Saliou, Pauline http://orcid.org/0009-0001-1408-5581
Chavant, Julien http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0343-925X
Belliard, Serge
Merck, Catherine
de La Sayette, Vincent
Wallon, David
Martinaud, Olivier
Eustache, Francis
Laisney, Mickaël http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3571-9333
Funding for this research was provided by:
Fondation France Alzheimer et Maladies Apparentées grant
Normandy Regional Council
Article History
Received: 12 April 2024
Accepted: 15 May 2024
First Online: 28 May 2024
Declarations
:
: The present study has been approved by an institutional review board (CPP Ile de France XI; no. ID-RCB: 2022-A00198-35). It will be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and good clinical practice. Participants must each give their free and informed consent in writing, prior to inclusion. The data we collect will be anonymized, and analyses will not include any information that could allow the individuals who participate in the research to be identified. The results will be disseminated via peer-review journals, conferences, and clinical meetings. The social memory task will be made available online for the benefit of the scientific community.
: Not applicable.
: The recruitment phase began in June 2023. To date, only 5 dyads (10 participants) have been included in the study (April 2024).
: This study is based on the fact that with advancing age, people sometimes have to learn new information, especially if they have neurodegenerative diseases. This learning may concern new people (home carers, staff of a residential facility), and new living environments. The purpose of the study is therefore to ask whether a particular social context enables people with a neurodegenerative disease to learn better. In order to set up the protocol to answer this question, funding was obtained from Fondation France Alzheimer et Maladies Apparentées, which brings together the families of patients with AD or related diseases. The scientific committee that assesses research projects is made up of doctors and researchers in the field of AD who are appointed by the board of directors. The study was presented at the World Alzheimer’s Day, in order to make contact with patients and their families, and initiate the recruitment process. Recruitment will also be possible through the various patient charities in the region. As for the study procedure, each patient will be paired with a longstanding caregiver. Regarding the new experimental tasks developed by our research unit, members of the public participated in pilot studies and gave their feedback (duration, difficulty, comprehension) so that our team could improve them. The long-term aim of the study is to produce guidelines for families and health professionals describing the most beneficial social learning context for individual patients according to their cognitive and social disorders and their personality. The aim is to draw up these guidelines with input from the patients’ families and health professionals.
: The authors declare no competing interests.