ABSTRACT

Prospective memory (PM), the ability to remember to execute planned actions, and episodic future thinking (EFT), the ability to imagine future personal events, are two core aspects of future-oriented cognition. The present study aimed for the first time at examining the role of semantic memory loss in PM and EFT in a single case patient (SL) at the early stage of semantic dementia.

First, we investigated various types of PM as well as episodic memory of new events using a validated ecological assessment via virtual reality. Second, we examined EFT using a temporally extended version of the TEMPau task, which measures episodic aspects of remembering the past and imagining the future taking temporal distance into account.

Patient SL was deficient in semantically linked event-based PM and was unable to provide any EFT for the most distant period but was preserved in other types of PM and near and intermediate EFT.

These findings provide new evidence on the role of semantic memory in PM depending on the type of intention and in EFT depending on the temporal distance mirroring autobiographical memory. Finally, they point out a specific link between PM and near EFT in future-oriented cognition.

摘要

前瞻性记忆 (PM)，记住执行计划行动的能力，和情景未来思维 (EFT)，想象未来个人事件的能力，是面向未来的认知的两个核心方面。本研究首次旨在检查语义性痴呆早期单个病例 (SL) 中语义记忆丧失在 PM 和 EFT 中的作用。

首先，我们通过虚拟现实使用经过验证的生态评估来研究各种类型的 PM 以及新事件的情景记忆。其次，我们使用 TEMPau 任务的时间扩展版本检查了 EFT，该任务在考虑时间距离的情况下测量了记住过去和想象未来的情节方面。

患者 SL 在语义关联的基于事件的 PM 中存在缺陷，无法在最远时期提供任何 EFT，但在其他类型的 PM 以及近中 EFT 中保留。

这些发现为语义记忆在 PM 中的作用提供了新的证据，这取决于意图的类型，而在 EFT 中的作用取决于时间距离镜像自传体记忆。最后，他们指出了在面向未来的认知中 PM 和近 EFT 之间的特定联系。