Prospective Memory Impairment in Mild Cognitive Impairment: An Analytical Review

Abstract

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a heterogeneous condition characterized by the presence in an otherwise healthy elderly individual of cognitive deficits involving specific domains in the absence of significant functional impairments. Reports indicate that prospective memory (PM), that is, the ability to remember to execute delayed intentions, is impaired in individuals with MCI. The present review discusses the current debate in the literature on PM functioning in MCI by focusing on the relationship between prospective retrieval and retrospective memory functioning. Analysis of the reported evidence revealed that both the prospective component and the retrospective component of PM can be impaired in MCI. Declarative memory dysfunction may account for the retrospective memory impairment, while either reduced executive abilities or a deficit of reflexive mechanisms could explain the prospective component impairment.

Prospective memory on a novel clinical task in older adults with mild cognitive impairment and subjective cognitive decline

“…Reasons include the high frequency of reported PM difficulties in this population and the association between PM difficulties and compromised activities of daily living and quality of life (Kliegel & Martin, 2003; Schmitter-Edgecombe et al, 2009; Sinnott, 1989; Woods et al, 2012). Recent analytic reviews support a PM deficit in aMCI as compared to elderly controls and call attention to the need for additional valid and reliable clinical measurements (Costa, Caltagirone, et al, 2011; van den Berg et al, 2012). Our results for nondepressed, demographically diverse older adults are consistent with previous studies of PM in aMCI, which show reliable evidence of PM decrements regardless of type of task used.…”

“…To our knowledge, there are 14 published empirical investigations of PM in MCI (Blanco-Campal, Coen, Lawlor, Walsh, & Burke, 2009; Costa et al, 2010; Costa, Perri, et al, 2011; Delprado et al, 2012; Delprado, Kinsella, Ong, & Pike, 2013; Karantzoulis et al, 2009; Kazui et al, 2005; Pino, Poletti, & Caffarra, 2013; Schmitter-Edgecombe, Woo, & Greeley, 2009; Tam & Schmitter-Edgecombe, 2013; Thompson, Henry, Rendell, Withall, & Brodaty, 2010; Thompson, Henry, Withall, Rendell, & Brodaty, 2011; Troyer & Murphy, 2007; Wang, Guo, Zhao, & Hong, 2012), two comprehensive review articles (Costa, Caltagirone, & Carlesimo, 2011; van den Berg et al, 2012), and a number of studies of PM in “mild” or “preclinical” dementia (Jones, Livner, & Backman, 2006; Will et al, 2009). This literature is heterogeneous with regard to type of PM tasks used, recruitment strategies, and diagnostic criteria implemented for MCI, leading to inconsistency in findings.…”

“…Nonetheless, almost all studies find that individuals with MCI perform significantly worse than older adult controls on clinical, experimental, and naturalistic PM tasks (Blanco-Campal et al, 2009; Costa et al, 2010; Costa, Perri, et al, 2011; Delprado et al, 2012, 2013; Karantzoulis et al, 2009; Tam & Schmitter-Edgecombe, 2013; Troyer & Murphy, 2007; Thompson et al, 2010; Schmitter-Edgecombe et al, 2009; Wang et al, 2012). In addition, while failure of a retrospective task component may impact PM performance, a failure of the prospective task component also impacts performance (i.e., individuals with MCI may fail to activate a prospective intention even when memory of the intention is preserved) (Costa, Carlesimo, & Caltagirone, 2012; Costa, Caltagirone, et al, 2011; Costa, Perri, et al, 2011; Pino et al, 2013; Schmitter-Edgecombe et al, 2009; Thompson et al, 2010). Some studies show greater deficit on time-based as compared to event-based PM tasks for cognitively healthy elderly subjects (Delprado et al, 2012) or those with MCI (Costa et al, 2010; Delpardo et al, 2012; Troyer & Murphy, 2007).…”

Differential Focal and Nonfocal Prospective Memory Accuracy in a Demographically Diverse Group of Nondemented Community-Dwelling Older Adults

“…In accordance with the Multiprocess Theory, a focal versus nonfocal test approach may be optimal for investigating the neurocognitive networks and brain systems that mediate the prospective component (Costa, Caltagirone, & Carlesimo, 2011; McDaniel, Shelton, Breneiser, Moynan, & Balota, 2011; Tam & Schmitter-Edgecombe, 2013). In a focal PM task, the ongoing activity directs focal attention to the PM cue and therefore places little executive control demand on the test-taker.…”

Prospective Memory Performance of Patients with Parkinson’s Disease Depends on Shifting Aptitude: Evidence from Cognitive Rehabilitation

“…PM failure is a common complaint of people suffering from memory disorders (Smith, Della Sala, Logie, & Maylor, 2000) and an early indicator of age-related cognitive changes and dementia (Costa, Caltagirone, & Carlesimo, 2011;Costa, Carlesimo, & Caltagirone, 2012;Schmitter-Edgecombe, Greeley, & Woo, 2009;Troyer & Murphy, 2007).…”