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. 2012;7(2):e31659.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031659. Epub 2012 Feb 21.

Electrophysiological correlates of strategic monitoring in event-based and time-based prospective memory

Giorgia Cona  1 , Giorgio Arcara, Vincenza Tarantino, Patrizia Silvia Bisiacchi
Affiliations

Electrophysiological correlates of strategic monitoring in event-based and time-based prospective memory

Giorgia Cona et al. PLoS One. 2012.

Abstract

Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to accomplish an action when a particular event occurs (i.e., event-based PM), or at a specific time (i.e., time-based PM) while performing an ongoing activity. Strategic Monitoring is one of the basic cognitive functions supporting PM tasks, and involves two mechanisms: a retrieval mode, which consists of maintaining active the intention in memory; and target checking, engaged for verifying the presence of the PM cue in the environment. The present study is aimed at providing the first evidence of event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with time-based PM, and at examining differences and commonalities in the ERPs related to Strategic Monitoring mechanisms between event- and time-based PM tasks.The addition of an event-based or a time-based PM task to an ongoing activity led to a similar sustained positive modulation of the ERPs in the ongoing trials, mainly expressed over prefrontal and frontal regions. This modulation might index the retrieval mode mechanism, similarly engaged in the two PM tasks. On the other hand, two further ERP modulations were shown specifically in an event-based PM task. An increased positivity was shown at 400-600 ms post-stimulus over occipital and parietal regions, and might be related to target checking. Moreover, an early modulation at 130-180 ms post-stimulus seems to reflect the recruitment of attentional resources for being ready to respond to the event-based PM cue. This latter modulation suggests the existence of a third mechanism specific for the event-based PM; that is, the "readiness mode".

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Time windows considered for statistical analysis.
The plot shows the time windows considered for the statistical analysis (the ERPs shown are referred to the Time-Based condition). The four grey areas highlight the time windows considered: 130–180 ms, 180–300 ms, 400–600 ms, and 600–800 ms.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Grand average ERP waveforms for Event-based PM condition.
The plots show the ERPs time-locked to ongoing trials in baseline block (gray line) and in PM block (black line) of the electrodes in which the effects were mainly expressed. Since no between-hemisphere differences were found, only left electrodes are reported here.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Grand average ERP waveforms for Time-based PM condition.
The plots show the ERPs time-locked to ongoing trials in baseline block (gray line) and in PM block (black line) of the electrodes in which the effects were mainly expressed. Since no between-hemisphere differences were found, only left electrodes are reported here.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Scalp distribution of ERP differences in Event-based and Time-based PM conditions.
The amplitudes shown are obtained as differences PM block-minus-baseline block of the ERPs time-locked to ongoing trials. Average Maps are shown for the time windows in which the ERPs were analysed.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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