Dementia in Fiction and Clinical Narratives
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- This is an observational study: the protocol does not assign a study treatment.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Dementia, Alzheimer s Disease. Basic parameters: 60 years — 85 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Taiwan
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Examining Representations of Dementia in Fiction and Clinical Narratives
Overview
This study aims to compare the natural narrative language of patients with Alzheimer's disease and the fictional depictions of dementia in contemporary novels from both neurological and literary perspectives. It investigates the similarities and differences in the deterioration of semantic and episodic memory. The goal is to develop a cross-disciplinary language observation model that enhances early diagnostic understanding, fosters empathy in caregiving, and strengthens medical humanities education.
Detailed description
Background： Dementia is a major neurodegenerative disease of concern in aging societies worldwide, with Alzheimer's disease being the most common form. Early symptoms often involve language impairments and narrative disorganization. While neurology has extensively studied semantic memory and pragmatic dysfunction, systematic analysis of natural language narratives remains limited. Meanwhile, contemporary "neuronovels" depict the linguistic and cognitive decline of characters with dementia in highly realistic and emotionally resonant ways, providing narrative insights that may complement clinical observations. This project uses novels such as The Tunnel by A. B. Yehoshua and Still Alice by Lisa Genova as key texts, integrating real patient data and neurobehavioral assessments to construct a model that bridges clinical and literary approaches.
Study Design： This is a one-year prospective study.
Methods： Semi-structured interviews will be conducted to collect spontaneous narratives focusing on childhood memories, life events, and self-description. Audio recordings will be transcribed and analyzed for linguistic features and behaviors. In parallel, fictional narratives from selected dementia-themed novels will be analyzed for language disruption, narrative fragmentation, and identity construction in characters with dementia. A multidisciplinary team will conduct cross-comparative analyses between clinical data and literary texts to establish a reference framework of language decline and narrative behavior for future diagnostic support and empathy training.
Primary outcome measures
- Mini-Mental State Examination [Time frame: on the day of enrollment]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's disease or other mild cognitive impairment by a neurologist (case group) / healthy individuals matched for age and education level (control group)
- Able to communicate and understand basic language
Exclusion criteria
- Refuse to participate in the study
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Observational model
- Case-control
Study locations
Taiwan · 1 center
- Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital, Fu Jen Catholic University — New Taipei City
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07482800 · FJUH114504