The neural and behavioral correlates of target checking in prospective memory

Scolaro, Ashley Jean · 2018 · Crossref

DOI: 10.31274/etd-180810-1684

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Summary

This dissertation investigates the neural and behavioral correlates of "target checking," a specific component of strategic monitoring in prospective memory (PM). Prospective memory involves remembering to execute a delayed intention at an appropriate future time or context. While existing theories, such as the Multiprocess Theory and the Preparatory Attentional and Memory Processes (PAM) theory, acknowledge the role of strategic monitoring, there is limited understanding of the distinct neural mechanisms underlying target checking—the process of actively scanning the environment for prospective cues. This research addresses that gap by utilizing event-related potentials (ERPs) to isolate the physiological signatures of target checking within a lexical decision task framework. The study comprises three experiments designed to elucidate the ERP components associated with target checking. Experiment 1 identified two primary ERP components linked to this process: a posterior negativity occurring between 300–400 ms and a late positive component (LPC) occurring between 600–1000 ms. Experiment 2 manipulated the "wordiness" of nonword stimuli (comparing orthographic neighbor nonwords to letter string nonwords) to determine if the posterior negativity functions as an attentional filter based on lexical or semantic representations. Experiment 3 varied the number of prospective memory cues (two versus six) to test the hypothesis that the LPC is associated with memory retrieval processes. The results indicate that target checking involves two distinct temporal processes. The posterior negativity (300–400 ms) appears to reflect an early process involving the representation of a stimulus, potentially functioning as an attentional filter that differentiates stimuli based on lexical representations. However, participants could circumvent this filter under certain conditions, as the posterior negativity was not present for orthographic neighbor nonwords. The late positive component (600–1000 ms) was found to be associated with retrieval processes from memory. Evidence for this conclusion comes from Experiment 3, where the amplitude of the LPC was significantly greater in the condition with six prospective cues compared to the condition with two cues, suggesting increased retrieval demand. These findings contribute to the understanding of prospective memory by providing empirical evidence for the neural dissociation of target checking components. The results support the Retrieval Mode plus Target-Checking (RM+TC) model, confirming that target checking is not a monolithic process but involves an early stage of stimulus representation and filtering followed by a later stage of memory retrieval. This distinction clarifies the cognitive architecture of strategic monitoring and offers a more granular view of how individuals successfully realize delayed intentions amidst ongoing activities.

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• prospective memory interruptions