Samenvatting

Executive functions (EF) are higher order brain functions that are crucial for self-regulation, which may be negatively influenced by an impoverished environment. Since prison can be characterized as an impoverished environment, we studied whether EF and self-regulation decline during imprisonment. While EF are already often impaired in antisocial and criminal populations, we found a decline in attention and self-regulation after three months of imprisonment. We discuss the implications of our findings regarding recidivism and propose to aim for an improvement in executive functions during imprisonment, by enriching the prison environment.