Time-of-day effects on prospective memory

Christine Barner; Sarah R Schmid; Susanne Diekelmann

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112179

Time-of-day effects on prospective memory

Behav Brain Res. 2019 Dec 30:376:112179. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112179. Epub 2019 Aug 24.

Authors

Christine Barner¹, Sarah R Schmid², Susanne Diekelmann³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Straße 25, 72076 Tübingen, Germany. Electronic address: christine.barner@uni-tuebingen.de.
² Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Straße 25, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience (CCNS), Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunner Straße 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria. Electronic address: sarah.schmid@stud.sbg.ac.at.
³ Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Straße 25, 72076 Tübingen, Germany. Electronic address: susanne.diekelmann@uni-tuebingen.de.

PMID: 31454674
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112179

Abstract

Cognitive performance fluctuates during the course of a day. Different cognitive functions show optimal performance at different times of the day, known as the 'time-of-day effect'. While this effect has been observed for a number of cognitive domains including declarative memory, it is presently unclear whether performance fluctuations are also seen in prospective memory, i.e. memory for intentions to be realized in the future. The present study examined time-of-day effects in four different prospective memory tasks with varying degrees of complexity, taking into account circadian preference (i.e. morningness-eveningness/chronotype) and attentional resources (in one of the tasks). In a pilot study (n = 48) and a main experiment (n = 39), prospective memory was compared between morning groups (˜09:00) and evening groups (˜21:00) of young adults. We found time-of-day effects, with better performance in the evening than in the morning, in a simple one-item prospective memory task (Red Pencil Task, p = .02), a classical event-based prospective memory task including the detection of cue syllables in a lexical decision ongoing task (Syllable Detection Task, p < .048), and a rather naturalistic complex planning task for breakfast preparation (Dresden Breakfast Task, including time-based prospective memory (p = .026) and event-based prospective memory (p = .054)). These time-of-day effects were neither modulated by circadian preference nor by attentional resources. Another simple one-item prospective memory task was not affected by time of day (Color Task, p = .14). Ongoing task performance in the Syllable Detection Task and the Dresden Breakfast Task, overall, did not differ significantly between morning and evening groups. These findings provide tentative evidence for time-of-day effects in prospective memory of young adults, with better performance in the evening hours.

Keywords: Chronotype; Circadian preference; Morningness-eveningness; Prospective memory; Synchrony effect; Time-of-day effect.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Attention
Circadian Rhythm
Female
Humans
Male
Memory, Episodic*
Neuropsychological Tests
Photoperiod*
Time Factors
Young Adult