Self-control and the developing brain

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readiness, academic achievement, social
competence, and appropriate conduct
(Eisenberg, Hofer, & Vaughan, 2007;
W. Mischel, Shoda, & Peake, 1988). Deficits
in self-control are defining features of atten-
tion and behavior disorders, including
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) and conduct disorder (Barkley,
1997; White et al., 1994). When self-control
deficits persist into adulthood, they are asso-
ciated with interpersonal problems, poor
physical health, and psychiatric disorders
(Strayhorn, 2002). Thus, the development of
self-control has implications for many child
outcomes.
As every parent and early childhood
educator can attest, self-control takes a
long time to develop. Infants have a few
basic self-control strategies; for example,
by about 3 months of age they can look away
from a social interaction when they need a
break to avoid becoming overstimulated or
distressed (Harman, Rothbart, & Posner,
1997). For the most part, though, from birth
to 3 years, children rely heavily on parents and
caregivers to help them control their emo-
tions and behavior. Three to 6 years marks
a renaissance period in the development of
self-control, including the abilities to control
impulses, shift attention from one thing to
another, and wait for a reward (Diamond
& Taylor, 1996; Lewis & Todd, 2007;
H. N. Mischel & Mischel, 1983; Thompson,
Barresi, & Moore, 1997). Self-control skills
continue to develop throughout childhood
and adolescence. The brain regions involved
in self-control are immature at birth and
are not fully mature until the end of
adolescence, which helps to explain why
developing self-control is such a long, slow
process.
Even though self-control increases with
age, there are marked differences among
children of the same age. Although one
4-year-old might wait patiently for the candy
reward, another 4-year-old might grab the
candy immediately. This impulsive child is
also likely to strike out at peers when frus-
trated and to have trouble paying attention
at school. In consistent environments, these
individual differences are fairly stable—
toddlers and preschoolers who have
difficulty with self-control compared with
their peers are likely to continue to have
poor self-control as school-age children
(Cummings, Iannotti, & Zahn-Waxler, 1989;
Kochanska, Murray, Jacques, Koenig, &
Vandegeest, 1996). A brain-based approach
to studying self-control can shed light on the
environmental and genetic contributions
to individual differences, suggest why chil-
dren with certain environmental risk factors
are more likely to develop self-control prob-
lems, and guide the development of train-
ing programs designed to target brain regions
involved in self-control.
Self-Control in the Brain
Brain development is not exclu-
sively due to the passage of time, as
if the brain had an internal clock and
was changing and growing automatically on
a certain schedule. Although the brain does
change with age, the child’s experiences play
an active role in shaping the brain as it devel-
ops and in building connections between dif-
ferent parts of the brain. Several brain regions
support the skills relevant to self-control. For
effective self-control, these regions all need
to be interconnected and must communicate
with each other. The child’s behavior is deter-
mined by a system of checks and balances
between different parts of the brain working
together.
An important region for self-control is the
prefrontal cortex, located just behind the
Self-Control and the
Developing Brain
AMANDA R. TARULLO
Columbia University
JELENA OBRADOVIC
´
University of British Columbia
MEGAN R. GUNNAR
University of Minnesota
Abstract
Self-control is a skill that children need
to succeed academically, socially, and
emotionally. Brain regions essential to
self-control are immature at birth and
develop slowly throughout childhood.
From ages 3 to 6 years, as these brain
regions become more mature, chil-
dren show improved ability to control
impulses, shift their attention flexibly,
and wait for a reward. Early childhood
environment helps to shape self-control
pathways in the developing brain. Chil-
dren who experience early adversity
are at risk for self-control problems.
Preschool curricula and specialized
training programs to promote the
development of self-control offer
promise as an intervention for at-risk
children.
