Deficits in cue detection and intention retrieval underlie prospective memory impairment in schizophrenia

Emerging evidence indicates that individuals with schizophrenia (SCZ) may exhibit deficits in prospective memory (ProM), a dissociable and ecologically important aspect of episodic memory entailing the formation, maintenance, and execution of future intentions. The present study aimed to elucidate the component processes of ProM impairment in 41 individuals with SCZ relative to 41 demographically similar healthy comparison (HC) participants. Results revealed that the SCZ group performed worse than HCs on overall ProM, with comparable deficits on time- and event-based ProM trials. In the SCZ cohort, better ProM performance was associated with younger age and less severe negative symptoms. Although a significantly greater number of Task Substitution and Loss of Time errors were evident in the SCZ group as compared to HCs, the most prevalent error type in SCZ was characterized by a complete failure to respond to the ProM cue. Importantly, the SCZ and HC groups did not differ on a post-test multiple-choice recognition trial, suggesting adequate formation and maintenance (i.e., retention) of the ProM cue-intention pairing when self-directed monitoring and retrieval demands were minimized. Findings indicate that SCZ is associated with impairment in the cue detection and self-initiated retrieval components of executing future intentions, which is consistent with a possible prefrontostriatal loop neuropathogenesis. Further studies are needed to explore the neurobiological mechanisms of SCZ-associated ProM impairment and the impact of such deficits on daily functioning (e.g., medication compliance).