Article

Neuropsychological investigations of prospective memory (PM), representing memory
of future intentions or plans, have evolved over the past two decades. The
broadly accepted divisions involved in PM consist of a prospective memory
component (PMC), a process for remembering to remember, and a retrospective
memory component, a process for remembering the content of the intended action.
Previous functional neuroimaging studies have provided some evidence that the
rostral prefrontal cortex (BA10) is one of areas that is critical for prospective
remembering. However, the question of whether damage to part of the prefrontal
cortex affects attenuated performance for PMC remains unresolved. In this study,
74 participants with traumatic brain injury (TBI) including focal damage to
frontal or temporal lobe areas were administered thirteen standard
neuropsychological tests and the PM task. To identify influential areas
contributing to PM performance, discriminant function analysis was conducted. The
results indicated that the following three areas are highly contributory to PM
performance: the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; the right ventromedial
prefrontal cortex; and the left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Comparing
differences in neuropsychological test scores showed that orientation scores were
significantly higher in the greater PM performance group, suggesting that PMC
represents an integrated memory function associated with awareness of current
status. These data contribute to our understanding of the neural substrates and
functional characteristics of the PMC.
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Langue : ANGLAIS