EC to underlying brain networks of executive attention, using a 

 spatial conflict as a laboratory marker task. Similar findings linking 

 parent-reported temperament EC to performance on laboratory at- 

 tention tasks have been described for 24-, 30-, and 36-month-olds 

 (Rothbart et al., 2003), 3- and 5-year-olds (Chang and Burns, 2005), 

 and for 7-year-olds (Gonzales et al., 2001). 



Daily Life 



Effortful control and the ANT executive attention scores have 

 been related to many aspects of child development. Effortful control 

 is related to the empathy that children show toward others, the abil- 

 ity to delay an action, and the ability to avoid such behaviors as 

 lying or cheating when given the opportunity in laboratory studies 

 (Rothbart and Rueda, 2005). There is also evidence that high levels 

 of effortful control and enhanced ability to resolve conflict are re- 

 lated to fewer antisocial behaviors such as truancy in adolescents 

 (Ellis et al., 2004). 



Genotypes 



We genotyped 200 normal New York adults who were tested with 

 the ANT We examined several candidate genes including the Do- 

 pamine 4 Receptor Gene, which had previously been related to both 

 the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and to a personality 

 trait called sensation seeking (Auerbach et al., 2001; Swanson et al., 

 1998). We found that alleles of this gene were related to perfor- 

 mance on the conflict subtraction of the ANT, but that these alleles 

 did not produce significant differences in RT, or on the other sub- 

 tractions. In addition, we found that a different polymorphism of 

 this gene was related to the strength of activation in the anterior 

 cingulate during a brain scan conducted while the persons performed 

 the ANT (Fan et al., 2005). 



However, there was a great puzzle in these data. The allele related 

 to ADHD and sensation seeking was the 7 repeat, but it was the 

 presence of the 4 repeat that produced the most difficulty in resolv- 

 ing conflict. In addition, Swanson and his associates (Swanson et 

 al., 2000) found that the 7 repeat, while more likely to be present 



