Executive functioning is what lets people manage daily life without everything falling apart. It’s the mental ability to plan ...

Those who study the brain or treat patients (or both) talk a lot about executive functioning, often in the negative. We refer to “poor executive functioning,” “executive dysfunction,” “frontal lobe ...

If you’ve ever said, “I just need to focus,” and then found yourself scrolling, snacking, and reorganizing your sock drawer—you’ve just met your executive function. And it wasn’t having its best day.

Executive function—top-down processes by which the human mind controls behavior, regulating thoughts and actions—have long been studied using a standard set of tools, with these assessments being ...

It's the buzzy elementary school skill ...

Principal Ian Knox’s thoughtful opinion essay, “Kindergartners Are Struggling With Self-Regulation. How Principals Can Respond ” (July 8, 2025), centers on steps school leaders can take to respond ...

Teenagers who are pathological liars also tend to struggle with executive function deficits, such as poor memory or impulse ...

Aaron Buss received funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Alexis McCraw does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from ...

In 2022, Sage Quiamno was in her early 30s and a few months into a demanding DEI leadership role at Amazon when she hit a wall. Cycles of feeling overwhelmed, procrastination, and frantic catch-up ...