Remembering to remember

In this episode of the podcast, Richard is joined by Antonina Pereira, Professor of Neuropsychology and Neuroscience at the University of Chichester.
They explore Antonina's research into prospective memory - our ability to remember to do things in the future - and how it relates to our wellbeing, our productivity and effectiveness at work, and discuss some simple ways to improve our ability to 'remember to remember'.
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Antonina’s research is particularly focused on Prospective Memory assessment and rehabilitation in prodromal Alzheimer’s disease through behavioural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigms.
If you've ever forgotten to post a letter, pick up milk or dial into a meeting, you'll know what we're talking about. Prospective memory is our ability to recall our behavioural intentions and carry them out at the right time. And while forgetting pick up milk is annoying, some failures of prospective memory can have serious consequences in safety-critical work environments or the home.
One of the key topics they discuss is the benefit of 'outsourcing' prospective memory to your physical environment. Using physical cues (like Antonina's example of leaving her car key out on the table to remind her to charge her car), written reminders and digital solutions on your smartphone - all remove the need to 'remember to remember', saving precious cognitive bandwidth and reducing the chance of forgetting.
If you have any comments or questions for Antonina, please get in touch. Email us at 'podcast at worklifepsych dot com' and we'll share her answers on a future episode. Or simply leave a comment below.
Thanks for watching!
RESOURCES FOR THIS
Antonina's profile page: www.chi.ac.uk/...
The Cognitive Ageing and Dementia Research Lab: www.chi.ac.uk/...
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