Clock monitoring is associated with age-related decline in time-based prospective memory

Abstract

In laboratory time-based prospective memory tasks, older adults typically perform worse than younger adults do. It has been suggested that less frequent clock checking due to problems with executive functions may be responsible. We aimed to investigate the role of clock checking in older adults’ time-based prospective memory and to clarify whether executive functions would be associated with clock checking and consequently, with time-based prospective memory. We included 62 healthy older adults (62-85 years of age) and applied tasks of time-based prospective memory as well as of executive functions (i.e., inhibition, fluency, and working memory). We used mediation analysis to test whether time-based prospective memory declined with advancing age due to less frequent clock checking. In addition, we tested whether there would be an association between executive functions and clock checking or time-based prospective memory. Time-based prospective memory declined with advancing age due to less frequent clock checking within 30s prior to intention completion. We only found a link between executive functions and clock checking (or time-based prospective memory) when not controlling for age. Our results support the importance of clock checking for time-based prospective memory and add to the current literature that older adults’ prospective memory declines because they are less able to adapt their clock checking. Yet, the reason why older adults are less able to adapt their clock checking still remains open. Our results do not indicate that executive function deficits play a central role.

The effect of loss incentives on prospective memory in healthy older adults: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial using ultra-high field fMRI

“…Alternatively, they check the clock rather seldomly and therefore, their intentions are not accomplished very timely. This would support previous studies showing that older adults do not check the clock as efficiently as younger adults do and therefore, their time-based prospective memory is less accurate [36,42]. In addition to dissecting at what point in the task participants' performance drops, our data will examine the neuroanatomy underpinning time-based and event-based prospective memory.…”

“…For time-based prospective memory, we will test whether an incentive influences how often participants check the clock. Similar to our previous study [36], we will divide the 30 s before and after each target time into four intervals: T -30 refers to the interval 30 to 15 s and T -15 to the interval 15 to 0 s before target time. T + 15 or T + 30 then correspond to the intervals 0 to 15 s and 15 to 30 s after the target time.…”

Time-based prospective memory in preschoolers – the role of time monitoring behavior

“…It is worth noting that despite the presence of this strategy, it remains relatively underdeveloped. In adults, a substantial difference exists between the number of glances in the first and last 15 s ( Schmidt et al, 2023 ). Adults tend to check the time more frequently toward the end, a pattern similarly observed in 10–14-year-old children ( Ceci and Bronfenbrenner, 1985 ).…”

Modulating prospective memory and attentional control with high-definition transcranial current stimulation: Study protocol of a randomized, double-blind, and sham-controlled trial in healthy older adults

“…We will include age as a covariate in all models since it significantly influenced prospective memory in our previous study [ 52 ]. We will control for any potential influence of mood or agitation on cognition and test, in an exploratory analysis, whether mood or heart rate of participants will influence attentional control or prospective memory.…”