Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a genetic disorder best known for its physical effects, can also affect cognitive, behavioral and emotional development, leaving many children with challenges that extend beyond the condition's visible symptoms.

A new multi-institutional study co-authored by Assistant Professor Yang Hou, Ph.D., and postdoctoral scholars Dan Liu, Ph.D., and Xiaoli Zong, Ph.D., and colleagues examined how executive function skills, such as emotional control, cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control, are associated with mental health symptoms throughout childhood and adolescence. The findings provide one of the most comprehensive looks to date at these developmental relationships.

Researchers analyzed data from 1,049 assessments of 803 children with NF1, collected across nine institutions in the United States and Australia. The findings offer new insight into how executive function and mental health are connected across development in children with NF1.