Memories Supporting Myself: Autobiographical Memory Supports Self-Continuity in Alzheimer’s Disease

Haj, Mohamad El; Boudoukha, Abdel Halim; Antoine, Pascal; Moustafa, Ahmed A.; Gallouj, Karim; Allain, Philippe

doi:10.3233/jad-190440

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…The resilience of this critical self in AD has been investigated in recent studies. El Haj et al have shown how people with mild AD think about their life stories to maintain continuity in their sense of self, relying more than healthy controls on their autobiographical memory when concerned about potential threats to continuity (101). Research exploring sense of subjective continuity in dementia indicated that most PwD (79%) experience continuity, with those who do not presenting with poorer psychological health (102).…”

Section: Critical Selfmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Seven Selves of Dementia

et al. 2021

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The self is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, encompassing a variety of cognitive processes and psychosocial influences. Considering this, there is a multiplicity of “selves,” the current review suggesting that seven fundamental self-processes can be identified that further our understanding of the experience of dementia. These include (1) an embodied self, manifest as corporeal awareness; (2) an agentic self, related to being an agent and influencing life circumstances; (3) an implicit self, linked to non-conscious self-processing; (4) a critical self, which defines the core of self-identity; (5) a surrogate self, based on third-person perspective information; (6) an extended self, including external objects or existences that are incorporated into the self; and, finally, (7) an emergent self, a property of the self-processes that give rise to the sense of a unified self. These are discussed in relation to self-awareness and their use in making sense of the experience of dementia.

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Section: Critical Selfmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Seven Selves of Dementia

et al. 2021

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“…The three properties of nostalgia echo important themes within the dementia care literature: self-functioning ( El Haj et al, 2019 ; Sabat, 2018 ), social relationships ( Kitwood & Brooker, 2019 ), and meaning in life ( Cheston et al, 2015 ; Mackinlay & Trevitt, 2010 ). Our findings indicate that nostalgia has a key role to play among persons living with dementia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…However, autobiographical memories still appear to have an important function for people living with dementia. For example, people with Alzheimer’s disease value reliving autobiographical memories ( El Haj & Antoine, 2017 ), are able to retrieve such memories when they need to confirm that they are the same person they were before the dementia ( El Haj et al, 2019 ), and experience the same emotions associated with these intrinsically personal memories ( El Haj et al, 2016 ). These findings, then, are consistent with the possibility that the tripartite structure of nostalgic autobiographical memories continues to function for people living with dementia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Content of Nostalgic Memories Among People Living with Dementia

Ismail

Dodd

Christopher

et al. 2021

Int J Aging Hum Dev

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Although dementia may affect the reliability of autobiographical memories, the psychological properties of nostalgic memories may be preserved. We compared the content of nostalgic ( n = 36) and ordinary ( n = 31) narratives of 67 participants living with dementia. Narratives were rated according to their self-oriented, social, and existential properties, as well as their affective content. Social properties and affective content were assessed using a linguistic word count procedure. Compared to the ordinary narratives described in the control condition, nostalgic narratives described a typical events, expressed more positive affect, and had more expressions of self-esteem and self-continuity. They were also rated higher on companionship, connectedness and the closeness of relationships, and reflected life as being meaningful. Despite their cognitive impairment, people living with dementia experience nostalgia in similar ways to cognitively healthy adults, with their nostalgic narratives containing self-oriented, social, and existential properties.

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“…Consequently, besides experiencing difficulties in recollecting past events, the decrease in episodic memory abilities in AD leads to other disorders. It is currently well-documented that people with AD may experience disruptions in the sense of self ( El Haj et al, 2019 ), anxiety regarding future events ( Kloszewska, 1998 ), and deficits in time conceptualization (e.g., interval judgment and recall of past events; Requena-Komuro et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Time Travel and Time Reference Difficulties in Alzheimer’s Disease: Are They Related? A Systematic Review

et al. 2022

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Mental time travel and language enable us to go back and forth in time and to organize and express our personal experiences through time reference. People with Alzheimer’s disease have both mental time travel and time reference impairments, which can greatly impact their daily communication. Currently, little is known about the potential relationship between time conceptualization (i.e., mental time travel) and time reference difficulties in this disease. A systematic review of the literature was performed to determine if this link had already been investigated. Only three articles integrated both time conceptualization and time reference measures. However, the link between the two was not systematically analyzed and interpreted. This review highlights the lack of research addressing the question of the influence of time conceptualization impairments in Alzheimer’s disease on other cognitive domains, and especially language.

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Memories Supporting Myself: Autobiographical Memory Supports Self-Continuity in Alzheimer’s Disease

Cited by 15 publications

References 66 publications

The Seven Selves of Dementia

The Seven Selves of Dementia

The Content of Nostalgic Memories Among People Living with Dementia

Mental Time Travel and Time Reference Difficulties in Alzheimer’s Disease: Are They Related? A Systematic Review

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