Alpha/Beta Oscillatory Power Modulates Ongoing Task Performance during Strategic Monitoring in Prospective Remembering

Prospective memory (PM), enabling execution of future intentions, underpins goal-directed behaviour, such as medication compliance and remembering appointments, making it crucial to independent living. Its deterioration in neurocognitive disorders including dementia and traumatic brain injury render it among the most common memory failure complaints. We investigated the impact of oscillatory power modulation during strategic monitoring on performance in an ongoing task to shed light on the neurocognitive mechanisms that underpin PM. Methods: Forty-four healthy adults performed a 2-back working memory (WM) task using coloured letters, either with (with-PM) or without a PM component (no-PM), during EEG recording. The with-PM group responded to a particular colour, assigned as the PM cue. Oscillatory spectral power in WM trials was contrasted between groups using cluster-based permutation testing, and partial least squares were calculated between power and WM performance measures. Results: The with-PM group had lower accuracy and slower reaction times in the WM task. The performance costs align with strategic monitoring effects. Central-parietal alpha/beta oscillatory power was greater in the with-PM group. Early Alpha/beta-band power was associated with slower responses in the no-PM condition, whereas oscillatory power was linked to improved accuracy/reaction times in the with-PM condition. Conclusions: Early alpha/beta power in the with-PM task fits with active PM maintenance during strategic monitoring. Alpha/beta-band activity showed a context-dependent role, relating to reduced cognitive flexibility during WM alone but supporting goal maintenance under prospective monitoring. The findings shed new light on the neural mechanisms underpinning memory and attentional control.