A
4-year-old sits at a table with one piece of candy in front of
him. He is told that if he does not touch the candy, he can have
not one but two pieces of candy in a few minutes. Will he be
able to control his impulse to reach for the candy and wait for
the larger reward instead? Self-control is critical to success at
home, at school, and with friends. A child with good self-
control can refrain from hitting another child when there is
a conflict, pay attention to the teacher’s lecture instead of talking over it, and
wait his turn when playing a game. Self-control in young children predicts school
January 2009 Zero to Three 31
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32 Zero to Three January 2009
forehead (see Glossary box). One of the
biggest differences between human brains
and monkey brains is the size of the prefron-
tal cortex, which is much larger in humans.
It is involved in complex attentional and
organizational skills, including following
rules, reasoning, suppressing impulses, and
making decisions (Casey et al., 1997). Neuro-
imaging studies show that the prefrontal
cortex develops gradually from infancy
through adolescence (Gogtay et al., 2004).
The orbitofrontal cortex is located just behind
the eyes and also is involved in decision
making, especially when the decision involves
reward, as in the example of waiting for candy
(Zelazo, Carlson, & Kesek, 2008; see Figure 1,
and see Glossary box).
For young children, one of the hardest
aspects of self-control is resisting an
emotional impulse—for example, refraining
from grabbing the candy despite wanting it
or refraining from hitting a peer despite feel-
ing angry. Children may know the rules and
be able to think about them logically, but they
still may be unable to resist their impulse. For
example, 3-year-olds will advise an experi-
menter that it would be in the experimenter’s
best interest to wait for a larger candy reward.
However, when the 3-year-olds are presented
with the candy, the emotional impulse wins,
and they grab the candy right away. Clearly
they know logically that it is better to wait,
but just knowing this isn’t enough (Prencipe
& Zelazo, 2005). One brain region that plays
a critical role in balancing out logical thought
and emotional impulses is the anterior cingu-
late (see Glossary box). The anterior cingulate
is sandwiched between the prefrontal cor-
tex and areas deep inside the brain involved in
emotional responses. The anterior cingulate
receives messages from many brain regions
and integrates all of the information to regu-
late both cognitive and emotional processes
(Zelazo et al., 2008). It is involved in control-
ling behavior in challenging situations and
making adjustments to behavior when a strat-
egy is not working (Luu & Tucker, 2002).
The top part of the anterior cingulate, which
receives messages from the prefrontal
cortex, becomes more active from ages 3 to
6 years, and it is during this same developmen-
tal period that children become better able to
wait for a reward and to suppress impulsive
behaviors (Posner & Rothbart, 2000). The
l ogical frontal part of the brain becomes more
capable of exerting control over the emo-
tional, impulsive part of the brain, at least
some of the time.
A particular characteristic brain-wave
pattern is thought to reflect activity of the
anterior cingulate (van Veen & Carter, 2002).
By placing a cap on the child’s head that has
sensors to record electrical activity, stud-
ies have measured brain-wave changes in
response to presentation of a stimulus.
Using this measure, called the event-related
potential (ERP), studies have revealed evi-
dence that the anterior cingulate is active
during self-control tasks. In 4- to 6-year-old
children, these characteristic brain-wave
changes are observed while children are
engaged in computer tasks that involve self-
control, such as resisting the impulse to
push a button that would make an angry face
go away (Lewis & Todd, 2007). Four-year-
olds show these brain-wave changes all over
the frontal lobe while they are resisting an
impulse, suggesting that widespread areas
of the brain are recruited to try to resist the
impulse. It is interesting to note that in adults
the change in recorded brain waves when
resisting an impulse is focused on a much
smaller area of the brain. It seems that the
brain gets more efficient at exerting self-
control over the course of development
(Rueda, Posner, & Rothbart, 2005).
Individual Differences in
Self-Control
Why do some children have better
self-control than other children
of the same age? The environment
where the child grows up, temperament, and
genes all influence the development of
self-control. These various factors do not
operate in a vacuum but interact with each
other to contribute to individual differences in
self-control.
Family and Culture
Although infants and toddlers do not have
much self-control yet, the home environ-
Photo: © iStockphoto.com/Viktor Kitaykin
Predictable routines can support children’s emerging self-control capacities.
