Alzheimer's patients can still feel emotion long after memories have vanished

[jimbo 111]

Alzheimer's patients can still feel emotion long after memories have vanished
Date:
September 24, 2014
Source:
University of Iowa Health Care
Summary:
A new study further supports an inescapable message: caregivers have a profound influence -- good or bad -- on the emotional state of individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Patients may not remember a recent visit by a loved one or having been neglected by staff at a nursing home, but those actions can have a lasting impact on how they feel.

The findings of this study are published in the September 2014 issue of the journal Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology.
UI researchers showed individuals with Alzheimer's disease clips of sad and happy movies. The patients experienced sustained states of sadness and happiness despite not being able to remember the movies.
"This confirms that the emotional life of an Alzheimer's patient is alive and well," says lead author Edmarie Guzmán-Vélez, a doctoral student in clinical psychology, a Dean's Graduate Research Fellow, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.
Read more
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140924135018.htm

 

[lin1]

I noticed this with my mum,
Long after she had forgotten , the emotion remained .

 

[halojones]

Its interesting, isn't it. I kind off realised this is the case..For me, the situation is that my mum was never an emotional person, and is uncomfortable with emotion..But with her VAD I have found that this is a good point, because mum is just not emotional,so she is calm. Obviously if you lose other communication outlets, then the emotional side will be stronger, its a way of the body,mind expressing itself...Rotten illness for everyone..

 

[PeggySmith]

Yes, I think I already knew that.

 

[Eternity]

Thanks for this - I'd been trying to explain lasting emotions to the care home recently. This put it much clearer - I may print it off and give them a copy