- Overview
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Our work integrates behavioural, neuroanatomical, and genetic approaches to study cognitive abilities (called ‘executive functions’) dependent on prefrontal cortex (PFC) from their earliest beginnings throughout the lifespan in clinical and "normal" populations. Our methods include: neurocognitive testing, even of infants; functional neuroimaging (fMRI); preschool and school interventions; and molecular genetic analyses. We study the neural bases, genetic and neurochemical modulation, modification by the environment of executive functions and how they can become derailed in disorders. We hope our work might aid the understanding, prevention, and treatment of major mental disorders. Our work has already led to worldwide improvements in the treatment of a genetic disorder (PKU) and a developmental disorder (ADHD), thereby improving children's lives. Our research also has educational implications and has affected early education worldwide.
- Publications
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Assessment of Executive and Cognitive Functions in Children with Restless Sleep Disorder: A Pilot Study
Brain Sciences
Lourdes M. DelRosso and German Vega-Flores and Raffaele Ferri and Maria P. Mogavero and Adele Diamond
DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12101289
09/2022Reflections on Montessori education – Opportunities and challenges
Perspectives on Montessori.
01/2022Effects of Capoeira on children's executive functions: A randomized controlled trial
Mental Health and Physical Activity
Fernandes, V.R. and Scipi{\~a}o Ribeiro, M.L. and Ara{\'u}jo, N.B. and Mota, N.B. and Ribeiro, S. and Diamond, A. and Deslandes, A.C.
DOI: 10.1016/j.mhpa.2022.100451
2022First Demonstration of Double Dissociation between COMT-Met158 and COMT-Val158 Cognitive Performance When Stressed and When Calmer.
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa276
PubMed: 33124661
02/2021One size does not fit all: Assuming the same normal body temperature for everyone is not justified.
PloS one
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245257
PubMed: 33534845
02/2021Erratum: One Size Does Not Fit All: Assuming the Same Normal Body Temperature for Everyone is Not Justified (PLOS ONE (2021) 16:2 (e0245257) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245257)
PLoS ONE
Diamond, A. and Lye, C.T. and Prasad, D. and Abbott, D.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259428
2021Children Only 3 Years Old Can Succeed at Conditional "If, Then" Reasoning, Much Earlier Than Anyone Had Thought Possible.
Frontiers in psychology
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.571891
PubMed: 33488445
01/2020The science of education for peace
Fondazione Patrizio Paoletti
2020Executive functions
Handbook of Clinical Neurology
DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-64150-2.00020-4
2020Maturational Changes in Human Dorsal and Ventral Visual Networks.
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz053
PubMed: 30927361
12/2019Randomized control trial of Tools of the Mind: Marked benefits to kindergarten children and their teachers.
PloS one
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222447
PubMed: 31527919
09/2019Review of the evidence on, and fundamental questions about, efforts to improve executive functions, including working memory
Cognitive and Working Memory Training
DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780199974467.003.0008
01/2019Children's stress regulation mediates the association between prenatal maternal mood and child executive functions for boys, but not girls.
Development and psychopathology
DOI: 10.1017/s095457941800041x
PubMed: 30068413
08/2018Effects of physical activity interventions on cognitive and academic performance in children and adolescents: a novel combination of a systematic review and recommendations from an expert panel.
British journal of sports medicine
DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2017-098136
PubMed: 30061304
07/2018Aerobic-Exercise and resistance-training interventions have been among the least effective ways to improve executive functions of any method tried thus far.
Developmental cognitive neuroscience
DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.05.001
PubMed: 29909061
06/2018Maternal depression trajectories from pregnancy to 3 years postpartum are associated with children's behavior and executive functions at 3 and 6 years.
Archives of women's mental health
DOI: 10.1007/s00737-017-0803-0
PubMed: 29340801
01/2018Is more time in general music class associated with stronger extra-musical outcomes in kindergarten?
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
Hogan, J. and Cordes, S. and Holochwost, S. and Ryu, E. and Diamond, A. and Winner, E.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2017.12.004
2018Do children need reminders on the day-night task, or simply some way to prevent them from responding too quickly?