Overnight Visitation
Glossary
Anterior cingulate — An area of the brain
sandwiched between the frontal lobe and
emotion-related brain regions. The anterior
cingulate integrates cognition with
emotional impulses, controls behavior in
challenging situations, and adjusts
behavior when a strategy is not working.
Orbitofrontal cortex — An area of the brain
located behind the eyes, involved in
decision making and reward.
Prefrontal cortex — An area of the brain
located behind the forehead that is
involved in higher level attention and
cognition, following rules, suppressing an
impulse, reasoning, and decision making.
A child’s behavior is determinded by
different parts of the brain working
together.
Anterior Cingulate
Prefrontal
Cortex
Orbitofrontal
Cortex
Illustration: © iStockphoto.com/Matthias Haas
Figure 1. Brain Regions Involved in
Self-Control

January 2009 Zero to Three 33
ment and caregiver relationships from birth
to 3 years help to shape self-control abili-
ties. Infant attachment security predicts self-
control 6 years later (Olson, Bates, & Bayles,
1990). When 18-month-old toddlers were
placed in frustrating situations, such as
having an attractive toy placed beyond their
reach, the toddlers whose mothers had a
more intrusive style tended to become more
distressed. In contrast, toddlers whose
mothers provided positive guidance were
better able to distract themselves (Calkins &
Johnson, 1998). In another study, when
mothers (a) were sensitive and responsive
with their 1-year-old infants, (b) talked
about emotions and other mental states, and
(c) were supportive while also enco uraging
independence, the infants went on to do
better on attention and self-control tasks 6 to
12 months later (Bernier, Carlson, & Whipple,
in press). Sensitive parenting in early child-
hood that supports autonomy helps children
to develop self-control strategies.
The home environment from infancy
through age 5 years, including both care-
giver relationship quality and the physical
and social resources available in the home,
predicts self-control abilities in first grade
(National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development [NICHD] Early Child
Care Research Network, 2005). In middle
childhood, negative parenting continues to
relate to poorer child self-control over time,
and the reverse is also true: Poorer child self-
control can elicit more negative parenting.
In this way, maladaptive interaction patterns
can become entrenched, putting children at
higher risk of behavior problems (Eisenberg
et al., 1999). Experience with multiple
languages also can affect the development
of self-control. Bilingual children do better
than monolingual children on attention-
control tasks that require shifting attention
from one feature to another, such as sort-
ing cards according to color and then switch-
ing gears to sort the cards according to shape
(Bialystok & Martin, 2004). Switching back
and forth between languages may help bilin-
gual children learn to think flexibly and shift
their attention (Zelazo et al., 2008). This is
an example of how developing brain regions
involved in attentional control, including the
anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortex, may
be shaped by the child’s experiences.
Children growing up in cultures that
place a high emphasis on the importance of
self-control tend to develop self-control abil-
ities faster. Korean preschools typically have
formal instruction, long periods of sitting
still, and little free play. Chinese preschools
are also highly structured and provide many
opportunities to practice self-control, such
as group activities in which everyone draws
the same picture. Both Korean and Chinese
preschool children perform better than their
U.S. peers on self-control tasks (Oh & Lewis,
2008; Sabbagh, Xu, Carlson, Moses, & Lee,
2006). The highly structured environment
may help self-control brain circuits mature
faster. The high cultural value placed on
self-control may also motivate Chinese and
Korean children to exert more self-control.
Within U.S. culture, developmentally
appropriate preschool programs also are
designed to scaffold children’s emerging
self-control capacities through predictable
routines; songs such as the “Clean Up Song”
that help children remember and follow
classroom rules; games like Simon Says that
exercise developing self-control brain
circuits; and opportunities for children to
make choices (i.e., practice planning skills)
among safe and permissible alternatives
(Gillespie & Seibel, 2006).
