Date of Award

Spring 2015

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Major

Neuroscience

First Advisor

Sarah A. Raskin, Ph.D

Second Advisor

Kent Dunlap, Ph.D

Abstract

Prospective memory (PM) involves the ability to form and realize intentions after a time delay (Einstein & McDaniel, 1990). This study examines the relationship between clinical measures of PM and an event-related potential paradigm (West & Ross-Munroe, 2002). Electrophysiological and behavioral data were collected while subjects performed a computerized laboratory PM measure and was compared to a clinical measure, the Memory for Intentions Screening Test (MIST) (Raskin, Buckheit, & Sherrod, 2011) in healthy adults (HA), individuals with severe acquired brain injury (sABI) and mild acquired brain injury (mABI). Individuals with sABI performed significantly worse than individuals with mABI and HA on all variables of the MIST. Individuals with sABI showed reduced amplitude for ERPs that have been associated with intention formation and intention retrieval when compared to individuals with mABI and HA. In addition, total score on the MIST was related to variables associated with attention retrieval. Overall, these findings suggest that individuals with sABI have deficits in PM compared to individuals with mABI and HA and that the MIST may be a valid measure of underlying brain processes of PM.

Comments

Senior thesis completed at Trinity College for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience.

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