A Meta-Analysis and Critical Review of Prospective Memory in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Julia Landsiedel,David M. Williams,Kirsten Abbot-Smith

doi:10.1007/s10803-016-2987-y

Julia Landsiedel, David M. Williams + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2987-y

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Abstract

Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to carry out a planned intention at an appropriate moment in the future. Research on PM in ASD has produced mixed results. We aimed to establish the extent to which two types of PM (event-based/time-based) are impaired in ASD. In part 1, a meta-analysis of all existing studies indicates a large impairment of time-based, but only a small impairment of event-based PM in ASD. In Part 2, a critical review concludes that time-based PM appears diminished in ASD, in line with the meta-analysis, but that caution should be taken when interpreting event-based PM findings, given potential methodological limitations of several studies. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Highlights

Prospective MemoryProspective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to carry out planned actions at the appropriate point in the future (McDaniel and Einstein 2007)
There should be a delay between formation of an intention to act and the execution of that intention; if there was no delay, the task would be more akin to a vigilance/monitoring task than a PM task, because the intention can be held in short-term/working memory for the entire period between formation and execution (Graf and Uttl 2001)
This revealed a significant weighted effect of −0.43 (SE 0.13, 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.69 to −0.17; z = 3.20, p < .01). Both models indicate a small impairment of event-based PM in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the underlying effect sizes are heterogeneous across studies

Summary

Introduction

Prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to carry out planned actions at the appropriate point in the future (McDaniel and Einstein 2007). McDaniel and Einstein (2007) have outlined the core characteristics of a PM task as follows. There must be a consciously formed intention or plan that should be carried out in the future. There should be a delay between formation of an intention to act and the execution of that intention; if there was no delay, the task would be more akin to a vigilance/monitoring task than a PM task, because the intention can be held in short-term/working memory for the entire period between formation and execution (Graf and Uttl 2001). A person needs to consciously interrupt the ongoing task to perform their intended action for the task to be considered a measure of PM

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