Temperament
When presented with an unfamiliar toy, some
infants may be fearful and cautious, whereas
others are eager to reach for it without hesi-
tation. These temperamental differences are
brain based. Individuals who have more brain
activity occurring in the left frontal area of
their brain tend to be eager to approach and
explore unfamiliar situations and objects.
In contrast, those who have more activity in
the right frontal area tend to (a) avoid
unfamiliar situations and objects and ( b) be
more fearful, cautious, and easily distressed
(Sutton & Davidson, 1997).
Fearful or cautious temperament in early
childhood predicts the development of better
self-control. Infants who were more cautious
in response to an unfamiliar toy, looking at it
for a long time before reaching for it, tended
to have better self-control at age 7 years
(Rothbart, Derryberry, & Hershey, 2000). In
another study (Aksan & Kochanska, 2004),
response to unfamiliar objects and situations
was assessed in infancy by using masks and in
the toddler years also by observing the child’s
behavior in a risk room. The risk room included
potentially “risky” unfamiliar objects such as a
tunnel, a balance beam, and stairs from which
the child could leap onto a mattress if she
chose to do so. Children who were more fear-
ful and cautious in response to the masks and
risk room as infants and toddlers tended to be
less impulsive as preschoolers and better at
self-control games such as Simon Says (Aksan
& Kochanska, 2004).
So far, the self-control problems to which
we have referred have involved undercon-
trol: children who are impulsive and prone
to acting out. However, the other extreme,
being overcontrolled, may also interfere
with children’s functioning. Studies of
the interaction of temperament and self-
control have shown that when it comes
to self-control, more is not always better.
Among 2-year-olds with an exuberant tem-
perament, those with high self-control were
also rated as more socially competent. In
contrast, among shy 2-year-olds, high self-
control was related to being more socially
withdrawn and less socially competent (Fox,
Henderson, Perez-Edgar, & White, 2008). Fox
et al. (2008) suggested that for a child to be
well-adjusted, a balance of emotional reactiv-
ity and self-control is needed. Some research-
ers have moved toward using the term
“self-regulation” rather than self-control, to
reflect this idea that healthy control means
knowing when to exert control and when to
loosen up.
Photo: © iStockphoto.com/Brandon Clark
One of the most difficult aspects of self-control is resisting an emotional impulse.

34 Zero to Three January 2009
control, greater emotional reactivity, and
difficulty sustaining attention.
Maltreated and neglected children are
also vulnerable to self-control problems. In
a neglectful environment, young children
lack the opportunity to learn self-control
strategies from interacting with caregivers
(Shackman, Wismer Fries, & Pollak, 2008).
When the brain develops in neglectful envi-
ronments, it is deprived of appropriate
experiences to shape the development of
self-control circuits. Physically abused chil-
dren tend to have difficulty controlling their
emotions. In one study, problems in atten-
tional control accounted for the link between
maltreatment and difficulties regulating
emotion (Shields & Cicchetti, 1998). Shields
and Cicchetti concluded that these physically
abused children lacked the attentional strate-
gies to control their emotional impulses.
Preschool and early school-age children
who grow up in poverty score lower than mid-
dle-class children on a variety of self-control
tasks (Howse, Lange, Farran, & Boyles, 2003;
Lengua, Honorado, & Bush, 2007). The more
demographic and environmental risk factors
a preschool child experiences, the more
likely he or she is to have difficulty with self-
control (Lengua et al., 2007; Li-Grining,
2007). Using tasks that neuroimaging studies
have demonstrated to involve specific brain
areas, researchers can identify specific areas
of deficit. For example, the Go-NoGo task
requires pushing a button every time a letter
flashes on the screen, except for the
letter X. Functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI) scans taken while children
are engaged in the Go-NoGo task show that
the prefrontal cortex “lights up,” indicat-
ing that it is involved in this task (Casey et al.,
1997). On self-control tasks that have been
shown through these methods to involve the
prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate, kin-
dergartners from low-income families have
lower scores than their middle-class peers
(Noble, Norman, & Farah, 2005), and this
socioeconomic difference also is observed in
preadolescents (Farah et al., 2006).
