Executive Functions Interplay: A Multidimensional Model Including Different Inhibitory Processes

Abstract Executive Functions play a significant role in the proper functioning of many relevant actions we take in our daily lives. Nowadays, many authors conceptualize Executive Functions as a multidimensional or non-unitary construct being Working Memory, Cognitive Flexibility and Inhibition the main executive processes considered. It is generally accepted that there are three main Inhibition processes: Perceptual Inhibition, Cognitive Inhibition and Response Inhibition, that differ by the level of representation and processing steps involved. A significant breakthrough has been made in the study and characterization of the main operational and functional aspects of executive processes and various types of inhibitors but there are no studies to our knowledge that have examined the connections between various execution processes, either in children or adults, taking into account the diverse inhibitory types. Therefore, this study’s primary goal is to analyze the functioning and relationships between different executive processes, including inhibitory processes. We assessed executive functions performance in 313 young individuals, between 17 and 20 years old, from Valencia (Spain). We tested two theoretical models: (1) one that suggests that working memory’s functioning is influenced by inhibitory processes, which in turn contributes to cognitive flexibility; and (2) a second theoretical model, in which inhibition and working memory are relatively separate processes and both contribute to cognitive flexibility. We found that Model 2 was the best fit presented. In the sample studied, inhibitory processes -but not working memory- contributed to cognitive flexibility performance. In this sense, Inhibitory processes studied (i.e. Perceptual Inhibition and Response Inhibition) showed to be independent of each other and with respect to working memory, evidencing some relationships between them (i.e. particularly found between perceptual inhibition and working memory). We believe that our findings could make a significant contribution to understanding the existing relationships between the primary executive functions, mostly by analyzing inhibition on a multidimensional approach, an issue that hasn’t been fully explored in previous research.