Imagine Yourself Dancing Waltz: The Effect of Imagination on Memory in Alzheimer’s Disease

Mohamad El Haj*, Frédérique Robin, Ahmed A. Moustafa, Karim Gallouj

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Background:
Self-imagination refers to a mnemonic strategy of imagining oneself at a scene related to a cue.

Objective:
We tested the effect of self-imagination on memory recall in Alzheimer’s disease (AD)

Methods:
Individuals with AD and healthy controls were invited to perform two conditions. In the control (i.e., semantic elaboration) condition, participants were asked to define to which semantic cate-gory (e.g., dance) words (e.g., waltz) belong. However, in a self-imagining condition, participants were asked to imagine themselves in a scene related to the stimuli (e.g., dancing waltz). Both conditions were followed by two free memory tests with two different intervals (20 seconds vs. 20 minutes).

Results:
Analysis showed a beneficial effect of self-imagination for the 20-second but not for the 20-minute recall in AD participants and controls. Conclusion: Clinicians can incorporate our findings when assessing, especially when trying to rehabil-itate, episodic memory in AD.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)98-108
Number of pages11
JournalCurrent Alzheimer Research
Volume20
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

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