A critical review of the effects of wearable cameras on memory

ABSTRACT

The rise of “lifelogging” in this era of rapid technological innovation has led to great interest in whether or not such technologies could be used to rehabilitate memory. Despite the growing number of studies using lifelogging, such as with wearable cameras, there is a lack of a theoretical framework to support its effective use. The present review focuses on the use of wearable cameras. We propose that wearable cameras can be particularly effective for memory rehabilitation if they can evoke more than a mere familiarity with previous stimuli, and reinstate previous thoughts, feelings and sensory information: recollection. Considering that, in memory impairment, self-initiated processes to reinstate previous encoding conditions are compromised, we invoke the environmental support hypothesis as a theoretical motivation. Twenty-five research studies were included in this review. We conclude that, despite the general acceptance of the value of wearable cameras as a memory rehabilitation technique, only a small number of studies have focused on recollection. We highlight a set of methodological issues that should be considered for future research, including sample size, control condition used, and critical measures of memory and other domains. We conclude by suggesting that research should focus on the theory-driven measure of efficacy described in this review, so that lifelogging technologies can contribute to memory rehabilitation in a meaningful and effective manner.

KEYWORDS:

• SenseCam
• Lifelogging
• Memory aid
• Environmental support
• Camera
• Recollection

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

A. R. Silva http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5957-2711

M. S. Pinho http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9786-2819

L. Macedo http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3144-0362

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by funding from the Region of Bourgogne (FABER) and Fondation Médéric to Céline Souchay and Chris Moulin: “Conscience et Mémoire dans la maladie d”Alzheimer” & “Nouvelles technologies et Maladie d”Alzheimer : vers une utilisation optimale de l”autographer”. This work was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, to Ana Rita Silva with a doctoral studentship for the project: “Memory stimulation in Mild Alzheimer's: the role of SenseCam in a comprehensive memory training program” [SFRH/BD/68816/2010].