The expression of emotions in Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias: An analysis of the deterioration patterns and compensatory strategies

For populations with language disorders, communicating their affective needs can be frustrating. Research has helped understand how people with dementia express their emotions and how they perceive them. This study aims to: (i) find out whether the capacity to use language to express emotions deteriorates as the cognitive impairment progresses in dementia; (ii) observe whether specific impairment patterns exist for each stage of the disease; (iii) verify whether compensatory strategies are used to express emotions when language begins to deteriorate. Twenty-seven participants at different stages of impairment were videorecorded while talking about their routines. The results show that the number of emotions expressed decreased as the disease progressed. Psychological verbs were the main explicit form used to express emotions. Prosody, figurative language, and gestures were observed as the main implicit devices to express emotions.