Effects of intention load and background context on prospective remembering: an event-related brain potential study

Prospective remembering reflects the ability to realize intentions that must be delayed over some period of time. Recent evidence indicates that distinct modulations of the event-related brain potentials may be associated with the detection of a prospective memory cue (N300) and the recovery of an intention from memory (LPC, slow wave). The present experiments examined the degree to which these modulations were influenced by task manipulations that were expected to differentially influence cue detection and memory-related processes. Varying the number of intentions modulated the amplitude of a slow wave that may reflect memory-related processes. In contrast, varying the distinctiveness of the cues modulated the N300 and the early portion of the LPC indicating that this manipulation primarily influenced detection and categorization processes. These findings indicate that the N300, LPC and slow wave reflect functionally distinct processes associated with prospective memory.