Objectives: Prospective memory (PM), the ability to execute delayed intentions, has received increasing attention in neuropsychology and gerontology. Most of this research is motivated by the claim that PM is critical for maintaining functional independence; yet, there is a dearth of empirical evidence to back up the claims. Thus, the present study tested whether PM predicts functional independence in older adults using validated behavioral performance measures for both PM and functional independence. Methods: Fifty-eight healthy older adults performed a computerized PM paradigm, the Virtual Week task, as well as a timed version of an instrumental activities of daily living (TIADL) task. Furthermore, we assessed vocabulary, processing speed, and self-reported prospective remembering. Results: TIADL scores correlated significantly with performance in the Virtual Week task, vocabulary, and processing speed. Hierarchical linear regressions revealed that vocabulary and Virtual Week performance were significant predictors for TIADL. However, self-reported PM scores did not predict everyday functioning. Conclusions: The findings indicate that PM is an important cognitive ability for successful and independent everyday life beyond vocabulary. Moreover, the results show a substantial incremental contribution of intact PM performance for the prediction of everyday functioning by using objective PM measures. (JINS, 2018, 24, 640–645)

Numerous studies have demonstrated that prospective memory (PM) abilities are impaired following traumatic brain injury (TBI). PM refers to the ability to remember to complete a planned action following a delay. PM post-TBI has been shown to be related to performance on neuropsychological tests of executive functioning and retrospective episodic memory (RM). However, the relative influence of impairments in RM versus executive functioning on PM performance post-TBI remains uninvestigated. In the current study, PM and neuropsychological test performance were examined in 45 persons with a history of moderate to severe TBI at least 1 year before enrollment. Regression analyses examined the relative contributions of RM and executive functioning in the prediction of PM performance on the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test (RBMT). Results indicated that scores on tests of delayed RM and rule monitoring (i.e., ability to avoid making errors on executive measures) were the strongest predictors of PM. When the interaction between RM impairment and rule monitoring was examined, a positive relationship between PM and rule monitoring was found only in TBI participants with impaired RM. Results suggest that PM performance is dependent upon rule monitoring abilities only when RM is impaired following TBI. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–11)

This study investigated the effect of cognitive training aimed at improving shifting ability on Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients’ performance of prospective memory (PM) tasks. Using a double-blind protocol, 17 PD patients were randomly assigned to two experimental arms. In the first arm (n=9) shifting training was administered, and in the second (placebo) arm (n=8), language and respiratory exercises. Both treatments consisted of 12 sessions executed over 4 weeks. PM and shifting measures (i.e., Trail Making Test and Alternate Fluency Test) were administered at T0 (before treatment) and T1 (immediately after treatment). A mixed analysis of variance was applied to the data. To evaluate the effects of treatment, the key effect was the interaction between Group (experimental vs. placebo) and Time of Assessment (T0 vs. T1). This interaction was significant for the accuracy indices of the PM procedure (p<.05) and for the performance parameters of the shifting tasks (p≤.05). Tukey’s HSD tests showed that in all cases passing from T0 to T1 performance significantly improved in the experimental group (in all cases p≤.02) but remained unchanged in the placebo group (all p consistently>.10). The performance change passing from T0 to T1 on the Alternate Fluency test and the PM procedure was significantly correlated (p<.05). Results show that the cognitive training significantly improved PD patients’ event-based PM performance and suggest that their poor PM functioning might be related to reduced shifting abilities. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–10)

As the field of prospective memory (ProM) research has expanded, recognition of the need to make a clinical diagnosis of ProM difficulties has also increased. In addition, there is increasing interest in understanding in more detail the ways in which ProM deficits differ in populations with different underlying neurological dysfunctions. While questionnaires, naturalistic studies and laboratory studies have all been invaluable in furthering our understanding of ProM, until recently there has not been a standardised clinical measure. The Memory for Intentions Screening Test (MIST) was designed to be a relatively brief clinical measure of ProM in clinical populations. The MIST allows for comparisons of performance with event-based and time-based cues. The MIST also has some items with a short (2-minute) and some with a long (15-minute) delay period. Finally, the MIST contains items that require a verbal response as well as items that require an action response. The MIST has now been used in studies of normal ageing as well as a range of clinical populations, including individuals with traumatic brain injury, individuals with HIV infection and individuals with schizophrenia. The psychometric properties of the MIST have been found to be acceptable. Data from each of the clinical populations that have been administered the MIST demonstrate good specificity and sensitivity of the measure as well as the ability to begin to make comparisons about different patterns of performance between disease types.