Sleep disruption may be one reason that
children living in poverty often have self-
control difficulties. Families living in poverty
may experience sleep disruption because of
overcrowded households, chronic stress,
hunger, and poor temperature control in the
sleep environment. Lower socioeconomic
status has been linked to increased rates of
sleep problems in children (Buckhalt, El-
Sheikh, & Keller, 2007). Attention-control
tasks that involve the prefrontal cortex are
sensitive to sleep (Dahl, 1996). When chil-
dren do not get a good night’s sleep, self-
control is often impaired the next day. A
study of second graders revealed that dis-
rupted sleep was associated with poorer
Genetics
The study of genes involved in self-control
is a relatively new area of inquiry. So far,
several genes have been identified that
are related to performance on self-control
tasks, particularly tasks that measure abil-
ity to focus attention, suppress impulses, and
ignore distractions. All of these genes affect
levels of the brain chemical dopamine, which
influences the functioning of the prefrontal
cortex and the anterior cingulate. The genes
each have multiple versions, called alleles,
and different children inherit different
versions. Six-year-olds with the long version
of a gene called DAT1 were reported by their
parents to have better self-control and less
impulsive behavior, did better on a laboratory
attention-control task, and showed a more
mature pattern of brain activity while doing
the task compared with 6-year-olds with
the short version of DAT1 (Rueda, Rothbart,
McCandliss, Saccomanno, & Posner, 2005).
For several other dopamine-related genes,
the pattern of brain-wave activity while
children are performing an attention-
control task varies depending on which
version of the gene a child has (Diamond,
Briand, Fossella, & Gehlbach, 2004; Fossella
et al., 2002). One of these same genes, called
the DRD4 gene, has a version that is also asso-
ciated with higher risk of ADHD and atten-
tion-seeking behavior.
The relation between a particular version
of a gene and self-control behavior can be
influenced by the child’s environment. For
example, as previously mentioned, Chinese
preschools tend to be structured in a way
that places more emphasis on self-control
compared with most U.S. preschools. How-
ever, there is also a genetic contribution.
The at-risk version of the DRD4 gene occurs
in 48% of the White U.S. population, com-
pared with only 2% of the Chinese population
(Sabbagh et al., 2006). Therefore, the high
self-control in Chinese preschoolers may
reflect not only an environment that supports
developing self-control but also lower
genetic risk for self-control problems. In
another example, among physically mal-
treated children, those who had a particular
version of the dopamine-related gene MAOA
were less likely to develop severe behavior
problems than those who had another
version (Caspi et al., 2002). More research
is needed to investigate the different ways
that multiple genetic and environmental
factors interact to influence the development
of self-control.
Children at Risk for Self-Control
Problems
Exposure to alcohol or drugs in the
prenatal environment affects the
developing brain and puts children at
risk for self-control problems. Heavy prenatal
alcohol exposure can lead to structural
abnormalities in the orbitofrontal cortex and
other brain regions involved in self-control.
Prenatal alcohol exposure has been linked
to self-control deficits, impulsivity, and
increased rates of an ADHD diagnosis
(Mattson, Fryer, McGee, & Riley, 2008).
Prenatal cocaine exposure affects the devel-
opment of the anterior cingulate and the
prefrontal cortex. In particular, prenatal and
perinatal cocaine exposure appears to perma-
nently distort the balance of brain chemicals
in the prefrontal cortex (Langlois & Mayes,
2008). Children with a history of prenatal
cocaine exposure tend to have poor impulse
Photo: © iStockphoto.com/Jelani Memory
Sensitive parenting in early childhood helps children develop self-control.

January 2009 Zero to Three 35
performance on attention-control tasks and
with parent report of behavior problems
(Sadeh, Gruber, & Raviv, 2002). Although
these studies establish that current sleep
deprivation puts children at risk for tem-
porary self-control difficulties, it is unclear
whether chronic sleep deprivation has long-
term impacts on development of self-control.
