Prospective memory (PM) can be thought of as the ability to successfully form and later realize intentions that must be delayed over some period of time. In this study, event-related brain potentials were used to explore the neural activity associated with the formation and realization of an intention. Greater negativity over the frontal-polar region was associated with intention formation trials in which the intention was later realized. On PM cue trials, an N300 was associated with the detection of a cue. For PM cue trials, a late positive complex was observed that might have reflected the retrieval of an intention from memory, and a frontal slow wave was observed that might have reflected the activity of a neural system that supported disengagement from the ongoing activity when the cue was detected.

This article reviews the ®ndings of recent work investigating the neural correlates of prospective remembering conducted within the context of the noticing search model using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). The presentation of a PM cue was associated with a phasic negativity (N320) Ð whose topography may be modulated by the nature of the cue Ð and two sustained modulations of the ERPs. The ®rst of these modulations re¯ected a parietal positivity±right frontal negativity that differentiated PM cue trials from ongoing activity trials independent of whether or not a prospective response was made. The second of these modulations re¯ected a frontal±central positivity that differentiated PM cue trials which elicited a prospective response from PM cue trials that failed to elicit a prospective response and ongoing activity trials. Together these ®ndings indicate that successful prospective remembering arises from the activity of distinct neural processes that may support detection of the PM cue, recovery of the intention from memory, and the timely realization of the intention.