Remembering Relationships: Preserved Emotion-Based Learning in Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract

Research into Alzheimer's disease has long focused on cognitive impairments. Advocates of the person-centered approach argue that emotions and interpersonal responses may remain intact. The answer to this paradox may derive from the neuropsychology of emotion, demonstrating preserved ability on simple emotion learning tasks, though this may not capture the complex interpersonal interactions that some patients appear able to manage in everyday life. This study demonstrates, for the first time, preserved complex emotion-based learning capacity, despite profound episodic memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease. These findings offer a starting point for the development of a solid neuropsychological and neuroanatomical account for the person-centered approach.