Children reared in poverty and mal-
treated children are at increased risk for
problems in many domains, including aca-
demic difficulties, social problems, and
psychiatric disorders. Therefore it is rea-
sonable to ask, Why place so much empha-
sis on self-control problems? Some at-risk
children are better at self-control than oth-
ers, and at-risk children who have better
self-control abilities are more likely to be at
least average in their academic, social, and
emotional functioning. Head Start children
who perform better on self-control tasks
are described by their preschool teachers as
engaging in more on-task behavior (Blair &
Peters, 2003) and go on to have higher math
and literacy abilities when they get to kin-
dergarten (Blair & Razza, 2007). A study of
homeless 5- and 6-year-old children dur-
ing the transition to school also showed that
self-control was related to school readiness
(Obradovi´c, 2008). Among the homeless
children, those who did better on self-
control tasks were later rated by their teach-
ers as having stronger academic abilities,
higher peer competence, and fewer psychiat-
ric symptoms. For at-risk children, self-
control may be an important tool for success
in overcoming adversity and getting on a
positive developmental path.
Helping Children Develop
Self-Control
Improving self-control in children at
risk could be beneficial not only to their
current functioning but also for the many
long-term developmental outcomes asso-
ciated with self-control. Numerous inter-
ventions focus on trying to address negative
outcomes associated with self-control, such
as antisocial behavior problems and aca-
demic difficulties, but it can be challenging to
get children back on track once they have had
these problems for a while. Early behavior
problems and academic failures tend to have
a snowballing effect, in which the child gets
further and further off course in both socio-
emotional and academic functioning. Focus-
ing interventions on developing self-control
in early childhood may help to prevent these
later negative outcomes from developing in
the first place (Diamond, Barnett, Thomas,
& Munro, 2007). We know that learning
experiences in early childhood help shape
developing brain regions that are important
for self-control. What if an intervention
ing as well as give children strategies to cope
with social and emotional situations.
One example of this type of program is the
Tools of the Mind curriculum, a set of 40 activ-
ities to help children learn to resist impulses,
ignore distractions, hold information in
mind, and think flexibly (Diamond
et al., 2007). These activities are designed
to be incorporated into the daily routines
of preschool and kindergarten classrooms,
to provide children with strategies to
program could provide children with the
specific types of experiences they need to
train their brains to have better self-control?
Recently, researchers have developed training
programs to do just that, with a curriculum
designed to target the brain regions underly-
ing self-control. These programs are geared
specifically to improving control of atten-
tion, cognition, and the ability to suppress
impulses. Improvements in these aspects of
self-control can improve academic function-
Photo: © iStockphoto.com/Maya Kovacheva
Bilingual children do better than monolingual children on some attention control tasks.
Learn More
Tools of the Mind
Preschool program improves cognitive control
A. Diamond, W. S. Barnett, J. Thomas, &
S. Munro 2007
Science, 318, 1387–1388
On-line supplemental materials: www.sci-
encemag.org/cgi/content/full/318/5855/1387/DC1
This is one example of a program to improve
control of attention and cognition, designed to
be incorporated into a preschool or kindergar-
ten classroom on a daily basis. The supplemen-
tal materials provide information about the Tools
of the Mind curriculum and evidence for the pro-
gram’s effectiveness. As detailed in the supple-
ment, strategies used by this program to improve
self-control include the following:
1. Provide concrete, external aids to remind chil-
dren to stay “on task,” such as a clean up song.
2. Have one child perform a task, such as count-
ing, and a second child then check his partner’s
work. The goal is to promote turn taking and
self-monitoring.
3. Encourage children to use “private speech,”
talking to themselves out loud to remind them-
selves of a sequence of directions that they are
following. Speaking out loud also is intended
to help children resist an impulse when rules
change, such as first learning to clap when they
are shown a picture of a square and then chang-
ing the rule and learning to stomp in response
to a square.
