Memory is a function controlled by many different areas of the brain. Memory is important, because it connects people to others and prior life experiences, meaningful to their personal histories. When memory begins to deplete, it can be unsettling and isolating to those going through memory loss. There are evidence-based techniques that have been shown to improve memory, and they may be easily implemented by family and friends.
First, use of familiar objects, especially those cherished, can be used to facilitate conversation and ignite memories connected to their use. Dialogue held with family or friends as related to these objects should be routinized (done in the same manner, repeatedly). Connecting with persons with memory loss over the use of familiar objects can imprint these memories; memories related to cherished objects can be strategically connected to alternative objects, places and people and these memories, in turn, can be imprinted. Essentially, use of the familiar has been shown to help persons with memory loss remember and new memories can effectively be generated by their connection to the familiar.
In addition, pictures have been revealed to have similar impact on recollection of life details and experiences. Scrapbooks designed in chronological life order can stimulate recall of life events and people. In wards dedicated to the treatment of persons diagnosed with dementia, old pictures are used to mark patient rooms to help patient’s find their way. Moreover, pictures can be used to prompt discussion about new events and people directly or indirectly connected to their content. This type of memory therapy can be enjoyable for patients and empowering for families and caregivers. It can be healing both physiologically and psychosocially.
El Haj, M., Kapogiannis, D., & Antoine, P. (2020). The picture of the past: Pictures to cue autobiographical memory in Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology, 42(9), 914-923.
Tsai, W. C., & Van Den Hoven, E. (2018). Memory probes: Exploring retrospective user experience through traces of use on cherished objects. International Journal of Design, 12(3), 57-72.
