Grant: Operating Grant

Memory impairments are the behavioural hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and they can place severe restrictions on the person's ability to function in many activities of daily living. As a result, a family's capacity to care for the individual in the home becomes threatened and the likelihood of needing to get outside support or even place the person in a care facility increases. Because AD is a degenerative condition, there is a common perception that nothing can be done to help improve the person's memory in daily life. However, recent research findings have shown that people with dementia can benefit from memory rehabilitation. One method of enhancing information retention and retrieval in AD is through the use of a mnemonic technique called Spaced Retrieval (SR). In SR training, a client is asked to recall a piece of information (e.g., what time lunch is) over successively longer intervals by associating that information with an action (e.g., looking at a calendar). The proposed phase 2 study will build upon findings from a recent CIHR-funded phase 1 pilot study in which we demonstrated the potential benefits of SR training in helping eight individuals with AD or related disorder recall information from recent events (e.g., an activity with a grandchild; a holiday party). In the proposed study, we will measure the effectiveness of SR training with a larger sample of persons with AD who have different degrees of cognitive impairment, and we will provide longer periods of training and follow-up assessment of training outcomes. The results are expected to provide new understandings of how SR memory training can be used effectively with persons who have AD to increase their recall of recently occurring events, and with the potential of enhancing their ability to communicate and function in everyday activities.