Prospective memory

Heffernan TM, Ling J, Scholey AB. Subjective ratings of prospective memory deficits in MDMA ( ecstasy ) users. Hum Psychopharmacol 2001 16(4) 339 14. 

Dieckmaim, R, Reddersen, S., Wehner, T., Rail, M., Prospective Memory Failures as an Unexplored Threat to Patient Safety Results from a Pilot Study Using Patient Simulators to Investigate the Missed Execution of Intentions, Ergonomics, Vol. 49, No. 5-6,2006, pp. 526-543. 

The chapter that follows contrasts both method and field of inspiration. Experiments on prospective memory are applied to the domain of air traffic controllers with implications for their selection. Cognitive experimental psychology, one of the first areas of psychology to be applied to aviation, still has something new to offer to this domain. The computer-based task has the simplicity necessary for selection systems and this chapter introduces the concept and rmderstanding of prospective memory in a way that allows industry and selection professionals to benefit from its insight. 

The Importance of Prospective Memory for the Selection of Air Traffic Controllers... 

Air traffic controllers are responsible for the safe travel of multiple aircraft simultaneously. A timely but complex set of commands must be communicated for a safe flight operation, particularly in congested airspace. For example, in 1991 a tower controller instmcted an aircraft to hold on Runway 24, intending to clear it for take-off as soon as other traffic had passed. The controller was pre-occupied with making radio transmissions and monitoring other aircraft that caused the take-off clearance to be forgottea Instead, another plane was ordered to land on Runway 24, which resulted in a catastrophic accident (Aviation Safety Netwoik, 1991). This human error can, at least partially, be attributed to a memory failure exacerbated by multiple tasks that needed to be performed by the responsible controller. The specific kind of memory that was deficient in this case is called prospective memory. 

Prospective memory is defined as the ability to remember and execute specific delayed tasks without being prompted at the desired time of execution, in other words remembering to remember (Einstein, McDatuel, Williford, Pagan, and Dismukes, 2003 Nowinski and Dismukes, 2005). 

There are two types of prospective memory time based and event based (Kliegel, Martin, McDaniel, and Einstein, 2001 Logie, May lor, Della Sala, and Smith, 2004 Smith, 2003). Time based, also called self cued prospective memory, is when the task has to be executed at a specific arrd fixed time for example going to an appointment at ten o clock. Event based or extenrally cued is the one most relevant to ATC. At the onset of a certain event one must be triggered to execute a specific command in the above example, ATC has to clear a plarre to take-off, therefore ATC mirst take irrto accormt that mrrltiple prospective tasks can occrrr simirltaneously. 

The experiment presented here tests whether prospective memory is a qrrality that is acqrtired over time or whether it is an innate quality. If it is acqrtired over time, ATC training may focus on this quality. In this case, prospective memory can be used as a performance marker over time. Whereas, if proven to be innate, it may become a deciding factor drrring the selection process. 

Event based prospective memory tasks are relatively simple to simrrlate in experimental settings. Subjects are asked to respond to the appearance of the prospective cue while simultaneously performing a cover task drrring the delay period. The prospective task should be of the same nature as the cover task, since this is how they usually present themselves in real life (Stone, Dismukes, and Remingtorr, 2001). Contrary to general expectations none of the experiments included in the literature formd proof for a decay of performance due to an increasing delay period (Brandimonte and Passolunghi, 1994 Eirrstein et al.,... 

Nevertheless, one of the previonsly pnbhshed ejqreriments also nsed a dynamic, simultaneons, event-based prospective memory task (Stone et al., 2001). Stone s experiment consisted of thirteen independent trials of seven minntes long. Each such trial contained three different overlapping prospective cnes with delay times of one, three and five minutes. The prospective signal was presented in the middle of the screen for the drrration of ten seconds. After orfiy three prospective cues a trial was over and snbjects had a break before starting a new trial. This break time... 

