Although dementia may affect the reliability of autobiographical memories, the psychological properties of nostalgic memories may be preserved. We compared the content of nostalgic (n = 36) and ordinary (n = 31) narratives of 67 participants living with dementia. Narratives were rated according to their self-oriented, social, and existential properties, as well as their affective content. Social properties and affective content were assessed using a linguistic word count procedure. Compared to the ordinary narratives described in the control condition, nostalgic narratives described a typical events, expressed more positive affect, and had more expressions of self-esteem and self-continuity. They were also rated higher on companionship, connectedness and the closeness of relationships, and reflected life as being meaningful. Despite their cognitive impairment, people living with dementia experience nostalgia in similar ways to cognitively healthy adults, with their nostalgic narratives containing self-oriented, social, and existential properties.

虽然痴呆症可能会影响自传记忆的可靠性，但怀旧记忆的心理特性可能会被保留。我们比较了怀旧（n = 36）和普通（n= 31) 67 名痴呆症参与者的叙述。叙事根据其自我导向、社会和存在属性以及情感内容进行评分。使用语言字数统计程序评估社会属性和情感内容。与控制条件下的普通叙事相比，怀旧叙事描述了一个典型的事件，表达了更多的积极情感，表达了更多的自尊和自我连续性。他们在陪伴、联系和亲密关系方面的评分也更高，并认为生活是有意义的。尽管存在认知障碍，但痴呆症患者的怀旧情绪与认知健康的成年人相似，他们的怀旧叙事包含自我导向、社会和存在属性。