Working memory
Hold and update goal-relevant information against distraction.
Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
Research88
Awareness72
Complexity80
Clinical weight70
Plasticity65
Live debate68
LessMore
Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology
Quick answers
What did Miyake 2000 model split?
Updating, inhibiting and shifting — three latent factors that still share variance. Lab factor model, not a clinic label.
How does Baddeley central executive fit?
Teaching map: control node over phonological and visuospatial slave systems. Useful in class; not a scan finding about you.
Which cortex name to pin first?
Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) for goal maintenance, with anterior cingulate conflict signals. Use atlas finder — not a self-test.
Is this diagnosing ADHD or frontal injury?
No. Educational neuroscience only. No diagnosis, no dose, no treatment plan. Scores are editorial 0-100 browsing aids.
What classroom task shows inhibition?
Stroop-style conflict: name the ink, not the word. Windows control under interference; does not certify a disorder.
Who linked childhood play to lifelong control?
Adele Diamond developmental synthesis ties play, stress and schooling to prefrontal control. Teaching notes, not a parenting prescription.
Control systems let organisms pause, plan and revise — from resisting a snack to rewriting a career plan. Neuroscience maps these skills onto frontoparietal and cingulo-opercular networks.
This atlas page separates mechanisms, clinical edges and measurement limits without selling a single “brain gym”.
Pillars
Inhibition
Suppress prepotent responses, thoughts and attentional capture.
Flexibility
Shift set when rules, contexts or priorities change.
Unity & diversity
Shared control resources plus dissociable component skills.
Key facts
Miyake triad
Updating, inhibiting and shifting as latent factors with shared variance.
Baddeley model
Central executive plus slave systems remains a durable teaching map.
dlPFC hub
Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is a recurrent hub for maintenance and control.
Development
Protracted prefrontal maturation explains late adolescent gains in control.
Stress sensitivity
Catecholamine excess narrows prefrontal tuning.
Clinical breadth
Relevant to ADHD, TBI, frontal injury, mood disorders and healthy ageing.
Pair with Attention, Decision-Making, ADHD and Plasticity for neighbouring maps.
Sources & research
- Executive functionsDevelopmental synthesis of EF components and interventions.DOIPubMed
- The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex "frontal lobe" tasks: a latent variable analysisCanonical unity/diversity latent-variable paper.DOIPubMed
- Working memory: looking back and looking forwardWorking-memory architecture overview.DOIPubMed
- An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex functionBiased competition account of PFC control.DOIPubMed
- The prefrontal cortex—an update: time is of the essenceTemporal organisation of frontal action.DOIPubMed
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