Music Stimulation as a Method of Optimizing Autobiographical Memory in Patients Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the progressive deterioration of cognitive functions, with memory being the most affected. Several studies have shown the benefits of music as a complementary treatment for dementia, improving patients’ quality of life. A scientific contribution is needed to show how autobiographic memory could be improved by using musical activities. Objective: The aim of this investigation is to analyze the impact of a musical stimulation protocol on the performance of autobiographical memory in elderly people suffering from Alzheimer’s. Participants and Method: This research was conducted with three patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease: two females (66.7%), and one male (33.3%). One (33.3%) was in the early stages, and two were in the middle stages. This investigation used a quantitative, pre-experimental, longitudinal study with the application of two tests before and after the intervention. Findings: Changes in the performance of autobiographical memory (t=-5.79, p=0.002), and in the semantic component (t=-10.14, p=0.01) were found to be statistically significant, but no changes were evident for episodic memory (t=-0.19, p=0.86). Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence of the potential effectiveness of using a music protocol to improve the performance of autobiographical memory in patients with Alzheimer's Disease. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-01304 Full Text: PDF

Inflammatory Markers May Inform the Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy on Cognition in Patients with Depression

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The neurobiological mechanisms underlying the acute cognitive effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remain poorly understood. Prior research has shown that proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, TNF-α, IL1-β, and IL-10 may interfere with cognitive functioning. Interestingly, immunomodulation is one of the proposed modes of action of ECT. This study investigates whether changes of peripheral levels of IL-6, TNF-α, IL1-β, and IL-10 are related to changes in cognitive functioning following ECT. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> In the week before and 1 week after an acute course of ECT, 62 patients suffering from depression underwent a neuropsychological evaluation to assess their processing speed using the Symbol Digit Substitution Test (SDST), verbal episodic memory using the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R), and their retrospective autobiographic memory using the Autobiographical Memory Interview (AMI) with the peripheral inflammatory markers being measured at the same 2 time points. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Patients improved drastically following ECT, while their main performance on both the HVLT-R and AMI declined and their SDST scores remained stable. The levels of IL-6 and IL1-β had both decreased, where the decrease in IL-6 was related to the decrease in HVLT-R scores. Higher baseline IL-10 levels were associated with a more limited decrease of the HVLT-R scores. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Our findings tentatively suggest that the effects of ECT on verbal episodic memory may be related to the treatment’s immunomodulatory properties, most notably due to decreased IL-6 levels. Moreover, baseline IL-10 appears to be a potential biomarker to predict the effects of ECT on verbal episodic memory. Whilst compelling, the results of this study should be interpreted with caution as, due to its exploratory nature, no correction for multiple comparisons was made. Further, a replication in larger cohorts is warranted.

Cognition-Related Brain Networks Underpin Cognitive, Emotional, and Somatic Symptom Dimensions of Depression

The latest functional neuroimaging evidence suggests that the abnormal activation and connectivity of cognition-related brain networks may account for different symptom dimensions of unipolar depression. In particular, abnormal functioning of the autobiographic memory network (AMN) and cognitive control network (CCN) is central to the emotional, somatic, and cognitive symptomatology of depression. Chronic hyperactivity of the self-focused AMN is linked to pathological introspection; namely, brooding, self-blame, and rumination. In parallel, underengagement of the CCN is associated with indecisiveness, negative thoughts, poor concentration, and distorted cognitive processing. Downstream effects include dysregulation of networks linked to the somatic and emotional symptoms of depression, namely the cortico–subcortical affective network and salience network. AMN–CCN dynamics can change between individuals and over time, plausibly accounting for both the pleomorphic presentation of depression and its fluctuating course. Framing depression as a disorder of neurocognitive networks directly links clinical features to neurobiology, in line with gold standard psychiatric research guidelines.

Memoria cotidiana: Dimensiones y pautas de declive en adultos sanos. / Everyday memory: Dimensions and patterns of decline in healthy adults.

