Autobiographical Specificity (ESAD)

Autobiographical Specificity in Alzheimer's Disease and Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia

Autobiographical memory is diminished in patients with Alzheimer's Disease and those with behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia, and research has focused on the hampered ability of patients in retrieving specific memories. However, this study proposes a detailed methodology to provide a qualitative analysis of autobiographical specificity.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Alzheimer Disease; Frontotemporal Dementia; Memory
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Autobiographical reminder

Detailed Description

Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and those with behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia will be invited to retrieve autobiographical memories. Memories will be analyzed and categorized into specific, categoric, extended, or semantic autobiographical retrieval.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 39

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Nantes, France
    • EL HAJ Mohamad

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

All participants will be recruited through the active file of memory consultations of the "memory resource and research center" (CMRR) of the Nantes University Hospital.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Alzheimer' disease or avioral variant of frontotemporal dementia
• No opposition from the patient to be included in the study
• For Alzheimer's patients: a score of more than 24 out of 30 on the Mini Mental State Examination (McKhann et al., 1984)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Other psychiatric/neurological disorders
• Minor patients
• Adults under guardianship or protection.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Case-Only
• Time Perspectives: Prospective

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Alzheimer's Disease; recruited according to criteria by National Institute on Aging (McKhann et al., 2011).	Other: Autobiographical reminder; The analysis of the specificity of Autobiographical Recall will be done through the following scale, developed for the study: 6 points for a recall involving a single personal event located in space AND time (e.g.,"I remember when my parents took me to the sea for the first time..in 1962..in Dunkerque"); 5 points for a recall involving a single personal event located in space OR time ("I remember when my parents first took me to the sea...in 1962"); 4 points for a recall involving a single personal event but without spatial/temporal details ("I remember when my parents took me to the sea for the first time"); 3 points for a recall involving a general personal event but located in space AND time ("we used to go to Dunkerque in the summer"); 2 points for a recall involving a general personal event but located in space OR time ("we used to go to Dunkerque"); 1 point for a recall involving a general personal event without spatial/temporal details ("we used to go on vacation")
Behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia; recruited following criteria by Rascovsky et al. (2011)	Other: Autobiographical reminder; The analysis of the specificity of Autobiographical Recall will be done through the following scale, developed for the study: 6 points for a recall involving a single personal event located in space AND time (e.g.,"I remember when my parents took me to the sea for the first time..in 1962..in Dunkerque"); 5 points for a recall involving a single personal event located in space OR time ("I remember when my parents first took me to the sea...in 1962"); 4 points for a recall involving a single personal event but without spatial/temporal details ("I remember when my parents took me to the sea for the first time"); 3 points for a recall involving a general personal event but located in space AND time ("we used to go to Dunkerque in the summer"); 2 points for a recall involving a general personal event but located in space OR time ("we used to go to Dunkerque"); 1 point for a recall involving a general personal event without spatial/temporal details ("we used to go on vacation")

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Autobiographical specificity	We will apply the method by Raes et al. (2007) to assess whether each retrieved event refers to a: specific event, categorical event, extended event, or semantic event	40 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Nantes University Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 3, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 6, 2026
• Study Completion (Actual): March 6, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 22, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 30, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): December 8, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 3, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 2, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Autobiographical memory; with behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Mental Disorders; Metabolic Diseases; Neurocognitive Disorders; Dementia; Tauopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases; TDP-43 Proteinopathies; Proteostasis Deficiencies; Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Alzheimer Disease; Frontotemporal Dementia
• Other Study ID Numbers: RC22_0626

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No