Abstract
<p>Adolescence is a critical developmental period marked by rapid changes in limbic and prefrontal regions, alongside gains in executive functioning and the development of emotion regulation strategies. Prior work suggests reciprocal relationships between executive function and emotion regulation, with each being important for supporting optimal developmental outcomes. However, further understanding the longitudinal relationships and underlying neural mechanisms is important for informing the timing and targets of intervention approaches. The present study utilized longitudinal data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (N = 11,868) to examine these relationships from approximately ages 9–16. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted using fMRI data from the emotional N-back task, identifying three factors each for the 2-vs.-0-back and Faces-vs.-Places contrasts, corresponding to Sensorimotor-Insular, Central Executive, and Visual-Occipital networks. Cross-lagged panel models were used to test prospective associations amongst these network factors, scores on the emotion regulation questionnaire, and an NIH Toolbox executive function factor score across time. Results indicated that the Central Executive factor of the 2-vs.-0-back contrast predicted subsequent executive functioning across all time points, with some evidence of bidirectional associations in preadolescence. Moreover, executive functioning at ages 13–14 positively predicted both cognitive reappraisal and emotion suppression at ages 14–15, while neither emotion regulation strategy predicted later executive functioning. These findings highlight the dynamic and reciprocal nature of neural and behavioral development across adolescence and support the importance of executive network development for supporting cognitive function, and for executive functioning as an important developmental scaffold for emotion regulation strategy use.</p>