executive control

noun

psychology
: the ability to carry out goal-directed behavior using complex mental processes and cognitive abilities (such as working memory and impulse inhibition)
… the prefrontal cortex, which is known to be involved in a range of high-level, executive control processes …Alison Motluk
compare executive function

Examples of executive control in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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When the film’s content was difficult to follow or more ambiguous like during Inception, activity was heightened in executive control brain regions. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 6 Nov. 2024 Now exercising sole executive control, Tokayev has moved quickly to demonstrate his understanding of the public mood. Nargis Kassenova, Foreign Affairs, 18 Jan. 2022 But neither Beathard, nor the gruff Butler, nor the imperious Smith had to co-exist with a Spanos who fancied himself a football man and was given executive control of the football office. Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Dec. 2023 But this depends in large part on humans deciding to give it executive control. Guillaume Thierry, Fortune, 31 July 2023 This part of the brain is also involved with motivation and executive control. Claretta Bellamy, NBC News, 4 Oct. 2023 But the prospect of AIs taking decisions – exerting executive control – is another matter. Guillaume Thierry, Fortune, 31 July 2023 But this is where the placebo effect comes in: Drinking coffee also increased the connectivity in the higher visual network and the right executive control network—something that didn’t happen in those who only took caffeine. Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 28 June 2023 However, drinking coffee increased the connectivity in the higher visual network and the right executive control network. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 28 June 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1982, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of executive control was in 1982

Dictionary Entries Near executive control

Cite this Entry

“Executive control.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/executive%20control. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

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