Abstract
The main aim of this study was to confirm the relationship between executive performance and salivary alpha-amylase (SAA) activity in a sample of 64 healthy children (39 boys), and compare it to the association of SAA output and salivary flow rate (SFR). Executive functioning was assessed via fluency, trail-making, rings and inhibition tasks from the Batería de Evaluación Neuropsicológica de la Función Ejecutiva en Niños [Battery of Neuropsychological Assessment for Executive Function in Children] (ENFEN), merged into an ENFEN total score. SAA activity, output, and SFR were measured at baseline, one minute before, and one minute after the end of a neuropsychological testing session. Our results confirmed a direct, linear and significant association between SAA activity and executive functioning, r(64) = .351, p < .05, and extended it to SAA output, r(64) =.431, p < .05. The mean level of SAA output was the best predictor of executive functioning (β = .431, p < .05) and explained 18.2 % of the variance in ENFEN total score. In sum, and compared to SAA activity, measuring SAA output may be a more precise and indirect marker to assess executive functioning in children. Copyright © 2019 Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e24 |
Journal | The Spanish Journal of Psychology |
Volume | 22 |
Early online date | May 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2019 |
Citation
Maldonado, E. F., Nislin, M., Marín, L., Martín-Escribano, A., Enguix, A., López, C., . . . García, S. (2019). Association between Salivary Alpha-Amylase and Executive Functioning in Healthy Children. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 22. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1017/sjp.2019.26Keywords
- Alpha-amylase
- Children
- ENFEN
- Executive functioning
- Saliva