The picture of the past: Pictures to cue autobiographical memory in Alzheimer’s disease

ABSTRACT

Introduction

This study investigated the effect of pictorial cues on autobiographical memory in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We assessed autobiographical memory of patients with AD and cognitively normal older adults in two conditions.

Methods

In one condition, the participants were provided with verbal instructions to retrieve three autobiographical memories. In the second condition, the same verbal instructions were provided; however, the participants were simultaneously presented with three pictures. We analyzed autobiographical memory regarding specificity, that is, the ability to remember unique events situated in time and space.

Results

Analysis demonstrated higher autobiographical memory after verbal-and-visual cuing than after the no cue condition in both patients with AD and cognitively normal older adults.

Discussion

Pictorial cues seem to be an effective method to alleviate autobiographical compromise in AD.

KEYWORDS:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• autobiographical memory
• pictorial cuing
• visual cuing

Acknowledgments

The work was supported in part by the LABEX (excellence laboratory, program investment for the future) DISTALZ (Development of Innovative Strategies for a Transdisciplinary approach to Alzheimer disease), in part by the EU Interreg CASCADE 2 Seas Programme 2014-2020 (co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund), and in part by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Aging, NIH.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).