Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Neuropsychologia. 2011 Jul;49(8):2225-32. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.05.007. Epub 2011 May 17.
Event-based prospective memory (PM) is a multi-component process that requires remembering the delayed execution of an intended action in response to a pre-specified PM cue, while being actively engaged in an ongoing task. Some neuroimaging studies have suggested that both prefrontal and parietal areas are involved in the maintenance and realization of delayed intentions. In the present study, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to investigate the causal involvement of frontal and parietal areas in different stages of the PM process (in particular, target checking and intention retrieval), and to determine the specific contribution of these regions to PM performance. Our results demonstrate that repetitive TMS (rTMS) interferes with prospective memory performance when applied at 150-350 ms to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and at 400-600 ms when applied to the left posterior parietal cortex (PPC). The present study provides clear evidence that the right DLPFC plays a crucial role in early components of the PM process (target checking), while the left PPC seems to be mainly involved in later processes, such as the retrieval of the intended action.
基于事件的前瞻性记忆（PM）是一个多成分的过程，需要在积极参与当前任务的同时，记住延迟执行预先指定的 PM 线索的意图。一些神经影像学研究表明，前额叶和顶叶区域都参与了延迟意图的维持和实现。在本研究中，经颅磁刺激（TMS）被用于研究前额叶和顶叶区域在 PM 过程的不同阶段（特别是目标检查和意图检索）中的因果关系，并确定这些区域对 PM 表现的具体贡献。我们的结果表明，当右背外侧前额叶皮层（DLPFC）在 150-350 毫秒时，以及当左后顶叶皮层（PPC）在 400-600 毫秒时接受重复经颅磁刺激（rTMS）时，会干扰前瞻性记忆表现。本研究提供了明确的证据，表明右 DLPFC 在 PM 过程的早期成分（目标检查）中起着关键作用，而左 PPC 似乎主要参与后期过程，例如检索预期的行动。
