Autobiographical Storytelling in Patients with Mild Alzheimer's Disease: Focused, Reflected, and Entertaining; A Comparative Study

Abstract

Objectives We assessed whether individuals with mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD), despite some deficits in autobiographical memory, could effectively convey their personal experiences through storytelling.

Methods We invited 37 individuals with mild AD and 37 control participants to share their personal experiences. We rated these narratives based on five characteristics of storytelling: focus, reflection, entertainment, structure, and specificity.

Results Analyses demonstrated that individuals with AD conveyed more general than specific memories, and no significant differences were observed between structured and unstructured memories. Importantly, individuals with AD recounted more memories with focus than without, with reflection than without, and that were entertaining than were not. Compared with those of the control participants, the narratives of the individuals with AD were less focused, structured, and specific. However, no significant differences were observed between the two samples regarding reflection or entertainment.

Conclusions and Clinical Implications Individuals with mild AD can have difficulties in retrieving specific memories, but their storytelling of personal experience can be focused, exhibit reflection, and be entertaining. Individuals with mild AD can engage in reflective and entertaining autobiographical storytelling, potentially contributing to their sense of identity and connection with others.