Understanding the Neural Basis of Prospective Memory Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Yu Wen Koo; David L Neumann; Tamara Ownsworth; Michael K Yeung; David H K Shum

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2022.905491

Understanding the Neural Basis of Prospective Memory Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Front Hum Neurosci. 2022 Jun 16:16:905491. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.905491. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yu Wen Koo¹, David L Neumann¹, Tamara Ownsworth^{1

2}, Michael K Yeung³, David H K Shum³

Affiliations

¹ School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Mt Gravatt, QLD, Australia.
² The Hopkins Centre, Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia.
³ Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Abstract

Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to perform a planned action at an intended future time. This study examined the neural correlates of PM using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). This study employed a within-participants design. A laboratory PM task was adapted for use with fNIRS to investigate regions of interest and levels of brain activation during task performance in 32 participants (63% female, M_age = 21.31 years, SD_age = 4.62 years). Participants first completed a working memory (WM) task (N-back ongoing task) followed by a WM plus PM task while neural activity was measured using fNIRS. Behavioral results revealed an interference effect for reaction time on the WM task, whereby participants were significantly slower to respond in the WM plus PM task compared to the WM task. Ongoing task accuracies did not differ between the two conditions. fNIRS results revealed a higher level of neural activity in the fronto-polar prefrontal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the WM plus PM task compared to the WM Condition. These findings highlight that fNIRS is a suitable tool for studying and understanding the neural basis of PM.

Keywords: BA10; fNIRS (functional near infrared spectroscopy); prefrontal cortex; prospective memory (PM); young adults.