Two experiments measured the effect of retrieval support provided by a wearable camera, SenseCam, on older and younger adults' memory for a recently experienced complex staged event. In each experiment, participants completed a series of tasks in groups, and the events were recalled 2 weeks later, after viewing SenseCam images (experimental condition) or thinking about the event (control condition). When IQ and education were matched, young adults recalled more event details than older adults, demonstrating an age-related deficit for novel autobiographical material. Reviewing SenseCam images increased the number of details recalled by older and younger adults, and the effect was similar for both groups. These results suggest that memory can be supported by the use of SenseCam, but the age-related deficit is not eliminated.
Standardized assessment of family features is not used routinely, although these factors may play an important role in the course of children's psychological disorders. The present study investigated the association among relationships within the families of 115 healthy children ( M = 8.2 yr., SD = 2.13; 70 boys, 45 girls). 115 mothers and fathers were asked to complete a standardized questionnaire assessing the family features (Familienklima-Testsystem by Schneewind, et al.) and another asking for their estimation of emotional relationships of the members of the family (Subjektives Familianbild-Test System by Mattejat). Analysis showed that the parents’ ratings indicated significantly more empathic fathers as well as significantly more autonomous mothers in well-organized, conflict-free families. Our results indicate an association between families’ organization and measured scores for fathers’ empathy and mothers’ autonomy. Sufficient intrafamilial communication is associated with roles of the parents within the family. Psychotherapeutic interventions might focus on the families’ organization.
This case study examined the effect of wearable camera use on memory and occupational performance in a patient with memory loss and complex mental health problems following a severe neurological incident. With the help of his occupational therapist, Mr A used a wearable camera to record a series of eight personally significant events over a six-week period. During visits from his occupational therapist, Mr A was asked to report what he could remember about the events, both before (baseline) and during review of time-lapsed photographs captured automatically by the camera. The results showed striking improvements in recall while reviewing the photographs, relative to baseline recall, but the additional details recalled during review did not appear to be maintained at later tests, after several days. Across the study period there were moderate increases in occupational performance, measured using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure. However, after the study period ended, Mr A ceased to use the wearable camera due to technological difficulty. The results of the study are discussed alongside novel clinical insights and suggestions for developing wearable camera support systems that can be used independently by people with memory problems.
A lack of perseverance, poor attention, and poorly modulated behaviour are important criteria of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Instructions often must be repeated, sometimes even by different family members, before a child with ADHD attends and complies. The hyperkinetic child might cause less disruption in families with high coherence. Families of 15 boys (aged 6 to 12 years) diagnosed with ADHD using the Mannheim Parent's Interview and the teacher's form of the Conners scale were compared with a matched healthy control group of 15 boys. Parents completed a form assessing the family's cooperation and childrearing practices. Intrafamilial coherence seems to have little positive association with the family's characteristics, especially for boys with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Low coherence among family members may reduce ADHD symptoms and may have protective effects on children with ADHD.
A persistent finding in the autobiographical memory (AM) literature is that older adults report more nonepisodic (or generalized/semantic) information than young adults. Since studies are usually focused on memory for episodic (or specific) autobiographical events, the reason for the age difference in nonepisodic AM remains understudied. This experiment investigated whether the higher rate of nonepisodic AM in older adults reflects (a) a difference incommunicative preferences or (b) cognitive decline, by way of either an inhibition deficit or as a means of compensating for a deficit in episodic AM. A sample of 54 young (
A persistent finding in the autobiographical memory (AM) literature is that older adults report more non-episodic (or generalised/semantic) information than young adults. Since studies are usually focused on memory for episodic (or specific) autobiographical events, the reason for the increase in non-episodic AM remains under-studied. This experiment investigated whether increased non-episodic AM in older adults reflects (a) an age-related shift in communicative preferences, or (b) a sign of cognitive decline, by way of either an inhibition deficit or as a means of compensating for a deficit in episodic AM. A sample of 55 young and older participants retrieved the same AM twice, under two different sets of instructions: to tell a good story for their autobiography, or to provide a detailed police witness statement. Both groups reported more general details when they were aiming to tell a good story, but the difference was greater for older adults. In addition, older adults also reported fewer specific details when the aim was to tell a good story. In a separate rating task, young and older adults differed in their perceptions of what makes a good story; young adults rated ‘detail’, ‘grammar’, and ‘full descriptions’ more highly than older adults, whereas older rated ‘linking ideas’ and ‘explaining not just describing’ more highly than young adults. The results suggest that age-related increases in general AM might be explained by a shift in communicative preferences rather than cognitive decline.
Abstract Background: Wearable cameras have been shown to improve memory in people with hippocampal amnesia and Alzheimer's disease. It is not known whether this benefit extends to people with amnesia of complex or uncertain origin. Method: This case study examined the effect of wearable camera use on memory and occupational performance in a patient with memory loss and complex mental health problems following a severe neurological incident. With the help of his occupational therapist (OT), Mr A used a wearable camera to record a series of eight personally significant events over a 6-week period. During visits from his OT, Mr A was asked to report what he could remember about the events, both before (baseline) and during the review of time-lapsed photographs captured automatically by the camera. Results: The results showed striking improvements in recall while reviewing the photographs, relative to baseline recall, but the additional details recalled during review did not appear to be maintained at later tests, after several days. Across the study period, there were moderate increases in occupational performance, measured using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure. However, after the study period ended, Mr A ceased to use the wearable camera due to technological difficulty. Conclusion: There was a clear benefit of wearable camera use, but the real-world impact of the technology was limited by the complexity of the system. The results of the study are discussed alongside novel clinical insights and suggestions for developing wearable camera support systems that can be used independently by people with memory problems.
Studies examining age effects in autobiographical memory have produced inconsistent results. This study examined whether a set of typical autobiographical memory measures produced equivalent results in a single participant sample. Five memory tests (everyday memory, autobiographical memory from the past year, autobiographical memory from age 11–17, word-cued autobiographical memory, and word-list recall) were administered in a single sample of young and older adults. There was significant variance in the tests’ sensitivity to age: word-cued autobiographical memory produced the largest deficit in older adults, similar in magnitude to word-list recall. In contrast, older adults performed comparatively well on the other measures. The pattern of findings was broadly consistent with the results of previous investigations, suggesting that (1) the results of the different AM tasks are reliable, and (2) variable age effects in the autobiographical memory literature are at least partly due to the use of different tasks, which cannot be considered interchangeable measures of autobiographical memory ability. The results are also consistent with recent work dissociating measures of specificity and detail in autobiographical memory, and suggest that specificity is particularly sensitive to ageing. In contrast, detail is less sensitive to ageing, but is influenced by retention interval and event type. The extent to which retention interval and event type interact with age remains unclear; further research using specially designed autobiographical memory tasks could resolve this issue.
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