Prospective memory functioning in mild cognitive impairment

The present study aimed to investigate prospective memory (PM) in persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Twenty individuals with MCI (10 with an amnestic profile and 10 with a dysexecutive profile of cognitive impairment) and 20 control subjects (CS) were recruited. In the PM tasks, subjects had to execute three actions after 20 min had elapsed (time-based condition) or after a timer rang (event-based condition). Separate scores were computed for correct recall of the intention to perform the actions (prospective component) and for correct execution of the actions (retrospective component).

Although individuals with MCI were less accurate than CS in both prospective (Cohen's d ranged from 1.04 to 2.23) and retrospective (Cohen's d ranged from 0.81 to 1.06) components of the experimental task, they were significantly more impaired in the former than the latter component (Cohen's d = 0.42). Moreover, the deficit in the prospective component of the time-based task was particularly evident in MCI participants presenting with a dysexecutive impairment in respect to amnestic MCI individuals (Cohen's d = 0.99).

Results of the present study show that the ability of subjects with MCI to comply effectively with a planned delayed intention is impaired and suggest that dysexecutive disorders are likely responsible for this deficit.