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Samantha Freis

Predoctoral Trainee

Institute for Behavioral Genetics

Institute for Behavioral Genetics
447 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0447

Research Interests:

My interests include using behavioral genetic and geospatial methods to examine research questions focused on genetic and environmental influences on executive functions and their relations to other cognitive functions, psychopathology, substance use, and self-regulation.

Mentor:

Naomi Friedman

Additional Resources:

External website

Highlighted publications

Phenotypic factor model of the unity/diversity model executive function (EF) originally presented in Freis et al. (2022) (A) and the correlated factors model of psychopathology (B).

Executive Functions and Impulsivity as Transdiagnostic Correlates of Psychopathology in Childhood: A Behavioral Genetic Analysis

Though conceptually similar, a growing body of literature suggests that task-based EF and questionnaire-based impulsivity measures are not highly correlated and independently relate to academic and behavioral outcomes. Our findings indicate that EFs and impulsivity are separable and independently transdiagnostically related to psychopathology in middle childhood. Further, these findings underscore the importance of incorporating multiple measures of control in self-regulation studies.

(Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2022)

Genetic and environmental influences on executive functions and intelligence in middle childhood

Executive functions (EFs) and intelligence (IQ) are phenotypically correlated but sometimes conflated. This paper examined the phenotypic and genetic structure of the EF assessments and their relation to IQ in a large, representative national sample of children (the ABCD study). Our results suggest that EFs and IQ are phenotypically but not genetically separable in middle childhood, meaning that environmental factors may influence this phenotypic separability.

(Developmental Science, 2021)

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