Where the results on the delay times provide interesting material for future experiments, the main question about prospective memory has been answered. The results suggest that it is an innate quality, and thus, an appropriate early selection marker for ATC. More importantly, it suggests that prospective memory provides an initial predictor of future performance. 

Einsteirr, G.O., MeDaniel, M.A., Thomas, R., Mayfield, S., Shank, H., Morrisette, N. and J. Breneiser (2005). Mrrltiple proeesses in prospective memory retrieval faetors determining monitoring versus spontaneous retrieval. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 134(3), 327. 

Kliegel, M., Martin, M., McDaniel, M.A. and Einstein, G.O. (2001). Varying the importance of a prospective memory task differential effects across time- and event-based prospective memory. Memory, 9(1), 1-11. 

McDaniel, M.A., Guynn, M.J., Einstein, G.O. and Breneiser, J. (2004). Cue-focused and reflexive-associative processes in prospective memory retrieval. Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition, 30(3), 605-14. 

Nowinski, J.L. andDismukes, K. (2005). Effects of ongoing task context and target typicality on prospective memory performance the importance of associative cueing. Memory, 13(6), 649-57. 

Smith, R.E. (2003). The cost of remembering to remember in event-based prospective memory investigating the capacity demands of delayed intention performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition, 29(3), 347-60. 

Stone, M., Dismukes, K. and Remington, R. (2001). Prospective memory in dynamic environments effects of load, delay, and phonological rehearsal. Memory, 9(3), 165-76. 

Uyttendaele and de Voogt consider that the ability to remember and execute specific delayed tasks without being prompted to do it, that is, prospective memory, is central for air traffic controllers and also propose its inclusion in air traffic controllers selection processes. Similarly, the suggestion follows the use of computerized tasks that try to tap distinct psychological contributions. 

The different components in the chain of safety discussed in this volume reflect concerns that involve different organizational levels from micro-interventions that reflect basic psychological processes such as prospective memory to macroproposals that involve using previous experiences as training tools. A multi-level approach is therefore needed for improvements in performance and systems safety to take place. 

Morris, RE. (1992), Prospective Memory Remembering to Do Things, inAspects of Memory. Vol The Practical Aspects eds Grunebeig, M. M. and Morris, R, second edn, London Routledge. 

Rendell PG, Mazur M, Henry JD. Prospective memory impairment in former users of methamphetamine. Psychopharmacology 2009 204 609-16. 

Prospective memory, which involves remembering future intentions, has been reported to be negatively affected by MDMA in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, two-way crossover study of a single dose of MDMA 75 mg in 12 recreational MDMA users [42 ]. A single dose of MDMA increased the number of prospective memory failures, which correlated with plasma MDMA concentration. Functional imaging showed that MDMA decreased BOLD activation in the left thalamus, left putamen, left precuneus, and the bilateral inferior parietal lobules. The authors concluded that loss of deactivation in the inferior parietal lobules may account for increments in memory failures observed during MDMA intoxication. The effect of MDMA on memory was small. The detrimental effect of MDMA did not correlate with lifetime use. There was a threefold intersubject variability in plasma concentrations of MDMA, implying that pharmacokinetic variables may play an important part in these effects. The authors speculated that MDMA suppresses brain processes that are normally involved in prospective memory. 

Prospective memory has been assessed in 20 adults with amfetamine abuse/depen-dence who were abstinent for an average period of 6 months and 20 metamfetamine-naive participants using Virtual Week , a laboratory measure that closely approximates the type of prospective memory tasks that actually occur in everyday life [43. Metamfetamine users were significantly impaired, and the deficits... 

Ramaekers JG, Kuypers KPC, Wingen M, Heinecke A, Formisano E. Involvement of inferior parietal lobules in prospective memory impairment during acute MDMA (ecstasy) intoxication an event-related fMRI study. Neuropsychopharmacology 2009 34 1641-8. 

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