Prospective memory: A comparative perspective

• A number of animal models of prospective memory have been developed.
• Rodent models are useful for exploring neural substrates and clinical conditions.
• Non-human primates are useful for studying developmental pathways and competencies.
• Comparative approaches are useful to explore insights and theories of human prospective memory.

Prospective memory consists of forming a representation of a future action, temporarily storing that representation in memory, and retrieving it at a future time point. Here, we review the recent development of animal models of prospective memory. We review experiments using rats that focus on the development of time-based and event-based prospective memory. Next, we review a number of prospective-memory approaches that have been used with a variety of non-human primates. Finally, we review selected approaches from the human literature on prospective memory to identify targets for development of animal models of prospective memory.This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: “Tribute to Tom Zentall”.