Screaming, shrieking and muttering: the noise-makers amongst dementia patients

Intonational Patterns of Nonverbal Vocalizations in People With Dementia

“…In the present analysis, it is demonstrated that there is a singing-like type of non-verbal vocalizations that does not resemble the previously described patterns of non-verbal vocalizations 22,15 . The singing-like intonational pattern of the non-verbal vocalization does not resemble the intonation of Anna's verbal utterances, which adds to the notion that this is a routinized pattern connected to the non-verbal activity.…”

“…The continuous chattering, muttering, singing or humming, was described as constant unintelligible muttering or repeatedly speaking of the same topic and the swearing, grunting and bizarre noise-making was described as continuously swearing and shouting obscenities. All four behaviors occurred in association to agitation 15 .…”

Agitation in Dutch Institutionalized Patients with Dementia: Factor Analysis of the Dutch Version of the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory

“…(2) Vocal agitation or vocally disruptive behavior is typical verbally agitated behavior in severe dementia with declining communicative abilities and might be considered as an indirect request for help, in patients with discomfort or other unmet needs [44] . The exact mechanisms inducing vocal agitation are yet unknown [45] but might be explained by interruption of the frontal subcortical circuits [35] . Vocal agitation has also been associated with severe cognitive impairment [46] or severe dementia with total dissolution of speech [35] , depression [47,48] , psychosis [48] , undertreated pain [46,48] or environmental factors such as noise levels or over/understimulation [48,49] .…”

“…Recent studies have proposed a 4-factor model, adding hoarding/hiding as another independent behavioral dimension [5,29] . Some behavioral changes such as repetitive behaviors or vocalizations and screaming may be more typical of severe dementia in nursing home patients [35] and they may reflect a behavioral dimension of agitation that is different from those found in other patient samples [24][25][26] .…”

Vocally disruptive behavior in the elderly: a systematic review

“…Indeed, people with severe vascular or degenerative dementia and VDB often show markedly reduced speech (Nagaratnam et al, 2003b). Expressive communication skills were significantly more impaired in screamers than in those without VDB (Doyon et al, 1993).…”