Comparing approaches to treating anomia in early Alzheimer's disease: Network model-based method vs. embodied cognition method.

Abstract

Semantic memory is affected early on in Alzheimer's disease (AD), leading to language difficulties such as anomia. Defined as the inability to find words during speech, anomia constitutes a real obstacle to the quality of life of AD patients. The aim of this research is to study the benefits of two treatment methods: the ESFA (Elaborated Semantic Feature Analysis) method, based on abstractive network models of semantic memory, and the TERM (Treatment by Embodied Reactivation of Memory) method, a new sensorimotor stimulations therapy based on the theory of embodied cognition. 19 patients with early-stage AD (MMSE ≥20/30) were distributed into two groups: ESFA group (N = 10, 7 women and 3 men; mean age = 82.7, SD = 4.52) and TERM group (N = 9, 8 women and 1 man; mean age = 81.78, SD = 7.26). Groups were equal, and comparisons were possible. While the ESFA method allows a broad improvement in both trained (W = -2.809; p = .005) and untrained (W = -2.194; p = .028) items, the TERM method seems to lead to an item-centered effect (W = -2.668; p = .008). Moreover, only with the TERM method, the benefits seem to be maintained (W = -1.715; p = .086). Further studies are still needed to further investigate the benefits of these two interesting methods.