RESUMENEl objetivo de este trabajo fue validar y conocer las propiedades psicométricas del Cuestionario de Memoria Cotidiana (CMC) inspirado en el Everyday Memory Questionnaire (EMQ) de Baddeley (1997). Se comprobó su fiabilidad y la validez de constructo y se determinaron sus dimensiones a través de su análisis factorial. En un primer momento participaron 129 adultos sin patología cognitiva, de edades comprendidas entre los 48 y los 91 años de edad. En un segundo momento, con una muestra de 510 adultos sanos de edades comprendidas entre los 48 y los 90 años, se quiso saber si existe afectación diferenciada de las distintas dimensiones de memoria cotidiana establecidas. Los resultados permiten concluir que dicha medida pluridimensional posee propiedades psicométricas adecuadas, alfa de Cronbach de .91, y se evidencia que existen sistemas o áreas componentes de la memoria cotidiana diferencialmente resistentes al deterioro. Los fallos cognitivos autoinformados indican que las áreas que más deterioro sufren con el paso de los años son el recuerdo del sitio de las cosas y la memoria de fuente, siendo la más resistente la memoria autobiográfica en ambos sexos.ABSTRACTThe main of this work was to validate and to know the psychometric properties of the Cuestionario de Memoria Cotidiana (CMC) inspired in Baddeley's Everyday Memory Questionnaire (EMQ) (1997). We checked their reliability and construct validity and their dimensions were determined through their factorial analysis. We make, at first, with a sample of 129 adults not suffering from any cognitive pathology and aged between 48 and 91 years. And at a later stage, a sample of 510 healthy adults with ages ranging from 48 and 90 years was used to discover if there were any differentiation of effects in the various dimensions of everyday memory that were established. Results shown that this multi-dimensional measurement has acceptable psychometric properties, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.91, and also provided evidence that there are systems or areas making up every-day memory that are differentially resistant to deterioration. Self-reported cognitive failures indicated that the areas suffering most downgrading with the passage of time are recall of the location of objects and source memory, with autobiographic memory being more resistant in both sexes.

A case for considering differences between organic and psychogenic amnesia

IntroductionMedical record, general examination, laboratory findings, neuropsychological interview and multidisciplinary consideration are essential to establish differencial diagnosis and correct approach in amnesic episodes.AimTo describe differences between organic and psychogenic anterograde amnesia.MethodsSingle case report and literature review.ResultsA 51-year-old man with only diagnosis of DM I, single, a good relationship with his family, without any personal or familiar psychiatric or neurological history, came to the hospital emergency department brought by his sisters referring disorientation, acute memory loss and mood changes, prevailing indifference to the situation for the last three days. After general exploration, including psychopatological examination and higher brain functions study, we arrived to the conclusion that the patient suffered from anterograde short-term severe amnesia as the only symptom, with evident conservation of autobiographic memory. The family referred as a possible stressor factor his mother's recent transfer to a different city, which had caused constant repeated questions about her location. Given the questionable presentation and trigger we shared the case with the neurologist, who ordered an array of tests to rule out any organic cause (LP, CT, MRI…), obtaining as a final result a diagnosis of limbic encephalitis, treated and effectively solved in two weeks with high-dose glucocorticoids.ConclusionCertain features of the symptoms exploration in amnesic episodes such as reiterative questioning about a specific topic, a non-modified autobiography or the absence of a clear traumatic precipitant factor, are essential for a correct approach and may lead the clinic to an organic evaluation.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

ELT- Autobiographic memory: a source for communicative competence

Language with all its paraphernalia, opens its wings of expression and communication in to new horizons of aesthetic experience. In addition, there is the inherent nature of language itself, which ultimately represents, symbolises, expresses, and can even shape our experience, but it is not the experience itself .With in communication, there is a lot of translation that must take place to go from the essence of our personal experience to the communication of words. In order to understand autobiographic memories, we use language to bridge the gap between dimensions ― between the dimension of subjective experience and the dimension of objective manifestation.