Alzheimer's Research Study

Purpose of Study:

The focus of this research is to examine the effects of Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders on cognitive functioning. The study consists of four test sessions, each lasting between 45 minutes to an hour. During the test sessions, participants will be asked to complete various types of tasks including answering questions about general health and mood, paper and pencil problem-solving tasks, and several computer tasks. The computer tasks will examine memory performance, language ability, and perception of objects and participants will be asked to make a quick yes/no-type decision about the item displayed on the computer screen. In addition to this, the caregiver/informant accompanying the participant will be asked to answer a few questions regarding the participant's general health as well as to provide information regarding any current medications that the participant is taking. Participation in this study is confidential. The sole use of the personal data collected is to ensure the individual’s eligibility to participate in the study. Participants will be compensated $15 for their participation in each test session, for a total of $60 for the completion of 4 test sessions. Participation in this study is voluntary and participants may discontinue the study at any time.

Contact Info:

New England Cognitive Center

Phone number: (860) 586-2350

The Inclusion Criteria include:

1. Otherwise healthy elderly individuals who have received a diagnosis of probable early AD or mild cognitive impairment (participant may be on medication such as Aricept); 2. Normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing.

The Exclusion Criteria include:

1. Serious health problems other than AD or mild cognitive impairment (such as Parkinson’s Disease)
2. History of clinically significant stroke
3. Current evidence or history in the past 2 years of epilepsy
4. History of head injuries with loss of consciousness
5. History of psychiatric disorders
6. Blindness, deafness, language difficulties or any other disability which may prevent the participant from completing the protocol
7. Use of anti-Parkinsonian medications within 2 months of screening
8. Use of medications with significant central nervous system anticholinergic activity within 2 months of screening (e.g., tricyclic antidepressants).

This study is approved by the Institutional Review Board of Bryn Mawr College. Full informed-consent will be obtained prior to participating in this research project.

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The Return Of Reminiscing: Elderly Urged To Remember
Sessions Push Nostalgia's Cognitive Benefits
March 26, 2007
Stephanie Reitz
Associated Press

SIMSBURY -- Baldomero Gomez sat silently as other senior citizens in the McLean Health Center reminisced for almost an hour about long-ago blizzards, vacations and Yankee baked-bean dinners.

When the conversation turned to dancing, Gomez suddenly beamed. The 89-year-old was quickly on his feet, dancing the salsa steps of his youth to the surprise of those who wrongly assumed he'd been dozing all along.

To Mary Mitchell, a gerontologist leading the reminiscence session, it was just the kind of connection that the deceptively casual discussions are designed to spark. The sessions, known as reminiscence groups, are gaining popularity as those who work with aging people have discovered the emotional and cognitive benefits of nostalgia. It's a sea change from the days when reminiscence was dismissed as a time-waster or, at worst, the warning signs of senility.

Now, trained discussion leaders like Mitchell find their rooms filled to capacity when they schedule reminiscence sessions at senior centers, churches and rehabilitation facilities.

Gerontologists liken reminiscing to calisthenics for the brain. They say the right triggers - an object, a smell, perhaps a song - can even unlock vivid memories in some Alzheimer's disease and dementia patients.

"Often the remote memory is preserved even if the immediate memory is problematic, so many times they can recount events from many years ago even if they don't recall what they had for breakfast," said Robert N. Butler, president of the International Longevity Center in New York City and one of the nation's top experts in reminiscence and related fields.

Butler and others say reminiscence is cathartic, and confirms to people that even the most unpleasant memories have value as part of the larger fabric of their lives.

"When you really stop and listen to them, what they're doing is settling scores and making sense of their lives," said Mary Alice Wolf, a gerontology professor at Saint Joseph College in West Hartford and a reminiscence specialist. "It's a very healthy phenomenon, not just 'Mr. So-and-So won't stop talking,'" she said.

It's also part of a developmental phase known as "life review," in which older adults accept their mortality by taking stock and making peace with the events of their lives. In 1995, the first national conference on reminiscence and life review drew about 150 attendees to the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Now held every second year, it draws a diverse group of therapists, gerontologists, social workers and others who believe reminiscence boosts the brain and soothes the soul.

"I see a lot of it also being fueled by the Baby Boomers who are retiring, who realize their parents are dying and they're missing their stories," said John Kunz, founder and manager of the Wisconsin-based International Society for Reminiscence and Life Review. Others agree, noting the recent interest boom in biographies, autobiographies, documentaries and other stories of real people and their experiences.

In fact, among the most popular people on the YouTube Internet site is "geriatric1927," a grandfatherly British retiree who reminisces on everything from his love of motorcycles to his World War II experiences. At one point last summer, his video snippets were the most-subscribed offering on YouTube.

The same nostalgic chat that makes "geriatric1927" so popular with viewers can be found in many discussion groups, where the leaders toss out questions or topics they hope will spark interest around the room. They are also trained to spot unhealthy types of reminiscence - brooding, rehashing of injustices - and help those people get therapy and other special attention.

At the McLean center's sessions, the gatherings take on a social, relaxed tone as Mitchell cracks jokes and puts miscellaneous items on the table to prompt memories and chat. At one such session, she brought a golf ball that her husband plucked off a course in Hawaii. Next to that, she lined up a yo-yo, a glass apple and a glazed miniature bean pot similar to those from which many old-time Yankees ladled out their Sunday dinners. Each item prompted comments and wide-ranging discussions of first suitors, family dinners and long-ago favorite friends.

"Sometimes I remember things I hadn't thought about for a long time," said 87-year-old Theresa Gallus, of Springfield. "Sometimes it surprises me, the things I remember."

Mitchell, who leads reminiscence groups near her homes in Simsbury and in Vero Beach, Fla., said participants get dual benefits: enjoyment in sharing their memories, and pleasure that others find those memories interesting.

"Sometimes you'll have someone who sits there and doesn't say a word, then some topic clicks for them," Mitchell said. "It's like pushing a button - they just come alive."

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Updated 9/23/2008