Cognitive Development
Ling, D.S. and Wong, C.D. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2015.10.003
2016Why assessing and improving executive functions early in life is critical
Executive Function in Preschool-age Children: Integrating Measurement, Neurodevelopment and Translational Research
DOI: 10.13140/rg.2.1.2644.6483
2016Conclusions about interventions, programs, and approaches for improving executive functions that appear justified and those that, despite much hype, do not
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Diamond, A. and Ling, D.S.
DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2015.11.005
2016Effects of physical exercise on executive functions: Going beyond simply moving to moving with thought
Annals of Sports Medicine and Researc
PubMed: 26000340
01/2015Enhancing cognitive and social-emotional development through a simple-to-administer mindfulness-based school program for elementary school children: A randomized controlled trial
Developmental Psychology
Schonert-Reichl, K.A. and Oberle, E. and Lawlor, M.S. and Abbott, D. and Thomson, K. and Oberlander, T.F. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1037/a0038454
2015Prefrontal Cortex Development and Development of Cognitive Function
International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences
Robbin Gibb and Bryan Kolb
DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-08-097086-8.55044-2
2015Research that Helps Move Us Closer to a World Where Each Child Thrives
Research in Human Development
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1080/15427609.2015.1068034
2015A comparative study of the neuropsychiatric and neurocognitive phenotype in two microdeletion syndromes: Velocardiofacial (22q11.2 deletion) and Williams (7q11.23 deletion) syndromes
European Psychiatry
Zarchi, O. and Diamond, A. and Weinberger, R. and Abbott, D. and Carmel, M. and Frisch, A. and Michaelovsky, E. and Gruber, R. and Green, T. and Weizman, A. and Gothelf, D.
DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2013.07.001
2014Whether coordinative (soccer) exercise improves executive functioning in kindergarten children has yet to be demonstrated
Experimental Brain Research
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1007/s00221-014-3920-2
2014An effect of inhibitory load in children while keeping working memory load constant
Frontiers in Psychology
Wright, A. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00213
2014Prenatal serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) antidepressant exposure and serotonin transporter promoter genotype (SLC6A4) influence executive functions at 6 years of age
Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience
Weikum, W.M. and Brain, U. and Chau, C.M.Y. and Grunau, R.E. and Boyce, W.T. and Diamond, A. and Oberlander, T.F.
DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2013.00180
2013Activities and Programs That Improve Children's Executive Functions
Current Directions in Psychological Science
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1177/0963721412453722
2012The Early Development of Executive Functions
Lifespan Cognition: Mechanisms of Change
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195169539.003.0006
2012Refining the understanding of inhibitory processes: How response prepotency is created and overcome
Developmental Science
Simpson, A. and Riggs, K.J. and Beck, S.R. and Gorniak, S.L. and Wu, Y. and Abbott, D. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2011.01105.x
2012How I came full circle from the social end of psychology, to neuroscience, and back again, in an effort to understand the development of cognitive control
Malleable Minds: Translating Insights from Psychology and Neuroscience to Gifted Education
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.2972.3284
2012Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4 to 12 years old (Science (959))
Science
Diamond, A. and Lee, K.
DOI: 10.1126/science.334.6054.311-d
2011Want to optimize executive functions and academic outcomes?: Simple, just nourish the human spirit
Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology Series
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118732373.ch7
2011Martial arts research: Weak evidence - Response
Science
Diamond, A. and Lee, K.
DOI: 10.1126/science.334.6054.311-a
2011Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4 to 12 years old
Science
Diamond, A. and Lee, K.
DOI: 10.1126/science.1204529
2011Biological and social influences on cognitive control processes dependent on prefrontal cortex
Progress in Brain Research
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-444-53884-0.00032-4
2011The effect of methylphenidate on prefrontal cognitive functioning, inattention, and hyperactivity in velocardiofacial syndrome
Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology
Green, T. and Weinberger, R. and Diamond, A. and Berant, M. and Hirschfeld, L. and Frisch, A. and Zarchi, O. and Weizman, A. and Gothelf, D.
DOI: 10.1089/cap.2011.0042
2011Memory maintenance and inhibitory control differentiate from early childhood to adolescence
Developmental Neuropsychology
Shing, Y.L. and Lindenberger, U. and Diamond, A. and Li, S.-C. and Davidson, M.C.
DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2010.508546
2010The evidence base for improving school outcomes by addressing the whole child and by addressing skills and attitudes, not just content
Early Education and Development
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1080/10409289.2010.514522
2010All or None Hypothesis: A Global-Default Mode That Characterizes the Brain and Mind
Developmental Psychology
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1037/a0014025
2009When in competition against engrained habits, is conscious representation sufficient or is inhibition of the habit also needed?
Developmental Science
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00773.x
2009Normal Development of Prefrontal Cortex from Birth to Young Adulthood: Cognitive Functions, Anatomy, and Biochemistry
Principles of Frontal Lobe Function
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195134971.003.0029
2009The Interplay of Biology and the Environment Broadly Defined
Developmental Psychology
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1037/a0014601
2009Contributions of neuroscience to our understanding of cognitive development
Current Directions in Psychological Science
Diamond, A. and Amso, D.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00563.x
2008Response
Science
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1126/science.319.5867.1185
2008Biological processes in prevention and intervention: The promotion of self-regulation as a means of preventing school failure
Development and Psychopathology
Blair, C. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1017/S0954579408000436
2008Interrelated and interdependent
Developmental Science
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00578.x
2007Consequences of variations in genes that affect dopamine in prefrontal cortex
Cerebral Cortex
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhm082
2007The early years: Preschool program improves cognitive control
Science
Diamond, A. and Barnett, W.S. and Thomas, J. and Munro, S.
DOI: 10.1126/science.1151148
2007Development of cognitive control and executive functions from 4 to 13 years: Evidence from manipulations of memory, inhibition, and task switching
Neuropsychologia
Davidson, M.C. and Amso, D. and Anderson, L.C. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.02.006
2006Bootstrapping conceptual deduction using physical connection: rethinking frontal cortex
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2006.03.003
2006Color-object interference in young children: A Stroop effect in children 3 1/2-6 1/2 years old
Cognitive Development
Prevor, M.B. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2005.04.001
2005Preschool children's performance in task switching on the dimensional change card sort task: Separating the dimensions aids the ability to switch
Developmental Neuropsychology
Diamond, A. and Carlson, S.M. and Beck, D.M.
DOI: 10.1207/s15326942dn2802_7
2005Not quite as grown-up as we like to think: Parallels between cognition in childhood and adulthood
Psychological Science
Diamond, A. and Kirkham, N.
DOI: 10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.01530.x
2005Attention-deficit disorder (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder without hyperactivity): A neurobiologically and behaviorally distinct disorder from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (with hyperactivity)
Development and Psychopathology
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1017/S0954579405050388
2005Developmental cognitive neuroscience: Progress and potential
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Munakata, Y. and Casey, B.J. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2004.01.005
2004Executive functioning in preschoolers: Reducing the inhibitory demands of the Dimensional Change Card Sort task
Developmental Neuropsychology
Rennie, D.A.C. and Bull, R. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1207/s15326942dn2601_4
2004Genetic and Neurochemical Modulation of Prefrontal Cognitive Functions in Children
American Journal of Psychiatry
Diamond, A. and Briand, L. and Fossella, J. and Gehlbach, L.
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.161.1.125
2004Early Success in Using the Relation Between Stimuli and Rewards to Deduce an Abstract Rule: Perceived Physical Connection is Key
Developmental Psychology
Diamond, A. and Lee, E.Y. and Hayden, M.
DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.39.5.825
2003Sorting between theories of perseveration: Performance in conflict tasks requires memory, attention and inhibition
Developmental Science
Kirkham, N.Z. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1111/1467-7687.00303
2003Helping children apply their knowledge to their behavior on a dimension-switching task
Developmental Science
Kirkham, N.Z. and Cruess, L. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1111/1467-7687.00300
2003Fast mapping of multiple words: Insights into when "the information provided" does and does not equal "the information perceived"
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
Wilkinson, K.M. and Ross, E. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1016/j.appdev.2003.09.006
2003Conditions under which young children can hold two rules in mind and inhibit a prepotent response.