4. Provide opportunities for dramatic play. Children
plan out a play scenario in advance, through dis-
cussion or by drawing it, to give them practice
developing planning skills. Role-playing also may
help children learn impulse control, because they
must remain in character and inhibit behaviors
that would not fit their role in the game.
Attention Skills Training Program
www.teach-the-brain.org/learn/downloads/
index.htm
This curriculum was developed by Rueda,
Rothbart, et al. (2005) as a brief intervention
to help preschool children improve control of
attention. It is available to download for free at
this Web site.

36 Zero to Three January 2009
support and opportunities to practice con-
trol of attention and cognition. For example,
children hold a drawing of an ear to remind
them to listen; are taught to tell themselves
out loud what they should do; and use draw-
ings to plan out their dramatic play scenarios
in advance, to practice planning and mem-
ory. Low-income, urban preschool children
who received this Tools of the Mind curricu-
lum all year did better on attention-control
tasks administered at the end of the school
year compared with peers who received a
standard literacy curriculum. These tasks are
known to involve the prefrontal cortex. The
more complicated the task, the greater the
advantage of the children who had received
the Tools of the Mind curriculum (Diamond
et al., 2007). What makes this finding par-
ticularly exciting is that this was not a case
of “teaching to the test.” Children were not
trained at all on the specific tasks used as
outcome measures, and they indeed had
never seen these tasks before. The curricu-
lum led to generalized improvements in con-
trol of attention and cognition, suggesting
that for these at-risk children, the daily learn-
ing experiences effectively targeted brain
regions, like the prefrontal cortex, which are
involved in control.
Another attention-control curriculum,
the Attention Skills Training Program, provides
direct evidence that training can change brain
activity patterns (Rueda, Rothbart, et al.,
2005). This 5-day intensive training program
was conducted with typically developing
4- and 6-year-old children. It included com-
puter games designed to require attention
control, such as moving a cat to a grassy area
and avoiding the muddy ones, or clicking on
sheep but not on wolves. Children performed
better on attention-control tasks after receiv-
ing the training. Moreover, the pattern of
event-related potentials (ERPs, which are
a type of brain wave response) while complet-
ing the task was more mature in children who
had received training. The ERPs of trained
4-year-olds resembled those of untrained
6-year-olds, and the ERPs of trained 6-year-
olds resembled those of older children and
adults (Rueda, Rothbart, et al., 2005). This
study suggested that targeted attention skills
training can teach the anterior cingulate
and prefrontal cortex to function in a more
mature, efficient way during attention-
control tasks. Programs like Tools of the Mind
and Attention Skills Training offer promising
indications that a curriculum that targets spe-
cific brain regions involved in self- control
can help children at risk to develop better
self-control. More research is needed to doc-
ument whether the self-control gains from
these training programs are maintained over
time and to determine whether the children’s
improved self-control leads to improvements
in academic, social, and psychiatric function-
ing over the long term. A
Amanda R. Tarullo, PhD, is a postdoctoral
research fellow in developmental neuroscience
and behavior at Columbia University. Dr. Tarullo
studies the impact of early adversity on the devel-
oping brain and neural correlates of socioemo-
tional and social-cognitive functioning among
children at risk.
Jelena Obradovi ´c, PhD, is a Killam Postdoc-
toral Research Fellow at the Human Early Learn-
ing Partnership, University of British Columbia.
Dr. Obradovia´c studies how contextual risk and
adversity interact with children’s regulatory abili-
ties and physiological reactivity to influence adap-
tive functioning of disadvantaged children.
Megan R. Gunnar, PhD, is Regents Profes-
sor of Development at the Institute of Child Devel-
opment, University of Minnesota. Dr. Gunnar’s
research on the psychobiology of stress in infants
and young children has documented the impor-
tance of sensitive and responsive care by adults
to regulate the hormonal stress system in young
children. Her current research focuses on asso-
ciations between the psychobiology of stress and
the development of self-regulation in children; the
quality of group child care and stress hormone
activity; and the effects of deprivation, neglect, and
maltreatment on stress reactivity and regulation.
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