Imagine that: Self-imagination improves prospective memory in memory-impaired individuals with neurological damage

Abstract

Recent research has demonstrated that “self-imagination” – a mnemonic strategy developed by Grilli and Glisky (2010) – enhances episodic memory in memory-impaired individuals with neurological damage more than traditional cognitive strategies, including semantic elaboration and visual imagery. The present study investigated the effect of self-imagination on prospective memory in individuals with neurologically based memory deficits. In two separate sessions, 12 patients with memory impairment took part in a computerised general knowledge test that required them to answer multiple choice questions (i.e., ongoing task) and press the “1” key when a target word appeared in a question (i.e., prospective memory task). Prior to the start of the general knowledge test in each session, participants attempted to encode the prospective memory task with one of two strategies: self-imagination or rote-rehearsal. The findings revealed a “self-imagination effect (SIE)” in prospective memory as self-imagining resulted in better prospective memory performance than rote-rehearsal. These results demonstrate that the mnemonic advantage of self-imagination extends to prospective memory in memory-impaired individuals with neurological damage and suggest that self-imagination has potential in cognitive rehabilitation.

Keywords:

• Self-referential processing
• Implementation intentions
• Memory rehabilitation
• Brain damage

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by National Institute on Aging Grant AG14792. We would like to thank Dr. Elizabeth Glisky for her helpful comments. The authors have no conflicts of interest. A portion of this research was completed while Craig McFarland was at the VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.