Executive Function

"Executive Function" is a descriptor in the National Library of Medicine's controlled vocabulary thesaurus, MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). Descriptors are arranged in a hierarchical structure, which enables searching at various levels of specificity.

MeSH information

Definition | Details | More General Concepts | Related Concepts | More Specific Concepts

A set of cognitive functions that controls complex, goal-directed thought and behavior. Executive function involves multiple domains, such as CONCEPT FORMATION, goal management, cognitive flexibility, INHIBITION control, and WORKING MEMORY. Impaired executive function is seen in a range of disorders, e.g., SCHIZOPHRENIA; and ADHD.

Descriptor ID	D056344
MeSH Number(s)	F02.463.217
Concept/Terms	Executive Function Executive Function Executive Functions Function, Executive Functions, Executive Executive Control Executive Controls

Below are MeSH descriptors whose meaning is more general than "Executive Function".

Psychiatry and Psychology [F]
Psychological Phenomena [F02]
Mental Processes [F02.463]
Executive Function [F02.463.217]

Below are MeSH descriptors whose meaning is related to "Executive Function".

Below are MeSH descriptors whose meaning is more specific than "Executive Function".

publications

Timeline | Most Recent

This graph shows the total number of publications written about "Executive Function" by people in this website by year, and whether "Executive Function" was a major or minor topic of these publications.

Bar chart showing 65 publications over 17 distinct years, with a maximum of 7 publications in 2022

To see the data from this visualization as text, click here.

Year	Major Topic	Minor Topic	Total
2010	1	0	1
2011	3	1	4
2012	1	1	2
2013	1	2	3
2014	3	1	4
2015	0	5	5
2016	4	0	4
2017	1	3	4
2018	2	4	6
2019	5	0	5
2020	4	1	5
2021	2	3	5
2022	3	4	7
2023	0	1	1
2024	3	2	5
2025	1	0	1
2026	1	2	3

Below are the most recent publications written about "Executive Function" by people in Profiles.

Tang R, Beck A, Gustavson DE, Eyler LT, Elman JA, Bell TR, Buchholz E, Hunt JFV, Vo TT, Fennema-Notestine C, Lyons MJ, Panizzon MS, Reynolds CA, Kremen WS, Franz CE. Young adult urbanicity, late midlife neighborhood disadvantage, and cognitive functioning in community-dwelling older men. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2026 Jul 01; 81(8).

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Wijesinghe D, Lynch K, Aksman L, Delis DC, Wang DJ, Jann K. Lifespan trajectories of the brain's functional complexity characterized by multiscale sample entropy. Neuroimage. 2026 Sep; 338:122085.

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Tang R, Elman JA, Hunt JFV, Eyler LT, Bell TR, Buchholz E, Fennema-Notestine C, Lyons MJ, Panizzon MS, Reynolds CA, Vo TT, Kremen WS, Franz CE. Neighborhood disadvantage and cognitive function in older adults: The moderating role of young adult general cognitive ability. Health Place. 2026 Jul; 100:103690.

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Bell TR, Elman JA, Gustavson DE, Lyons MJ, Fennema-Notestine C, Williams ME, Panizzon MS, Pearce RC, Reynolds CA, Sanderson-Cimino M, Toomey R, Jak A, Franz CE, Kremen WS. History of chronic pain and opioid use is associated with cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2025 May; 31(4):307-317.

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Liu X, Maillard P, Barisano G, Caprihan A, Cen S, Shao X, Jann K, Ringman JM, Lu H, Arfanakis K, DeCarli CS, Gold BT, Seshadri S, Satizabal CL, Beiser AS, Habes M, Kramer JH, Stables L, Singh H, Helmer KG, Greenberg SM, Wang DJJ. MRI free water mediates the association between diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space and executive function in four independent middle to aged cohorts. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 02; 21(2):e14453.

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Fama R, Sassoon SA, Müller-Oehring EM, Saranathan M, Pohl KM, Zahr NM, Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan EV. Anterior and posterior thalamic volumes differentially correlate with memory, attention, and motor processes in HIV infection and alcohol use disorder comorbidity. Brain Res Bull. 2024 10 15; 217:111085.

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Andrews P, Vega JN, Szymkowicz SM, Newhouse P, Tyndale R, Elson D, Kang H, Siddiqi S, Tyner EB, Mather K, Gunning FM, Taylor WD. Effects of open-label transdermal nicotine antidepressant augmentation on affective symptoms and executive function in late-life depression. J Affect Disord. 2024 Oct 01; 362:416-424.

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Liu P, Lin Z, Hazel K, Pottanat G, Xu C, Jiang D, Pillai JJ, Lucke E, Bauer CE, Gold BT, Greenberg SM, Helmer KG, Jann K, Jicha G, Kramer J, Maillard P, Mulavelil RM, Rodriguez P, Satizabal CL, Schwab K, Seshadri S, Singh H, Velarde Dediós ÁG, Wang DJJ, Kalyani RR, Moghekar A, Rosenberg PB, Yasar S, Albert M, Lu H. Cerebrovascular reactivity MRI as a biomarker for cerebral small vessel disease-related cognitive decline: Multi-site validation in the MarkVCID Consortium. Alzheimers Dement. 2024 08; 20(8):5281-5289.

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Gustavson DE, Elman JA, Reynolds CA, Eyler LT, Fennema-Notestine C, Puckett OK, Panizzon MS, Gillespie NA, Neale MC, Lyons MJ, Franz CE, Kremen WS. Brain reserve in midlife is associated with executive function changes across 12 years. Neurobiol Aging. 2024 09; 141:113-120.

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Lynch JD, Tamm L, Garner AA, Avion AA, Fisher DL, Kiefer AW, Peugh J, Simon JO, Epstein JN. Executive Functioning as a Predictor of Adverse Driving Outcomes in Teen Drivers With ADHD. J Atten Disord. 2023 12; 27(14):1650-1661.

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