Developmental psychology
Diamond, A. and Kirkham, N. and Amso, D.
DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.38.3.352
2002Looking closely at infants' performance and experimental procedures in the A-not-B task
Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X01253916
2001Inability of five-month-old infants to retrieve a contiguous object: A failure of conceptual understanding or of control of action?
Child Development
Diamond, A. and Lee, E.
DOI: 10.1111/1467-8624.00241
2000Toward an Understanding of the Human Frontal Lobes.
PsycCRITIQUES
Adele Diamond
DOI: 10.1037/002307
2000Close interrelation of motor development and cognitive development and of the cerebellum and prefrontal cortex
Child Development
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1111/1467-8624.00117
2000Early developments in the ability to understand the relation between stimulus and reward.
Developmental psychology
Diamond, A. and Churchland, A. and Cruess, L. and Kirkham, N.Z.
DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.35.6.1507
1999Memory load and inhibition in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
NeuroImage
Savoy, R.L. and O'Craven, K.M. and Davidson, M. and Diamond, A.
1999Cognitive deficits in a genetic mouse model of the most common biochemical cause of human mental retardation
Journal of Neuroscience
Zagreda, L. and Goodman, J. and Druin, D.P. and McDonald, D. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.19-14-06175.1999
1999Understanding the A-not-B Error: Working memory vs. reinforced response, or active trace vs. latent trace
Developmental Science
Adele Diamond
DOI: 10.1111/1467-7687.00022
10/1998Working memory and inhibition in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
NeuroImage
O'Craven, K.M. and Savoy, R.L. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1016/s1053-8119(18)31714-2
1998Prefrontal cortex cognitive deficits in children treated early and continuously for PKU.
Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development
DOI: 10.2307/1166208
PubMed: 9421921
01/1997Development of an aspect of executive control: Development of the abilities to remember what I said and to “Do as I say, not as I do”
Developmental Psychobiology
Adele Diamond and Colleen Taylor
DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1098-2302(199605)29:43.3.co;2-c
05/1996Development of an aspect of executive control: Development of the abilities to remember what I said and to "do as I say, not as I do"
Developmental Psychobiology
Diamond, A. and Taylor, C.
DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2302(199605)29:43.0.CO;2-T
1996Evidence for the importance of dopamine for prefrontal cortex functions early in life
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.1996.0134
1996Assessing cognitive function in animal models of mental retardation
Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews
Strupp, B.J. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2779(1996)2:43.0.CO;2-O
1996Impaired sensitivity to visual contrast in children treated early and continuously for phenylketonuria
Brain
Diamond, A. and Herzberg, C.
DOI: 10.1093/brain/119.2.523
1996Evidence of robust recognition memory early in life even when assessed by reaching behavior
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1006/jecp.1995.1020
1995Phenylalanine levels of 6-10mg/dl may not be as benign as once thought
Acta Pædiatrica
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1994.tb13462.x
1994The relationship between cognition and action: performance of children 3 1 2-7 years old on a stroop- like day-night test
Cognition
Gerstadt, C.L. and Hong, Y.J. and Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1016/0010-0277(94)90068-X
1994Young children's performance on a task sensitive to the memory functions of the medial temporal lobe in adults - The delayed nonmatching-to-sample task - Reveals problems that are due to non-memory-related task demands
Behavioral Neuroscience
Diamond, A. and Towle, C. and Boyer, K.
DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.108.4.659
1994Phenylalanine levels of 6-10 mg/dl may not be as benign as once thought.
Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992). Supplement
Diamond, A.
1994An animal model of early-treated PKU
Journal of Neuroscience
Diamond, A. and Ciaramitaro, V. and Donner, E. and Djali, S. and Robinson, M.B.
1994AB¯ With Multiple Wells: 1. Why Are Multiple Wells Sometimes Easier Than Two Wells? 2. Memory or Memory + Inhibition?
Developmental Psychology
Diamond, A. and Cruttenden, L. and Neiderman, D.
DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.30.2.192
1994Young children's performance on a task sensitive to the memory functions of the medial temporal lobe in adults: The delayed nonmatching-to-sample task reveals problems that are due to non-memory-related task demands.
