Neurocognitive analysis of topographical memory disorder in Alzheimer’s disease from fictional autobiography

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundTopographical disorientation is very common in Alzheimer’s disease as dementia worsens; however, it is often one of the earliest manifestations. This study examined whether fictional autobiography might be a source for analyzing linguistic features in terms of toponomy and neurocognitive aspects of topographical disorientation in Lalla Fatma, a patient with Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, we investigated how the toponymy of old, current, and new names overlapped in the novel About my Mother (2016), which was written by the Moroccan author Tahar Ben Jelloun.MethodThe neurocognitive approach followed the taxonomy described by Aguirre and D’Esposito (1999) to determine the clinical subtype that best described topographical disorientation or spatial agnosia from Lalla Fatma’s discourse. Text mining and toponymic approaches were used to develop patterns of spatiotemporal themes across novel corpora coupled with computational analysis (T‐Lab plus 21).ResultIn Ben Jelloun’s narrative, the overlapping of Tangier and Fez creates a temporal framework to remap memories that have been trapped between the walls, ramparts, and fortresses of imperial Moroccan cities. Lalla Fatma’s house in Tangier seems to have been neglected, similar to her dilapidated and lost memories. The house involves seeking self and identity in a physical and material reality that is subject to spatiotemporal disorientation. It was also a trigger for expressing the present moment of melancholy and nostalgia aggravated by Lalla Fatma’s declining health and mental status. According to the taxonomy by Aguirre and D’Esposito (1999), two types of topographical disorientation have been found in the novel (landmark agnosia and anterograde disorientation)ConclusionThis study provides evidence suggesting that fictional autobiography should be investigated cross‐culturally in terms of linguistic and neurocognitive aspects in the context of Alzheimer’s disease.