Alzheimer’s patients’ joy may linger despite memory loss

In a small American study, Alzheimer’s patients felt sad or happy long after viewing video clips designed to induce those emotions, and long after having forgotten details of the videos or ever having seen them.

The research team says the results show that loved ones and caregivers need to foster positive emotional experiences for Alzheimer’s patients, even if they think the person won’t remember it later. “We might think our actions don’t have an effect because the person might not remember us or what we did — let’s say they may not remember that we bought them their favourite ice cream or that we showed them their favourite movie or that we screamed at them, but it is important, it is having an effect,” said Edmarie Guzmán-Vélez, a psychology researcher at the University of Iowa who led the study.

“They might not be able to tell you what happened but the emotions that those actions elicited are still there.”