Autobiographical memory is severely impaired in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, previous research has focused primarily on voluntary memories—that is, memories retrieved deliberately following a request. Here we investigated the extent to which people with AD experience involuntary (spontaneous) autobiographical memories (IAMs), using a novel method to simulate involuntary retrieval in naturalistic settings. Twenty-one AD patients and 22 healthy controls viewed nostalgia films designed to elicit IAMs under two conditions: with or without prior reminiscence. AD patients expressed more IAMs and emotional reactions overall and showed higher physiological reactivity in response to the films than controls. Both groups verbalized more IAMs after having engaged in reminiscence prior to watching the film. The results provide novel evidence that AD patients frequently engage in involuntary remembering when viewing media content dated to their youth, suggesting that involuntary retrieval may act as an alternative route for accessing the personal past in AD.

自传体记忆在阿尔茨海默病 (AD) 中严重受损。然而，之前的研究主要集中在自愿记忆上——即根据请求有意检索的记忆。在这里，我们调查了 AD 患者经历非自愿（自发）自传体记忆 (IAM) 的程度，使用一种新方法来模拟自然环境中的非自愿检索。21 名 AD 患者和 22 名健康对照者观看了旨在在两种情况下引发 IAM 的怀旧电影：有或没有先前的回忆。与对照组相比，AD 患者总体上表现出更多的 IAM 和情绪反应，并且对电影的生理反应性更高。在观看电影之前进行回忆后，两组都用语言表达了更多的 IAM。