-, executive functions, psychology, neuropsychology

Abstract

The executive functions (EF) are part of the daily life of all human beings. And these same functions are what allow us to achieve and get our goals and dreams: we plan, organize, anticipate, inhibit inappropriate behavior, and pay attention among others. The Test of the Trails (TESEN) allows evaluating in adults those important functions on daily basis. We consider that within the academic sphere, the EF’s are crucial for the success or failure of the university process and it is for this reason that we decided to carry out research at the level of undergraduate students in order to know their strengths and weaknesses, setting a precedent for future research in the neuropsychological area in Panama. A descriptive study was used, evaluating the means of each area of ​​the TESEN and then comparing them through graphs. We will know the variables and the most important distributions that the test yields, based on national data within a stable population. Conclusion: although the results cannot be extrapolated by the amount of the sample, we can indicate that the age groups of 40 years and older have better responses than the younger age groups, which reflects better skills in their executive function.

References

Ardila, A. & Rosselli, M. (2007). Neuropsicología clínica. El Manual Moderno: México.
Baltes, P.B.; Staudinger, U.M. (2000). Wisdom: A metaheuristic (pragmatic) to orchestrate mind and virtue toward excellence. American Psychologist, 55: 122 – 136.
Blair C. (2017). Educating executive function. Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Cognitive science, 8(1-2), 10.1002/wcs.1403. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1403
Blanco-Menéndez, R., & Vera de la Puente, E. (2013). Un marco teórico de las funciones ejecutivas desde la neurociencia cognitiva. Eikasia Revista de Filosofía, 48, 199-216. Recuperado de http://www.revistadefilosofia.org/48-14.pdf
Boone, K. B. (1999). Neuropsychological assessment of executive functions: Impact of age, education, gender, intellectual level, and vascular status on executive test scores. In B. L. Miller & J. L. Cummings (Eds.), The science and practice of neuropsychology series. The human frontal lobes: Functions and disorders (pp. 247-260). New York, NY, US: Guilford Press.
Boyle, G. J., Neumann, D. L., Furedy, J. J., & Westbury, H. R. (2010). Sex differences in verbal and visual-spatial tasks under different hemispheric visual-field presentation conditions. Perceptual and motor skills, Humanities & Social Sciences papers, 4-1- 110(2), 396-410. doi: https://doi.org/10.2466/PMS.110.2.396-410
Calero, C. et al. (2019). Language, gesture, and judgment: Children’s paths to abstract geometry. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 177. 70-85.
Canet Juric, L., Andrés, M. L, Demagistri, S., & Mascarello, G. (2015). Rol de las funciones inhibitorias en la memoria de trabajo: evidencia en niños y adolescentes. Pensamiento Psicológico, 13(2), 109-121. Recuperado de http://www.scielo.org. co/pdf/pepsi/v13n2/v13n2a08.pdf
Collette, F., Hogge, M., Salmon, E. & Van Der Linden, M. (2006) Exploration of neural substrates of executive functioning by functional neuroimaging. Neuroscience: United States of America.
Diamond, A. et al. (2019). Randomized control trial of Tools of the Mind: Marked benefits to kindergarten children and their teachers. PLoS ONE 14(9): e0222447.
Engelhardt, L. et al. (2019). The neural architecture of executive functions is established by middle childhood. NeuroImage 185, 479-489.
González, D (2013). Funciones ejecutivas y educación. Revista Argentina de Neuropsicología, 23, 11-34. Recuperado de https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317099251_Funciones_ejecutivas_y_educacion
Gupta, R., Koscik, T., Bechara, A., & Tranel, D. (2012). The amygdala and decision making. Neuropsychologia, 49(4), 760–766. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.09.029
Huettel, S., Misiurek, J., Jurkowski A & McCarthy, G. (2004). Dynamic and strategic aspects of executive processing. Brain Research: Holland.
Karpov, B., Luria, A. & Yarbuss, A. (1968). Disturbances of structure of active perception in lesions of the posterior and anterior regions of the brain. Neuropsychologia, 6.
Lezak, M. (1995). Neuropsychological assessment. (1st ed.). Oxford Univeristy Press: New York.
Luria Alexander (1979). El Cerebro en acción. Ed. Fontanella: Barcelona.
Luria, Alexander (1982). Las funciones corticales superiores del hombre. 1era Ed. Ciudad de la Habana, Pueblo y Educación. Cuba.
Marino, J.C. (2010). Actualización en Test Neuropsicológicos de Funciones Ejecutivas. Revista Argentina de Ciencias del Comportamiento, Vol. 2, No 1: Argentina.
Pavlov, I. (1960). El Reflejo Condicionado y la Fisiología de la Actividad Nerviosa Superior: Obras Escogidas. Editorial Quetzal: Argentina.
Pérez Lache, N. (2012). Neuropsicología clínica. Editorial Ciencias Médicas: La Habana, Cuba.
Portellano Pérez, J. A.; Martínez Arias, R. (2014). TESEN: Test de los Senderos para Evaluar las Funciones Ejecutivas. TEA Ediciones: España.
Pozuelos, J. et al. (2019). Metacognitive scaffolding boosts cognitive and neural benefits following executive attention training in children. Developmental Science 22(2): e12756.
Séchenov, I.M. (1965). Los reflejos del cerebro. Academia de Ciencia: Cuba.
Tirapu-Ustárroz, J., Muñoz-Céspedes, J. M., & Pelegrín-Valero, C. (2002). Funciones ejecutivas: necesidad de una integración conceptual. Rev Neurol, 34(7), 673-685. Recuperado de https://www.neurologia.com/articulo/2001311

Published

2022-01-05

How to Cite

Méndez, A. . (2022). THE TEST OF THE PATHERS AS AN EVALUATION METHOD FOR THE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS. Scientific Behavior, 5(1), 49–66. Retrieved from https://revistas.ulatina.edu.pa/index.php/conductacientifica/article/view/224