Dementia in Fiction and Clinical Narratives

March 18, 2026 updated by: Ke-Yun, Chao, Fu Jen Catholic University

Examining Representations of Dementia in Fiction and Clinical Narratives

This study aims to compare the natural narrative language of patients with Alzheimer's disease and the fictional depictions of dementia in contemporary novels from both neurological and literary perspectives. It investigates the similarities and differences in the deterioration of semantic and episodic memory. The goal is to develop a cross-disciplinary language observation model that enhances early diagnostic understanding, fosters empathy in caregiving, and strengthens medical humanities education.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

Background： Dementia is a major neurodegenerative disease of concern in aging societies worldwide, with Alzheimer's disease being the most common form. Early symptoms often involve language impairments and narrative disorganization. While neurology has extensively studied semantic memory and pragmatic dysfunction, systematic analysis of natural language narratives remains limited. Meanwhile, contemporary "neuronovels" depict the linguistic and cognitive decline of characters with dementia in highly realistic and emotionally resonant ways, providing narrative insights that may complement clinical observations. This project uses novels such as The Tunnel by A. B. Yehoshua and Still Alice by Lisa Genova as key texts, integrating real patient data and neurobehavioral assessments to construct a model that bridges clinical and literary approaches.

Study Design： This is a one-year prospective study.

Methods： Semi-structured interviews will be conducted to collect spontaneous narratives focusing on childhood memories, life events, and self-description. Audio recordings will be transcribed and analyzed for linguistic features and behaviors. In parallel, fictional narratives from selected dementia-themed novels will be analyzed for language disruption, narrative fragmentation, and identity construction in characters with dementia. A multidisciplinary team will conduct cross-comparative analyses between clinical data and literary texts to establish a reference framework of language decline and narrative behavior for future diagnostic support and empathy training.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

40

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
      • New Taipei City, Taiwan, 24352
        • Recruiting
        • Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital, Fu Jen Catholic University
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

patient of affiliated university hospital

Description

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

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Case group
Diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's disease or other mild cognitive impairment by a neurologist
Control group
Healthy individuals matched for age and education level

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Mini-Mental State Examination
Time Frame: on the day of enrollment
assess cognitive function, including orientation, memory, attention, language, and basic visuospatial ability
on the day of enrollment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Fu Jen Catholic University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Ke-Yun Chao, PhD, Fu Jen Catholic University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 17, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 14, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

March 19, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 18, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • FJUH114504

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

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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