A Scoping Review on Conversational Memory and Characteristics of Conversations in Alzheimer's Disease.

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Title: A Scoping Review on Conversational Memory and Characteristics of Conversations in Alzheimer's Disease.
Authors: Tanguay, Annick F. N.1 annick.fn.tanguay@gmail.com, Clough, Sharice1,2,3, McCurdy, Ryan A.1, Padilla, Victoria-Grace1, Lord, Kaitlin M.4, Brown-Schmidt, Sarah4, Duff, Melissa C.1
Source: Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research. Dec2025, Vol. 68 Issue 12, p5870-5909. 40p.
Subject Terms: *Intellect, *Conversation, *Alzheimer's disease, *Hearing, *Verbal behavior, *Memory disorders, Medical information storage & retrieval systems, Research funding, Episodic memory, CINAHL database, Vision, Psychological well-being, Systematic reviews, MEDLINE, Medical databases, Online information services, Liberty, Psychology information storage & retrieval systems
Abstract: Purpose: Typical late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) compromises episodic memory, the ability to encode new events and recollect past events. Much of the research on episodic memory in AD has relied on lab-based memory tasks (e.g., word lists, short stories). It is unclear how well these tasks characterize the impact of episodic memory impairments across different domains of everyday life, including conversational memory. The goal of the review was to establish what is known about conversational memory in AD, that is, memory for the content of conversations one overhears or in which one participates, such as utterances said and corresponding referents (e.g., "I remember discussing medical decisions with my children and I said [...] and they responded [...]"). Method: In this scoping review, we followed the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis and PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines to conduct the scoping review. We retained 121 reports on conversation and three reports on conversational memory out of the 8,351 unique records found on PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Embase and in relevant reviews. Included reports had to involve conversation in any format and on any topic, include an AD population, be peer-reviewed, be in English, and be published between 1990 and 2022. Results: None of the studies investigated memory for spontaneous conversation. Although most studies on conversation did report on key characteristics of the interactional context (e.g., level of structure, number and category of conversational partners), studies also left several important details unspecified, such as hearing/vision (omitted in 67% studies) and diagnostic process (omitted in 33% studies). Studies described a broad range of behaviors during conversation, with most concerning verbal behaviors (e.g., repetitions, disfluency, ambiguity) and only 29% nonverbal behaviors (e.g., facial expression, head and hand gestures, eye gaze). Given the rarity of studies on conversational memory, we primarily summarized existing knowledge about conversation and methodological considerations to inspire hypotheses for future research on conversational memory in AD and to illuminate decisions regarding study design. Conclusions: This review revealed a wide gap in knowledge on conversational memory in AD and offers a path to accelerating research on the topic. Conversational memory may be an important factor in promoting independence, participation in health care, and social well-being. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.30535784 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: A Scoping Review on Conversational Memory and Characteristics of Conversations in Alzheimer's Disease.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tanguay%2C+Annick+F%2E+N%2E%22">Tanguay, Annick F. N.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> annick.fn.tanguay@gmail.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Clough%2C+Sharice%22">Clough, Sharice</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22McCurdy%2C+Ryan+A%2E%22">McCurdy, Ryan A.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Padilla%2C+Victoria-Grace%22">Padilla, Victoria-Grace</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lord%2C+Kaitlin+M%2E%22">Lord, Kaitlin M.</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Brown-Schmidt%2C+Sarah%22">Brown-Schmidt, Sarah</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Duff%2C+Melissa+C%2E%22">Duff, Melissa C.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Speech%2C+Language+%26+Hearing+Research%22">Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research</searchLink>. Dec2025, Vol. 68 Issue 12, p5870-5909. 40p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Intellect%22">Intellect</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Conversation%22">Conversation</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Alzheimer's+disease%22">Alzheimer's disease</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hearing%22">Hearing</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Verbal+behavior%22">Verbal behavior</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Memory+disorders%22">Memory disorders</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+information+storage+%26+retrieval+systems%22">Medical information storage & retrieval systems</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Episodic+memory%22">Episodic memory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22CINAHL+database%22">CINAHL database</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vision%22">Vision</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychological+well-being%22">Psychological well-being</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Systematic+reviews%22">Systematic reviews</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22MEDLINE%22">MEDLINE</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+databases%22">Medical databases</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Online+information+services%22">Online information services</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Liberty%22">Liberty</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology+information+storage+%26+retrieval+systems%22">Psychology information storage & retrieval systems</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Purpose: Typical late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) compromises episodic memory, the ability to encode new events and recollect past events. Much of the research on episodic memory in AD has relied on lab-based memory tasks (e.g., word lists, short stories). It is unclear how well these tasks characterize the impact of episodic memory impairments across different domains of everyday life, including conversational memory. The goal of the review was to establish what is known about conversational memory in AD, that is, memory for the content of conversations one overhears or in which one participates, such as utterances said and corresponding referents (e.g., "I remember discussing medical decisions with my children and I said [...] and they responded [...]"). Method: In this scoping review, we followed the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis and PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines to conduct the scoping review. We retained 121 reports on conversation and three reports on conversational memory out of the 8,351 unique records found on PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Embase and in relevant reviews. Included reports had to involve conversation in any format and on any topic, include an AD population, be peer-reviewed, be in English, and be published between 1990 and 2022. Results: None of the studies investigated memory for spontaneous conversation. Although most studies on conversation did report on key characteristics of the interactional context (e.g., level of structure, number and category of conversational partners), studies also left several important details unspecified, such as hearing/vision (omitted in 67% studies) and diagnostic process (omitted in 33% studies). Studies described a broad range of behaviors during conversation, with most concerning verbal behaviors (e.g., repetitions, disfluency, ambiguity) and only 29% nonverbal behaviors (e.g., facial expression, head and hand gestures, eye gaze). Given the rarity of studies on conversational memory, we primarily summarized existing knowledge about conversation and methodological considerations to inspire hypotheses for future research on conversational memory in AD and to illuminate decisions regarding study design. Conclusions: This review revealed a wide gap in knowledge on conversational memory in AD and offers a path to accelerating research on the topic. Conversational memory may be an important factor in promoting independence, participation in health care, and social well-being. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.30535784 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-24-00780
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Intellect
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Conversation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Alzheimer's disease
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Hearing
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      – SubjectFull: Verbal behavior
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      – SubjectFull: Episodic memory
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      – SubjectFull: CINAHL database
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      – SubjectFull: Psychological well-being
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      – TitleFull: A Scoping Review on Conversational Memory and Characteristics of Conversations in Alzheimer's Disease.
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              Text: Dec2025
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