Behavioral Neuroscience
Adele Diamond and Carolyn Towle and Kathryn Boyer
DOI: 10.1037//0735-7044.108.4.659
1994AB with multiple wells: I. Why are multiple wells sometimes easier than two wells? II. Memory or memory + inhibition?
Developmental Psychology
Adele Diamond and Lisa Cruttenden and Deborah Neiderman
DOI: 10.1037//0012-1649.30.2.192
1994The Development and Neural Bases of Memory Functions as Indexed by the AB and Delayed Response Tasks in Human Infants and Infant Monkeys
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
DIAMOND, A.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1990.tb48900.x
1990Preface
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
DIAMOND, A.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1990.tb48887.x
1990Developmental Time Course in Human Infants and Infant Monkeys, and the Neural Bases of, Inhibitory Control in Reaching
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
DIAMOND, A.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1990.tb48913.x
1990Rate of Maturation of the Hippocampus and the Developmental Progression of Children's Performance on the Delayed Non-Matching to Sample and Visual Paired Comparison Tasks
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
DIAMOND, A.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1990.tb48904.x
1990The development and neural bases of higher cognitive functions: Introduction
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Diamond, A.
1990Introduction
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
DIAMOND, A.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1990.tb48888.x
1990Successful performance by monkeys with lesions of the hippocampal formation on AB and object retrieval, two tasks that mark developmental changes in human infants.
Behavioral Neuroscience
Adele Diamond and Stuart Zola-Morgan and Larry R. Squire
DOI: 10.1037//0735-7044.103.3.526
1989The performance of human infants on a measure of frontal cortex function, the delayed response task
Developmental Psychobiology
Diamond, A. and Doar, B.
DOI: 10.1002/dev.420220307
1989Development as progressive inhibitory control of action: retrieval of a contiguous object
Cognitive Development
Diamond, A. and Gilbert, J.
DOI: 10.1016/0885-2014(89)90007-5
1989Comparison of human infants and rhesus monkeys on Piaget's AB task: evidence for dependence on dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
Experimental Brain Research
Diamond, A. and Goldman-Rakic, P.S.
DOI: 10.1007/BF00248277
1989Successful Performance by Monkeys With Lesions of the Hippocampal Formation on AB¯ and Object Retrieval, Two Tasks That Mark Developmental Changes in Human Infants
Behavioral Neuroscience
Diamond, A. and Zola-Morgan, S. and Squire, L.R.
DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.103.3.526
1989Abilities and Neural Mechanisms Underlying AB Performance
Child Development
Adele Diamond
DOI: 10.2307/1130330
04/1988Abilities and neural mechanisms underlying AB performance.
Child development
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1988.tb01486.x
1988Development of the ability to use recall to guide action, as indicated by infants' performance on AB.
Child development
Diamond, A.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1985.tb00160.x
1985Why improving and assessing executive functions early in life is critical.
Executive function in preschool-age children: Integrating measurement, neurodevelopment, and translational research.
Adele Diamond
DOI: 10.1037/14797-002Human-animal interaction and the development of executive functions.
The social neuroscience of human-animal interaction.
Daphne S. Ling and Melissa Kelly and Adele Diamond
DOI: 10.1037/14856-004A Model System for Studying the Role of Dopamine in Prefrontal Cortex During Early Development in Humans
Brain Dovelopement and Cognition
Adele Diamond
DOI: 10.1002/9780470753507.ch22 - Research
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Current Projects
What Helps and what Hinders Executive Functions during Adolescence, and do Executive Functions in Middle Childhood Predict Academic Achievement and Well-being during Adolescence.
Possible Benefits of Beloved Music with or without Social Interaction or Beloved Literature (Poetry and/or Stories) for Adults Experiencing Mild Cognitive Decline.
Effects of Low-dose versus Normal-dose Psychostimulants on Executive Functions in Children with ADHD.
Pre-birth exposure to anti-depressants linked to better cognitive skills 12 years later
Selective serotonin reuptake (SSRI) antidepressant treatment during pregnancy is associated with better performance on a computerized task measuring cognitive skills in 12-year-olds, UBC and BC Children's Hospital researchers have found.
