Alzheimer's Disease Patients Can Feel Emotions Even After Memories Vanish

A research by the University of Iowa found that caregivers have an intense impact on the emotional state of Alzheimer's disease patients. 

Researchers explained that even though the memories in these patients disappear they feel emotions. The team said that the patients might not remember a recent visit by their family or friends or having been neglected by staff at a nursing home, but these actions can have a lasting impact on how they feel. 

For the study, the researchers showed clips of sad and happy movies to people with Alzheimer's disease. They found that patients experienced sadness and happiness even after they did not remember the movies. 

"This confirms that the emotional life of an Alzheimer's patient is alive and well," lead author Edmarie Guzmán-Vélez, a doctoral student in clinical psychology, a Dean's Graduate Research Fellow, said in a press release.

In 2010, the same team of researchers found the importance of giving emotional support to the patients of Alzheimer's. "It's extremely important to see data that support our previous prediction," said Daniel Tranel, UI professor of neurology and psychology. "Edmarie's research has immediate implications for how we treat patients and how we teach caregivers."

According to Guzmán-Vélez, frequent visits and social interactions, exercise, music, dance, jokes, and serving patients their favorite foods are all simple things that can have a lasting emotional impact on a patient's quality of life and subjective well-being.

The study was published in the journal Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology.