"Remember to take your medication": Prospective memory in Korsakoff's syndrome.

BACKGROUND

While event-based prospective memory refers to enacting intending action in response to a specific event or cue ("e.g., When I tell you there are 10 minutes left, please give me this stopwatch"), time-based prospective memory refers to enacting intending action in relation to a specific time ("In 10 minutes time, please ask me for a pencil"). Relative to event-based prospective memory, little is known about time-based prospective memory in Korsakoff's syndrome (KS).

METHOD

We used behavioral tasks to investigate event- and time-based prospective memory as well as episodic memory and executive function in patients with KS and control participants.

RESULTS

Analysis demonstrated lower event- and time-based prospective memory in patients with KS than in control participants. Interestingly, we found lower time-based than event-based prospective memory in patients with KS. Further, significant correlations were observed between prospective memory and episodic memory and executive function in the patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Prospective memory is important for everyday life tasks, and failures of prospective memory can endanger patients' safety. One clinical implication of our findings is the importance of including an evaluation of prospective memory in cognitive evaluation of KS.