How dementia sounds in patients' personal stories compared with portrayals in novels
Examining Representations of Dementia in Fiction and Clinical Narratives
This one-year project will collect spoken stories from people with early Alzheimer's and matched healthy volunteers and compare their language to dementia portrayals in contemporary novels to see if literary patterns help us spot and understand early language decline.
Quick facts
| Study type | Observational |
|---|---|
| Enrollment | 40 (estimated) |
| Ages | 60 Years to 85 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | Fu Jen Catholic University Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (New Taipei City) |
| Trial ID | NCT07482800 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
This prospective one-year study enrolls people with early-stage Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment and age- and education-matched healthy controls. Investigators will conduct semi-structured interviews focused on childhood memories, life events, and self-description, audio-record them, and transcribe spontaneous narratives for linguistic and narrative analysis. In parallel, selected contemporary novels that depict dementia will be analyzed for language disruption, narrative fragmentation, and identity changes in characters. A multidisciplinary team of neurologists, linguists, and literary scholars will perform cross-comparative analyses to build a reference model linking clinical language features and literary representation.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment who can communicate basic language, plus healthy volunteers matched for age and education.
Not a fit: People with advanced dementia or who are unable to communicate reliably, or those unwilling to participate, are unlikely to benefit from this protocol.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the project could improve early recognition of language changes in dementia, foster more empathetic caregiving, and enrich medical humanities education.
How similar studies have performed: Prior linguistic research has identified some language markers of cognitive decline, but combining systematic clinical narrative analysis with literary analysis is a novel, underexplored approach.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion 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
Where this trial is running
New Taipei City
- Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital, Fu Jen Catholic University — New Taipei City, Taiwan (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Ke-Yun Chao, PhD — Fu Jen Catholic University
- Study coordinator: Ke-Yun Chao, PhD
- Email: ck_qq@hotmail.com
- Phone: +886-905-301-879
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.