A Comparison of Time-Based and Event-Based Prospective Memory: Effects of Delay

Objectives. Prospective memory (PM) consists of remembering to perform an action that was previously planned. The recovery and execution of these actions require attentional resources. Mindfulness, as a state or a dispositional trait, has been associated with better attentional abilities. In this study, we investigated the impact of mindfulness on PM. Methods. Eighty participants learned 15 cue-action associations. They were, then, asked to recall the actions at certain moments (time-based items) or places (event-based items) during a walk in a virtual town. Before the PM task, participants were randomly assigned to a mindfulness or mind-wandering (control condition) session. Dispositional mindfulness was measured via the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). Results. We found no difference between the two groups in the PM scores. Nevertheless, the natural tendency to describe one's own sensations (the Describing facet of the FFMQ) predicted time-based performance in both groups. Conclusions. To our knowledge, this study is the first to explore the link between mindfulness and PM. We did not report any effect of a short mindfulness session, compared to mind-wandering, on PM. We discuss different hypotheses to explain this finding. Our main observation is a positive link between the Describing facet and time-based PM performances. We propose that this link could be due to the common association of this mindfulness facets and PM with attentional and interoceptive abilities. Additional studies are needed to explore this hypothesis.

Download Full-text

Event-Based Prospective Memory Deficit in Children with ADHD: Underlying Cognitive Factors and Association with Symptoms

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18115849 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 5849

Author(s):

Floriana Costanzo ◽

Elisa Fucà ◽

Deny Menghini ◽

Antonella Rita Circelli ◽

Giovanni Augusto Carlesimo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prospective Memory ◽

Positive Influence ◽

Attentional Focus ◽

Adhd Group ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Children With Adhd ◽

The Road ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Event Based

Event-based prospective memory (PM) was investigated in children with Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), using a novel experimental procedure to evaluate the role of working memory (WM) load, attentional focus, and reward sensitivity. The study included 24 children with ADHD and 23 typically-developing controls. The experimental paradigm comprised one baseline condition (BC), only including an ongoing task, and four PM conditions, varying for targets: 1 Target (1T), 4 Targets (4T), Unfocal (UN), and Reward (RE). Children with ADHD were slower than controls on all PM tasks and less accurate on both ongoing and PM tasks on the 4T and UN conditions. Within the ADHD group, the accuracy in the RE condition did not differ from BC. A significant relationship between ADHD-related symptoms and reduced accuracy/higher speed in PM conditions (PM and ongoing trials), but not in BC, was detected. Our data provide insight on the adverse role of WM load and attentional focus and the positive influence of reward in the PM performance of children with ADHD. Moreover, the relation between PM and ADHD symptoms paves the road for PM as a promising neuropsychological marker for ADHD diagnosis and intervention.

Download Full-text