Washington: Have you ever realized that when you plan on shopping for groceries, you tell yourself to remember to take the grocery bags with you, but when you reach the checkout counter, you realize that you`ve forgotten the bags.

New research from Washington University in St. Louis sheds light on the brain mechanisms that underlie a type of memory, known as prospective memory, revealing two distinct processes that support our ability to remember to remember.

"These findings suggest that people could make use of several different strategies to accomplish prospective memory tasks," study lead author Mark McDaniel, PhD, professor of psychology, in Arts and Sciences, at Washington University, said.

The research is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

ANI