Effect of Emotion and Type of Encoding on Memory for Actions: Verbal and Subject-Performed Tasks

BACKGROUND: The present study examines whether the interaction between emotion and the enactment effect (body involvement) improves memory in people with Alzheimer disease (AD). METHODS: Two experiments with drawings of actions were conducted, in which two types of encoding were used: motor and verbal. In experiment 1, with 13 AD patients and 13 older healthy adults, the encoding was incidental. In experiment 2, with 17 mild AD patients and 21 older healthy adults, it was intentional. RESULTS: In experiment 1, no effect of enactment or emotion was observed in the AD patients. In experiment 2, effects of enactment and emotion (better recall for negative actions) were observed in the AD patients. This pattern of results was also observed in the elderly control adults in both experiments. CONCLUSION: These results confirm effects observed in normal ageing and indicate a more subtle effect on AD.