title: Imagine that: self-imagination improves prospective memory in memory-impaired individuals with neurological damage.
abstract: Recent research has demonstrated that "self-imagination" - a mnemonic strategy developed by Grilli and Glisky  (2010)  - enhances episodic memory in memory-impaired individuals with neurological damage more than traditional cognitive strategies, including semantic elaboration and visual imagery. The present study investigated the effect of self-imagination on prospective memory in individuals with neurologically based memory deficits. In two separate sessions, 12 patients with memory impairment took part in a computerised general knowledge test that required them to answer multiple choice questions (i.e., ongoing task) and press the "1" key when a target word appeared in a question (i.e., prospective memory task). Prior to the start of the general knowledge test in each session, participants attempted to encode the prospective memory task with one of two strategies: self-imagination or rote-rehearsal. The findings revealed a "self-imagination effect (SIE)" in prospective memory as self-imagining resulted in better prospective memory performance than rote-rehearsal. These results demonstrate that the mnemonic advantage of self-imagination extends to prospective memory in memory-impaired individuals with neurological damage and suggest that self-imagination has potential in cognitive rehabilitation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA. mdgrilli@email.arizona.edu
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Grilli
authors.forename: Craig P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: McFarland
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D055815:Young Adult