Neural dynamics of prospective memory aftereffects: a comparative ERP study on focal and non-focal cue processing

Gan, Jiaqun; Wang, Mengyao; Chen, Yingying; Guo, Yunfei; Wang, Enguo · 2026 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1057/s41599-026-07063-9

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Summary

This study investigates the neural mechanisms underlying prospective memory (PM) aftereffects, specifically addressing whether these effects stem from resource-dependent strategic monitoring or resource-independent spontaneous retrieval. PM aftereffects refer to the interference caused by completed intentions, such as commission errors or slowed performance on subsequent tasks. The authors utilized event-related potentials (ERP) to examine how cue focality—defined by the degree of processing overlap between the PM cue and the ongoing task—influences these aftereffects. Focal cues share processing features with the ongoing task, while non-focal cues do not. The research aimed to determine if focal cues facilitate automatic retrieval whereas non-focal cues require attentional monitoring, thereby clarifying the debate between top-down and bottom-up processing theories. The experiment employed a between-subjects design with 95 university students divided into control, focal cue, and non-focal cue groups. Participants performed an ongoing color judgment task. In the focal condition, the PM cue was a red word (high overlap with color processing); in the non-focal condition, it was a specific semantic word ("tree") (low overlap). The study consisted of an active phase, where PM intentions were executed, and a finished phase, where participants performed only the ongoing task while PM cues were repeated but no longer relevant. Behavioral metrics included commission error rates and response time interference. EEG data were recorded using 62 electrodes, focusing on the N300 component (associated with cue detection) and the prospective positive wave (PP, associated with intention retrieval). Behavioral results indicated that both experimental groups exhibited significant commission errors and ongoing task interference compared to the control group, demonstrating that completed intentions remained activated rather than deactivated. However, there were no significant differences in behavioral outcomes between the focal and non-focal cue groups. ERP analysis revealed an enhanced amplitude of the prospective positive wave in the parieto-occipital region (400–600 ms post-stimulus) for both experimental groups relative to the control group. Contrary to the hypothesis that non-focal cues would elicit larger N300 and PP amplitudes due to higher monitoring demands, the data did not show differential neural impacts based on cue focality. The findings suggest that PM aftereffects are underpinned by a strategic monitoring process that requires attentional resources, regardless of whether the cues are focal or non-focal. The sustained activation of completed intentions leads to ongoing interference, supporting the attention-dependent hypothesis over the spontaneous retrieval account. This study highlights that the failure to forget completed intentions is a resource-consuming process, implying that individuals continue to allocate cognitive resources to monitor irrelevant cues even after a task is completed. These results contribute to the understanding of PM mechanisms by demonstrating that cue focality does not modulate the underlying neural dynamics of aftereffects, challenging previous assumptions about the automaticity of focal cue processing in this context.

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• prospective memory interruptions