Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 20, 2026

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotional Autobiographical Recollection
Published on: August 26, 2011
Age-related differences in the neural correlates of remembering time-based intentions
Giorgia Cona1, Giorgio Arcara, Vincenza Tarantino
1Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, Padua, Italy. giorgia.cona@unipd.it
Abstract:
The present study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to explore the effect of age on the neural correlates of monitoring processes involved in time-based prospective memory. In both younger and older adults, the addition of a time-based prospective memory task to an ongoing task led to a sustained ERP activity broadly distributed over the scalp. Older adults, however, did not exhibit the slow wave activity observed in younger adults over prefrontal regions, which is considered to be associated with retrieval mode. This finding indicates that age-related decline in intention maintenance might be one source of the impaired prospective memory performance displayed by older adults. An 'anterior shift' in scalp distribution of the P3 was observed in older adults, and was related to lower levels of accuracy in prospective memory performance. This relationship suggests that possible factors responsible for age-related decline in prospective memory performance include the decreased efficiency of executive/frontal functions as well as the reduced amount of resources available for the prospective memory task.
Related Concept Videos
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory
Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory
Implicit Memories
One key aspect of implicit...
Interference and Decay
Interference occurs when competing memories hinder the retrieval of particular information. It can be classified into two types: proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive...
Long-Term Memory
Long-term memory can be categorized into two primary types: explicit and implicit memory. Explicit memory, also known as declarative memory, involves the conscious recollection of information that we deliberately try to remember, recall, and articulate. This type of memory encompasses specific facts, events, and...
Role of Neurotransmitters in Memory
Glutamate and Synaptic Plasticity
Glutamate, the brain's main excitatory neurotransmitter, is critical for...
