Executive Dysfunction

Executive dysfunction is a disruption in the efficiency of the executive functions, the interrelated set of cognitive processes, including planning, organizing, initiating and inhibiting action, sustaining and shifting attention, and monitoring one's own behavior, that regulate and coordinate other, more basic cognitive processes. People experiencing executive dysfunction may have particular trouble starting tasks, staying organized, adjusting to changing demands, or controlling impulses, even when more basic cognitive abilities, such as memory for facts or language comprehension, are intact. The pattern is studied across a wide range of contexts, including normal individual variation, aging, and conditions in which it is especially pronounced, such as ADHD and certain forms of brain injury.